From the Altar’s Flame

Hakafos on the night of the festival at the Kosel HaMa’aravi ○ Shacharis and Hallel amid sirens ○ Second Hakafos to sweeten the harsh judgments hovering over the People of Israel ○ Photo gallery

On the eve of Simchas Torah, close to the entrance of the festival, The Rav shlit"a arrived by car at the plaza of the Kosel HaMa’aravi, where he stayed in a special room prepared for him in the Western Wall Tunnels. At the same time, a procession set out from our Beis Midrash together with thousands from our holy community, joined by the community’s rabbis and Sifrei Torah, heading toward the Kosel HaMa’aravi along a special route through the streets of Shivtei Yisrael and Sha’arei Yafo—accompanied the entire way by singing and dancing in honor of the Torah.

At 21:00, The Rav shlit"a emerged from the room where he had been and walked toward the plaza, which was packed with thousands waiting for the night prayer of Shemini Atzeres. The service began with a shortened Kabbalas Shabbos, as is customary; but as everyone knows, with The Rav shlit"a there is no such thing as “shortening.” The Rav shlit"a lingered over the melodies of Lecha Dodi for nearly a full hour.

After Kabbalas Shabbos, he began Ma’ariv of the festival night with melodies and great vitality. At the conclusion of Ma’ariv, The Rav shlit"a opened with the verses recited before the Hakafos—“Atah horeisa lada’as…”—and then the great moments began. For long hours, The Rav shlit"a danced back and forth across the Kosel plaza together with thousands. The dancing carried such life and such fiery enthusiasm that it is impossible to describe. One of the peaks was when our people formed an enormous circle in the middle of the plaza, and The Rav shlit"a danced back and forth inside that vast circle. In addition, at each and every Hakafah, The Rav shlit"a would stop, recite the verses, and sing melodies of joy with tremendous vitality, all in honor of the Torah.

It should be noted that during the Hakafos, several times The Rav shlit"a approached the stones of the Kosel and prayed quietly. A number of our people who stood close to The Rav shlit"a relate that they saw holy tears flowing from his eyes. The Rav shlit"a saw what was destined to unfold, and in the midst of the Hakafos he pleaded for mercy—to sweeten the harsh judgments hovering over the People of Israel.

At the end of the Hakafos, The Rav shlit"a read from the Torah, and he was honored with the aliyah of “Kol HaNe’arim.” As he left the Kosel, he turned to return home amid singing and dancing; along part of the way, The Rav shlit"a recited and sang the Shabbos-night zemiros—Shalom Aleichem, Ribbon Kol HaOlamim, and Eishes Chayil. After the zemiros, The Rav shlit"a returned to singing: “Urah kevodi, urah ha’nevel vechinor; a’irah shachar…” Only at 01:00 in the morning did The Rav shlit"a return home.

Singing Hallel amid the wailing of the sirens

At 06:17, The Rav shlit"a went out for Shacharis of Shemini Atzeres. The prayer, as on every Shabbos and festival, was filled with melodies and great awakening. Toward 08:15, during the recitation of Hallel with singing and niggunim, the sirens began to wail across Jerusalem. Because of the singing and melodies, it was impossible to hear them; only the echoes of interception explosions signaled that something was happening.

At 10:00, Hallel concluded, and The Rav shlit"a announced that everyone should go up to the Torah, and that he would come out two hours later for the Torah reading and Mussaf. In practice, after Hallel, the terrible reports began to trickle in—mainly due to the reserve mobilization taking place in the nearby Musrara neighborhood. Throughout the entire day of Shemini Atzeres, The Rav shlit"a secluded himself in his room and did not come out for the rest of the festival prayers.

Only at the conclusion of the festival, at 20:00, did he come out for Ma’ariv and the Second Hakafos after the festival. After more than three hours of dancing to sweeten the harsh judgments hovering over the People of Israel, The Rav shlit"a delivered a lesson about the greatness of the holy and pure ones who fell for the sanctification of Hashem.

Below is a photo gallery from Motzaei Simchas Torah:

At Ma’ariv and Havdalah on Motzaei Shemini Atzeres:

During the Second Hakafos:

Second Hakafos — photos by Yisrael Ben Ari: