Soul Living 12: Living Torah

The holiday of "Shemini Atzeret" & "Simchat Torah" marks the completion of the yearlong reading of the Torah Cycle & beginning again from Bereishit – Genesis. The 11th-century sage, Rashi, explains the holiday (based on Leviticus 23:36): [God says to Israel,] "I have detained you [to remain] with Me." This is analogous to a king who invited his sons to feast with him for a certain number of days, and when the time came for them to leave, he said: "My sons! Please, stay with me just one more day; it is difficult for me to part with you!"