Not the tea (though I like Chai-Spice). The Hebrew word Chai which means life, live, alive.
This Simchat Torah two of the songs we sang repeatedly, maybe every Hakafah circuit were “Am Yisrael Chai” and “David Melech Yisrael Chai vKayam” – Chai – Life. Living, Alive – is prominent in both these songs.
This year Simchat Torah fell late in the calendar year, deep into October, one week before Halloween. But with college students getting into the Halloween spirit and festivity on the weekend prior, and even before that, our annual big night of dancing Simchat Torah celebration turned out to be the same night as some of the popular Halloween student celebrations.
Not to yuck people’s yum, or be negative about other people’s holidays, but especially given some of the recent global context, it’s valuable to note some contrast.
Halloween is (visually/historically) a dark holiday, focusing on the morbid ghastly macabre, with haunting ghosts and grisly skeletons, and death lurking everywhere. Fear and horror are key elements and a primary theme. Yes, for most it’s all about having (hopefully safe) fun, but there’s definitely this major undertone regardless.
Not so with Judaism! The focus is very much on life! Chai is our go-to! Judaism cherishes and celebrates life. And one of the most repeated biblical messages (also repeated in several of our Simchat Torah songs this year) is Do Not Fear!
Folks, as the biblical verse says, “Choose Life!”, focus on the Chai!