the mobility of the feet, so does the Torah become exalted by the commitment of the Jew. Symbol of Jewish identity In the 20th century, Simhat Torah came to symbolize the public assertion of Jewish identity. The Jews of the Soviet Union, in particular, would celebrate the festival en masse in the streets of Moscow. On October 14, 1973, more than 100,000 Jews took part in a post–Simhat Torah rally in New York city on behalf of refuseniks and Soviet Jewry. Dancing in the street with the Torah has become part of the holiday's ritual in various Jewish congregations in the United States as well. Rejoicing under adversity Elie Wiesel related the difficulties and meaning of Simhat Torah in times of terrible adversity:The Gaon of Vilna said that ve-samachta be-chagekha (You shall rejoice in your festival; Deuteronomy 16:14) is the most difficult commandment in the Torah. I could never understand this puzzling remark. Only during the war did I understand. Those Jews who, in the course of their journey to the end of hope, managed to dance on Simhat Torah, those Jews who studied Talmud by heart while carrying stones on their back, those Jews who went on whispering Zemirot shel Shabbat (Hymns of Sabbath) while performing hard labor . . . ve-samachta be-chagekha was one commandment that was impossible to observe—yet they observed it. Commemoration In 1996, the Israel Postal Authority issued a postage stamp to honour the holiday. See also Jewish holidays 2000–2050 References Bibliography Goodman, Philip. Sukkot and Simchat Torah Anthology JPS, 1988. Yaari, A. Toldot Hag Simchat Torah. Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1964. Zinberg, Israel. Old Yiddish Literature from Its Origins to the Haskalah Period KTAV, 1975. . On Rebecca batMeir Tikitiner's Simchat Torah poem, see p. 51ff. External links Chabad.org: Simchat Torah Hallel Hebrew names of Jewish holy days Sukkot Tishrei observances Shemini Atzeret Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law Torah