Welcome to Sh’mini Atzeret and Simchat Torah!  I hope you will join us for our combination service. We will begin at 6:30 p.m. with Mincha, the afternoon and final service for Sh’mini Atzeret, including a brief Yizkor service. We will then continue at approximately 7:00 p.m. with candlelighting and our Simchat Torah celebration, followed by a festive Oneg. Come sing and dance and rejoice in the completion of one year of Torah and study and the beginning of another! We will read the last verses of Deuteronomy and the first verses of Genesis and we will parade around the Sanctuary – and outside! – with our Torah scrolls. All are welcome! After each hakafah (Torah processional), we will distribute candy because learning Torah is sweet! We will sing, we will dance, we will have fun – and we will share in yummy desserts afterward!

Want to read some commentary or find more information? Here are some good sources on Sh’mini Atzeret:
https://www.jtsa.edu/post-torah/holiday/shemini-atzeret/
https://www.rabbisacks.org/jewish-festivals/shemini-atzeret/ 
 
And here are some on Simchat Torah:
https://www.jtsa.edu/post-torah/holiday/simhat-torah/
https://www.rabbisacks.org/jewish-festivals/simchat-torah/ 
 
And here are some on both:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/category/celebrate/shemini-atzeretsimchat-torah/
https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/shmini-atzeret-and-simchat-torah
 
I hope to see you tomorrow night! Chag Sameach!
 
— Rabbi Adrienne : )