Afghan Jews Make Choice, Juicy Fruits Part Of Their Hakafot Ceremony

Yes, you've dipped apple slices in honey on Rosh Hashanah. Yes, you've decorated your Sukkah with hanging fruits. But fruits as part of the Hakafot on Simhat Torah? Ask Jews of Afghani descent and they'll tell you exactly what to do.

Go to the market the day before Simchat Torah and buy the choicest fruits you can find. Wrap them in silver or gold foil, so that they resemble sweet candies. Place the wrapped fruits around Elijah's chair.

Elijah's Chair? That's right. The same chair normally associated with a Brit Milah is the Afghani focal point for the seven Hakafot. A single Torah scroll is placed on the chair and the Hakafot are performed around it. And the fruit? They are considered "privileged" to be part of the Hakafot. In fact, so special that at the end of Simhat Torah they are auctioned off for considerable sums.

Hmm...that's a new slant on fundraising. Is there a way it can be translated into a classroom setting? I think so. Just like you have a model Seder before Passover, hold model Hakafot using luscious, wrapped fruits for accessories. Have enough for a mid-morning or mid-day snack. Connect each piece of fruit with an act of Tzedakah, and "auction" it off so that the student "winning" the piece of fruit promises to perform the good deed and report about it in class.

Two for the price of one -- Simhat Torah and Jewish values. A lesson plan that truly bears fruit.

Chag Sameach.



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In Lisbon, Hakafot Have a Sense of Military Efficiency

Zvuvi has decided to go on vacation this week, so that I can send out a Simchat Torah custom. This time we’re going to Lisbon, Portugal, where Hakafot are somewhat akin to a military operation – in kinder words, Yekke efficiency, Sephardi style.
Hakafot in Lisbon are strictly an evening activity held on Erev Simhat Torah. The sense of a military operation comes with the organization of the event. There are approximately 30 Sifrei Torah standing on a bench dedicated to them. Each male member of the congregation receives a card ahead of time, informing him which Sefer Torah he is to take and for which Hakafa. For instance, your card says that you are to take Sefer Torah #26 for the 3rd Hakafa. The Hakafa seems to be a personal event, with one person at a time holding a Sefer Torah going around the Bima only once. When the Hakafa is finished you return to the Sefer Torah bench, waiting for the next “soldier.” When he takes his Hakafa turn you remain at the bench, standing guard over the Sifrei Torah until the next rotation. The epitome of Rules & Regulations, this custom can be easily adapted to the classroom in a variety of ways. I leave it up to your imagination.

Speaking of the classroom, I thought it might be interesting to find out when the holiday of Simhat Torah as we know it first began. All it took was a little Googling and I discovered the interesting facts behind an evolutionary holiday: The Jews of Babylonia invented this holiday, its name and the dancing associated with it. In the 12th Century, the French added the Attah Horeita verses. At the beginning of that same century, Spain’s Jews began reciting the beginning of Bereishit by heart. Ping Pong back to the the Jews of France who at the time instituted the concept of Khattan Bereishit reading the beginning of Bereishit. By the early 15th century, evening Hakafot were instituted in Ashkenaz. How did the number of Hakafot reach 7? The ARI and his students in sixteenth-century Safed were responsible for that addition, making sure the Hakafot should be around the Bimah – most probably copying the bride’s circling her groom seven times under the khuppa. All this illustrates that customs do not stay stationary, they evolve. If you have a new and interesting Simhat Torah custom, please share it with us.
Chag Sameach…Tami