Simchat Torah is the last day of Succot—the Feast of Tabernacles.
It is the eve of the eighth day assembly which you can read about in Leviticus 23.
Leviticus 23:36
For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD; it is an assembly. You shall not do any laborious work.
On the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah the yearly cycle of weekly Torah reading is completed and a new cycle commences. On this day it is customary to dance together holding the scroll of the Torah.
Simcha mean happiness.
The holiday signifies the joy and happiness of the gift of the Torah. The Torah is the first five book of the Bible—the five books of Moses, also called the Pentateuch, from the Greek Five volumes.
More on Simchat Torah here.
This year the holiday of Simchat Torah was observed on Shabbat, Saturday—The Sabbath, on October 7th.
This intensified the element of surprise as all of us were in holiday and Shabbat mode.
Many are drawing comparisons to the Yom Kippur war exactly 50 years ago on October 6th 1973.
What was supposed to be a day of happiness and joy turned into a nightmare that we have not yet even began to understand its scope and proportions.
https://www.dionysistheodorou.com/post/israel-at-war (Post from October 7th)
We were woken up today (Oct. 7th) at 06:30 by sirens wailing and loud explosions.
Hamas carried out a massive surprise attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Over 3000 rockets have been launched into Israel.
There have been many direct rocket hits on south and central Israel by missiles from Gaza.
Hamas terrorists have infiltrated Israel from Gaza and are randomly shooting at civilians in the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip.
Hamas terrorists have abducted Israeli citizens and soldiers and have transferred them to the Gaza Strip.
As of now there are over seven hundred dead and over two thousand two hundred people have been reported injured and the numbers are rising. (Oct. 8 20:20)
We are just at the beginning of this event which has already been assessed as unprecedented in Israel’s history and a game changer. More on this as we closely follow the developments.
The main goals of the government of Israel and the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) are to simultaneously and in this order of urgency and importance:
—Clear out the communities around the Gaza Strip of Hamas terrorists that are still active in the area.
—Get a clearer picture of the hostage situation and to secure their safe return to their families in Israel.
—Get a clearer picture of the missing persons situation.
—Form a unity government with the parties of the opposition. Meetings and negotiations are taking place as of this writing.
—Plan the successful incursion of our ground forces in the Gaza Strip with the expressed goal of crippling and dismantling Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and their terrorist military infrastructure.
—Prepare for the involvement of additional fronts to the conflict.
As of now we have received the support and legitimacy to defend ourselves from over 80 countries and world leaders.
Eighty countries issued solidarity messages for Israel after Hamas attacked its southern border communities killing at least 600 civilians and soldiers, according to the Foreign Ministry.
“Many of them state Israel’s right to self-defense. This is a message that helps build the space of international legitimacy for the activities of the Israeli government and the IDF,” the Foreign Ministry said.
This war will take time and there are concerns and preparations that it may develop into a multi front war including—in addition to Hamas and the PIJ in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, terrorist organisations in Judea and Samaria (the so called West Bank) and a possible confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
We ask for your help in getting the correct information in support of Israel to family and friends abroad. We need your support. Thank you