Whew!

Well, Succos is over- my 5 kg washing machine is trying to handle the 10 loads of laundry I have left, and my out-of-town guests have packed up and out. In short, it's Isru Chag.

It kind of collapses with a bump- that the month spent cooking, cleaning, preparing, davening, and celebrating all ends with massive amounts of dishes to wash, and a regular old Shabbos to prepare.

But in truth- we all gained immensly from Yom Tov- and when it comes around again, we'll have new meaning to take to the holiday, something garnered away from last year and brought out to shine again- like the Succos decorations waiting to find their space in my machsan (storage space).

Here's a short Dvar Torah for all interested....otherwise, better get back to my sponja!

Short Dvar Torah- Shmini Atzeres and Simchas Torah are celebrated on the same day here in E"Y, which is interesting- what do the two have in common?

Shmini Atzeres is based upon the fact that after Succos, Hashem tells Bnai Yisroel that their parting is too hard, and so they should celebrate for another day of Yom Tov.
Simchas Torah is based upon the fact that we finish the annual completion of reading the entire Torah- and we want to show our love for it.

In reality, the two are related. Shmini Atzeres is us wanting to show our connection to Hashem, to rejoin each other for yet another day of Yom Tov, and to show our love to Hashem that we want to stay for another day. What better way to do that with a show of the greatest connection we have to Hashem- the Torah! The Torah shows our desire to have Hashem in our midst, and shows our connection to His Torah as well.

So that's why Shmini Atzeres and Simchas Torah are celebrated on the same day!

Credits: Mr. NMF (hey, I've got to give credit where credit is due!)