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<font size=3>At 01:15 PM 11/14/2012, R. Akiva Miller wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Prof. Levine quoted a weekly
bulletin:<br><br>
> Once upon a time this was accomplished through the incomparable<br>
> lunchtime cholent , but evidently a new religion has arisen<br>
> that closely resembles Judaism that includes a ritual called<br>
> "Friday night Cholent". Back to the drawing
board!<br><br>
If having additional cholent the night before makes a "new
religion", then what about those who do additional hakafos on the
day before Simchas Torah (as do many Chassidim), or those who do
additional hakafos on the day *after* Simchas Torah (as many places in
Israel)? Are those new religions as well?</font></blockquote><br>
Making HaKafos on Shemini Atzeres at night is based on the mistaken
belief that the ARI made HaKafos on Shemini Atzeres at night in EY.
This mistaken belief is a result of an error in a sefer. See
<a href="http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/yaari_hakafos.pdf" eudora="autourl">
http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/yaari_hakafos.pdf</a> for the
details which are brought by Avraham Ya'ari in his sefer about
Simchas Torah.<br><br>
As far as I am concerned, celebration of Simchas Torah on Shemini
Atzeres really has no place in EY, given that originally the Torah was
read according to a 3 or 3 and half year cycle in EY. The HaKafos
on the night after Shemini Atzeres in EY could be based on what the ARI
did. <br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><font size=3>I don't necessarily
support these innovations, but I do have a question for those who are
vehemently against them: Where is the cutoff? How recent does a new
minhag need to be to earn your ire?</font></blockquote><br>
The question of where one draws the line is a good one, and I really do
not have a hard and fast answer. Personally I tend to lean towards
the old Ashkenaz minhagim that are hundreds of years old.
<br><br>
I also like to keep in mind that minhag spelled backwards is
.....<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><font size=3>There was once a
time when even hakafos *ON* Simchas Torah was an innovation, and
(compared to some other minhagim) it really was not all that long
ago!</font></blockquote><br>
<font size=3>In most of Germany there were no HaKafos at night on Simchas
Torah. RSRH instituted them in Frankfurt when he came there.
Rav S. Schwab instituted HaKafos at night in Shearith Israel in Baltimore
when he came there. There was, of course, opposition.
[How many Germans does it take to change a light bulb?
Change? Change? Change?!!!! >:-} ]<br><br>
For the record, I do not stay for HaKafos at night on Simchas Torah and
certainly not at night on Shemini Atzeres if I am in a place that has
them. During the day of Simchas Torah I run a Hashkama minyan that
starts at 7 AM and finishes a little after 10. People circle the
shulchan a few times for each HaKafa. Order and decorum are the
theme of the day! Each year we have more people. This past
year there were between 70 and 80 men and boys at the minyan.<br><br>
YL </font></body>
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