[Avodah] Cancel Simchas Torah!

[Prof. Levine via Avodah]

At 02:52 PM 10/8/2015, Saul Guberman wrote:
>Professor, what allows you, collectively, the 
>community, to publicly mourn on the Chag?  Not 
>having the 7th hakafa does not sound like an appropriate halachic response. Â

I merely sent out an email that I received.  It is not necessarily my opinion.

That being said,  IMO  I think that much of what 
goes on in shuls on ST is not 
appropriate.  Drunkenness,  eating large 
quantities of food,  silliness, 
etc.  are,  IMO,  not appropriate for ST.  Have a 
look at  A. Ya'ari's sefer  Toldos Chag Simchas 
Torah to see how ST was celebrated over the centuries.

I do not stay for Hakafos at night on ST.  There 
were no Hakafos at night in 
Germany,  and,  IMO,  the reading of the Torah at night is problematic.

On ST morning I ran the Hashkama Minyan at the YI 
of Ave J in Flatbush.  We started at 7 am and 
order and decorum were the themes of the 
day.  The Hakafos were timed and took about 35 
minutes total in time.  There was quiet during 
the davening both for Shachris and Musaf.  The 
kohanim were told that they would duchan during 
Musaf, and there would be singing during the 
duchening as on other Yomim Tovim. Since there is 
no drinking during shachris, indeed, there is no 
drinking during davening at all,  I saw no reason 
for the Kohanim to duchan during 
shachris.  (BTW,  Rabbi Arthur Scroll mentions in 
his Machzor that some congregations duchan during 
musaf on ST.  I consider our minyan "some congregation.")

We finished everything by 10:25 am.  At least 75 
men and boys showed up for this davening.  (We cannot accommodate many more.)

I see no need to cancel this kind of ST davening 
and hence ST can proceed in this fashion IMO.

YL
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