[Avodah] What is the source for the minhag of Chasidim to have HaKafos on Shmini Atzeres night?

[Prof. Levine]

At 04:36 PM 10/17/2006, you wrote:
>Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 08:02:15 +0200
>From: "Marty Bluke" <marty.bluke at gmail.com>
>Subject: [Avodah] What is the source for the minhag of Chasidim to
>         have    hakafos on Shmini Atzeres night?
>To: avodah at aishdas.org
>Message-ID:
>         <d20f942b0610162302l2c9ff9e9yf852598fd6296663 at mail.gmail.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>The one source that I found is in the siddur of the Baal Hatanya where he
>quotes it as a minhag vasikin. Anyone know of any other sources/reasons?


Have a look at Chapter 30 of R. A. Ya'ari's sefer Toldos Chag Simchas 
Torah (page 267). There you will see that due to a mistake in 
transcription, people were under the impression that the ARI danced 
in front of the Sifrei Torah on Shmini Atzeres night. However, he 
actually danced on Motzoei SA after Maariv.

It seems to me that this error in transcription is the "basis" for 
what Chassidim do.

BTW, for what it is worth, in most places in Germany there were no 
HaKafos on Simchas Torah at night, only during the day. Indeed, I was 
told that this was what was done in the German (Glen Ave and its 
downtown predecessor) shul in Baltimore until Rav S. Schwab became 
the rov of the shul and instituted HaKafos on ST at night. I was also 
told that there were no HaKafos at night in KAJ before Rav Schwab 
came to Washington Heights.  He also instituted them at night on ST in KAJ.


Yitzchok Levine 
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