Jews celebrate the Simchat Torah holiday at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel, in 2025

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יהודים חוגגים את חג שמחת תורה בכותל המערבי בירושלים, ישראל, 2025
Second Hakafot
At the conclusion of holiday and the beginning of the Second Day Yom Tov of the Diaspora (Simchat Torah in the Diaspora), there is a custom in Israel to do Second Hakafot, during which people go into the streets with Torah scrolls and dance another time. The source of this custom is attributed to Rabbi Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, who described the customs of his teacher, Isaac Luria, in Safed. Vital explains Luria had the custom to visit a number of synagogues after Simchat Torah, which delayed the end of the prayer services and did Hakafot. From there the custom spread to Hebron and the Beit El Synagogue in Jerusalem, and subsequently spread to other congregations in Jerusalem before becoming accepted across Israel. The custom spread from Israel to communities in Italy and the Near East—Turkey, Baghdad, Persia, Kurdistan, and India.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakafot....
Simchat Torah (Hebrew: שִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה, lit. 'Torah celebration'; Ashkenazi: Simchas Torah), also spelled Simhat Torah, is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Biblical Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret ("Eighth Day of Assembly"), which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei (occurring in September or October on the Gregorian calendar).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simchat...