<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18812"></HEAD>
<BODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt" id=role_body
bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 rightMargin=7 topMargin=7><FONT id=role_document
color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 10/12/2009 , Saul.Z.Newman@kp.org writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial><FONT
size=2 face="Default Sans Serif,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">
<DIV>>> a blog not normally allowed here lists
the following as 'shtick' done on simchat
tora. any additions?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<OL>
<LI>High Holiday tune for the first Maariv*
<LI>Show tunes, or old standards, for the Chazan's part of Maariv.
<LI>Auctioning off every honor of the day* to the highest bidder
<LI>[snip]
<LI>Completely removing the mechitza during hakafot*
<LI>Putting a shtreimal on the person leading the hakafa* (You don't usually
wear a shtrimal and a talis simultaneously, but the joke has more bite (not
that its all that funny in any case) if the person being forced to don the
shtreimal isn't hasidic) </LI></OL>
<DIV>etc</FONT></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV>>>>>><BR>My shul doesn't allow "shtick" and does not even
allow alcohol. Our shul is a Litvishe shtibel, our rav the biggest talmid
chacham in town. We have by far the best dancing in town (my town
being North Miami Beach), the most spirited, the most intense. That's
because we are the shul with the most serious learners, the ones who really LOVE
Torah. Our rav would not allow people to treat Simchas Torah as a joke or
a Purim party, not that anyone would want to.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>A couple of notes: We do auction off kibudim, that's not
shtick. I think all shuls do that? Certainly the big kibudim
like Chasan Torah and Chasan Bereishis?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Also the mechitza is taken down so the women can see the dancing, although
tables are placed to form a physical barrier between the men and the
women. The rav feels strongly, and I concur, that the women should feel
and see the simcha and the love felt by their men for the Torah, whose learning
the women are supporting (even if only by encouraging their husbands to be
kovea itim in the evenings) The ladies' section is absolutely packed on
Simchas Torah (although I myself go only for a short time) -- the more
right-wing the shul, the more the ladies get into the spirit of Simchas Torah
and find the dancing inspiring and enjoyable, even if only vicariously.
The younger women especially enjoy seeing the little tots on their fathers'
shoulders during the hakafos. That is not shtick, that is love of Torah
and joy at seeing the Torah passed on to the next generation with so much
enthusiasm.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><B>--Toby
Katz<BR>==========<BR><BR><BR><BR>_____________________</B></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>