23 Sep WE DANCE AGAIN

Succos, Z’man Simchaseinu, Festival of our
Joy.
It is now three years since the Shemini Atzeres
/ Simchas Torah massacre of October 7. “We
will dance again” became the motto of the
Nova music festival.
How ironic. A war that started on Simchas
Torah, our day of dancing and rejoicing with
the Torah.
We will dance again. Perhaps, without even
realizing it, the words are prophetic. The day
will come when all Jews will dance again as
one people with our Torah.
Simchas Torah, the Joy of Torah. We dance.
We sing. We celebrate. We find simcha not
just in completing the Five Books, but in the
ability to once again start from Bereishis, the
very beginning. Following the reading of the
final pesukim of the Torah, we call out in
unison, Chazak, Chazak, V’nizchazeik, Be
strong, Be strong and Be strengthened.
Be strong, Be strong and Be strengthened.
Even when all looks dismal, we don’t give up.
We may shed a tear, or two, but then, with the
words of “chazak”, we muster up our strength
and celebrate life. This is the strength of Am
Yisroel.
It was 5:00 AM. The phone rang, waking both
my husband and myself.

“It can’t be good”, my husband said, “Can you
get it.” He was right. My revered father-in-law
had been seriously ill, and my husband
dreaded the possibility of this call. The call
was to inform us that his father’s neshamah
left this world for a better place.
What made the call even more devastating
was that the very same day, my husband’s
sister, Chanie, was marrying off a son.
The family went from funeral, to cemetery,
and then to shiva house. All, except Chanie.
Despite her inner pain and sorrow, upon
guidance from her rov, she went from the
cemetery to the wedding hall. To be mother of
the chosson. To bless her son and future
daughter-in-law. To smile and greet guests.
And, yes, even to dance. Only after the
wedding, did she join the family in sitting
shiva.
How does one go from a parent’s funeral to a
child’s wedding on the same day? As Jews, we
believe that everything is orchestrated by
HaShem. As Shlomo HaMelech writes in
Koheles, which we will read on Shemini
Atzeres, “There is a time to weep and a time to
laugh”. Yes, there is a time to be sad and a
time to celebrate.
We celebrate life, and new beginnings. We
live with the hope and belief that tomorrow
will be better.

As a nation, we experienced our share of
suffering. But even in the darkest of dark, we
find a shining light. We may be living in a
troubled world, but we have faith in a brighter
future.
Eli Wiesel wrote of Simchas Torah in a Nazi
concentration camp. “Since there was no
Sefer Torah, how could they organize the
traditional procession with the sacred scrolls?
As they were trying to solve the problem, an
old man noticed a young boy standing there.
‘Do you remember what you learned in
cheder?’ asked the man. ‘Yes, I do’ replied the
boy. ‘Really?’ said the man. ‘You remember
Shema Yisroel?’
‘I remember much more’ said the boy. ‘Shema
Yisroel is enough’ said the man, and he lifted
the boy, clasped him in his arms, and began
dancing with him, as though he were the
Torah. And all joined in. They sang, danced
and cried. They wept, but they danced with
fervor.”
One can only imagine the pain and suffering,
the trauma and tragedies that were endured.
Yet, our people strived to find joy and have
hope on Simchas Torah. And on Simchas
Torah Jews celebrate the privilege of having
HaShem’s Torah. And, so they danced,
holding a living Torah scroll.
Eli Wiesel’s Simchas Torah story was not the
only one that speaks of our nation’s love of
children and belief in the future.
Little Avrohom was eighteen months old
when the Nazis invaded Poland. Wanting to
protect him, Avrohom’s parents handed him
over to his Catholic nanny for safekeeping,
until times would get better. The nanny was
quick to baptize him. Avraham became
Henrich, and was raised as a devout
Catholic.
His parents miraculously survived the
Holocaust, and four years later, returned to
Vilna to claim their beloved son. It wasn’t
easy. The nanny refused to give him up. A
long court battle ensued. With gratitude to
HaShem, they won. Avrohom was theirs
once again.
It was hard at first. Avrohom was taught to
hate Jews and openly told his parents so.
They responded with love and kindness.
On Simchas Torah, Avrohom’s parents took
him to the shul in Vilna. A joyous holiday,
which they hoped would bring him closer to
his religion. As they walked to shul, they
passed a monastery. Avrohom stopped to
cross himself. Just then, the priest emerged,
and Avrohom ran over to kiss his hand.
Though deeply pained, Avrohom’s father
remained silent. He believed that with time,
Avrohom would come around.
The shul in Vilna was a pitiful sight. The
Germans did a good job desecrating and
defacing the magnificent edifice. The
beautiful building lost its glory. Its holy
books were destroyed, and there wasn’t a
Torah scroll to be found.
In the shul that Simchas Torah night was a
newlywed Jewish young couple in search of
survivors. The husband was wearing the

uniform of a Russian soldier. At one time, he
was a Yeshiva bochur, but was taken by the
Russians to join their forces. Shyly, he
approached little Avrohom. “Are you Jewish”,
he asked. He wasn’t sure, since the boy was
blond and blue eyed.
“Yes”, Avrohom’s father answered.
To the Torah student turned soldier, Avrohom
was a precious treasure. The young couple
had traveled many miles to Vilna, without
seeing any sign of Jewish life, let alone a
Jewish child.
“Can I carry you on my shoulder? Can I dance
with you on Simchas Torah?” the young man
asked. He lifted Avrohom and danced and
danced. He danced with a prayer in his heart
that the Torah be passed down mi’dor l’dor,
from generation to generation. The young
man told the remaining Jews of Vilna that
little Avrohom symbolized the future of their
nation.
That Simchas Torah experience, and careful
nurturing by his parents, left its mark on
Avrohom. Slowly and steadily, he grew more
and more into his Judaism. Years later,
Avrohom became Abe Foxman, Chairman of
the Anti-Defamation League, devoting his life
to fighting Anti-Semitism and battling for
Jewish rights and liberties.
And the soldier who danced with Avrohom?
He became Rabbi Leo Goldman, Chief Rabbi
of Norway. He later immigrated to the United
States, and became a pulpit rabbi in Detroit.
And we dance again.
Bucharest, Romania, 1946. Rabbi Yaakov
Yosef Twersky, the previous Skverer Rebbe
zt”l (1899-1968), his wife Trana, and their
family, miraculously survived the war. But
shortly before Succos, they suffered the death
of their daughter, Feige Malka, after just two
years of marriage.
It was Simchas Torah. Even though it was
during the Shloshim, the Rebbe danced with
much joy, leading others in the hakafos. His
Rebbetzin, Trana, couldn’t understand how
her husband was able to dance and celebrate
after such a tragic loss. The rebbe explained
that as a nation, we don’t dance for the past.
We dance for the future. We dance with the
emunah that there will be a better tomorrow.
As hard as it is to believe, the October 7 war is
not over. We are still grieving as lives continue
to be lost and many more are being injured.
It’s not that we will dance again, but we do
dance again. We dance amidst the pain, but we
dance. We carry our Torah scrolls. Proud to be
Jews. Proud to be links in the eternal chain of
Am Yisroel.
May we merit to experience a true z’man
simchaseinu, ushering in a year of shalom for
all of Klal Yisroel.