Changing Holidays to Holy days

 I missed one of my new favorite holidays this year...Simchat Torah...because I was out of town. On this day we complete our reading of the Torah and IMMEDIATELY start reading it again. The only way to do this is to unroll the entire Torah  which requires many careful hands. We tenderly hold the parchment, which is a thin material made from hide, sometimes calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin. The words have been hand written by a scribe.   

 Some of these are hundreds of years old and have been saved from war torn nations or from places they were hidden during the holocaust. We unwind the Torah, putting the end next to the beginning and then read the last words and the first words. We have met the commandment of always reading Torah.
Then we roll the scroll back up so that we can open to Genesis, dress the Torah back in her garments, and then we dance.

 We say some prayers, play some music and pass the Torah around as we dance with her. We twirl and spin and laugh and renew our spirits. Dance and laughter become holy, and we remember the pathway to holiness as individuals and a community.

A ritual turns the holiday into a holy day. And this is what I am discovering on my journey. It is the immersion in the ritual that makes it and me holy. In the same way that I immersed myself in the mikvah, I can dive deeply into the prayers and songs and symbols and rituals and turn a holiday into a holy day. I can turn off my mind and let my heart dance and let the experiences sing to me and change me.

Tomorrow is Halloween, which used to be my favorite holiday. The wedding dress is going to help me hand out candy as I reflect on holidays and holy days.