Simchat Torah is more than just a calendar holiday.

True, it was never mentioned in the Torah, and the Talmud simply calls the holiday the “second day of Sh'mini Atzeret.”

Simchat Torah is basically the day when we wind back the Torah scroll and mark the beginning of a cycle.

But how can anyone ignore its significance when it's not only a calendar holiday, but a community holiday? How can a historian look at Simchat Torah's development and call it—my favorite holiday—a simple mark in the cycle of time?

I think Simchat Torah sets the tone for a year of community prayer and festivities. When else do congregants dance around the sanctuary, sing hymns and carry Torah scrolls? When else would my sister (who's 10) and her friends actually argue about carrying a Torah scroll? After all, on all other nights (no Passover pun intended) they try their best to avoid having to learn Torah!

Simchat Torah is a living, breathing holiday that constantly evolves. By the 14th century, congregations like mine were removing their Torah scrolls from the ark and singing hymns for each one. By the 16th century, congregants began to march around the sanctuary and bimah with the Torah scrolls in their hands. That's right—the tradition of hakafot (dancing with the Torah) that we associate with this holiday was born 500 years ago.

Possibly the most rewarding part of the Simchat Torah celebration is when the procession of the Torahs moves outside. At that point, the holiday becomes a public one that engages even those walking on the street or driving their cars nearby. The celebration might look strange from the street, but in many ways that strengthens it. When else can a community dance and sing and pass along Torah scrolls in the dark of night, under only the stars?

But what's the need for Simchat Torah? It might be fun (with emphasis on a liberal interpretation of the word), but what does it do that a festive holiday like Purim doesn't?

The answer is apparent if you sit away from your congregation for 10 minutes and just watch the celebration. Watch the children's fixation on the Torah scrolls, the smiles on even the faces of the elderly as they watch the procession and the energy that comes from passing a Torah scroll. Then remember that Simchat Torah originated as just a calendar holiday.

Jewish culture holds dear very few objects: the candlesticks, the mezuzah, the siddur, the Torah. For each of these items, without a communal awareness of their symbolism, they lose their meaning. But for the Jewish people and our thousands of years of history, the objects have become sacred.

Simchat Torah eventually became more than just a turning back of the scroll. It became the day we turned back the Torah and the community spread the word. And although the distinction between a scroll and a Torah may seem insignificant, try telling that to a community that sprouted from connections they made as one member passed a Torah to the next.