Simchat Torah 2020 / שִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה 5781

There was another ceremony in the parking lot at the synagogue today. The cantor was wonderful. It was great to go out on the deck to feed the birds and hear, "hallelujah" being sung. 

The chairs were in pairs, easily 12 feet apart. The cantor was at the top of the stairs, her back as close to the building as possible, as far away from the congregation as possible - because of course singing spreads droplets. 

It was so lovely. There was clapping and at some point a little socially distanced walk. Grandparents danced with grandchildren. 

There are communities suing and protesting being told that they can't have these ceremonies unless they do them safely. They told reporters they believe the President and they believe they've achieved herd immunity. 

The holiday is Rejoicing with the Torah. It celebrates the end of the cycle of reading the Torah and the beginning of a new cycle. I told Karen we needed to go to Temple again and she thought about it and suggested Simchat Torah - which it turns out is what today was. 

When the singing ended for a bit and the service began I walked past these neighbors. The boy is the one whose pasni I was invited to. And they posed! I've put the picture through a painting iPad program to blur their identities a little but the original looks great. 

Tomorrow we begin another week.