Can a Woman Dance with a Sefer Torah?

Simchat Torah is a highlight of the Jewish calendar, signified by joyous dancing holding Torah scrolls. Often, multiple sifrei Torah are removed from the Aron and held by shul congregants. Historically, this has only been a male activity, with the women watching on. Naturally, not every woman has been so enamored with this, and many women wish to dance with sifrei Torah themselves. In this article, we will delve more into the practice of dancing with sifrei Torah in general, and specifically how women can, should, and do approach this festivity. 

Communal dancing to celebrate Simchat Torah dates back as far as Geonic¹ times, but the practice looked quite different to today. Originally, there were no Torah scrolls involved, and it was esteemed members of the community who participated, while the remainder of the kehilla (both men and women) looked on. Still by the Rambam’s time² (12th century), this was the modus operandi. It was only in the Middle Ages, specifically in Ashkenazi communities, where sifrei Torah were brought into the celebrations, and this wasn’t wholly accepted by many rabbanim of the time due to concerns over a lack of kavod for the Torah. The Rema³ notes that each community had their own customs (some would sing only, some would also dance but not with the Torah scrolls, and some seemed to dance while holding the scrolls). The earliest source actively promoting dancing with sifrei Torah is the Chemdat Yamim⁴ in the 18th century. 

Thus, the entire custom is relatively new and not as clearly acceptable as many communities today may think. The primary argument against the practice is, as it was back when it started, that lay people dancing with sifrei Torah will not treat it with the adequate respect, or at least that in their fervor that their focus may slip. Additionally, Torah scrolls may be (and sometimes are) damaged from the movement, thus making them ineligible for use in shul services, and Rav Ya’akov Ariel⁵ writes that, for this reason, “dancing with Torah scrolls is greatly problematic”. Herein lies the main issue with women wanting to partake in the custom.

The Rambam emphasizes that these celebrations were “not done by the ordinary people and whoever wanted to; rather, the great Sages of Israel and the heads of the yeshivot and the Sanhedrin and the pious ones and the elders and men of [notable] deeds”⁶. And this was only in reference to dancing without Torah scrolls, how much more so is the concern with them? Women dancing on Simchat Torah without Torah scrolls is already long-established, as is recorded by Rav Yosef Yozfo Ha-levi⁷ of 17th Century Worms, and Rav Avraham Yosef⁸, a modern Israeli posek and Rabbi of Holon. There is no notable record of concern or disapproval for women dancing on Simchat Torah, certainly it is widely encouraged in many communities, but to dance with sifrei Torah is another matter entirely.

Other modern poskim have weighed in and, to be honest, there is no real consensus even within denominations and communities. Some communities have accepted the custom for women to dance holding Torah scrolls, and these communities can be found across the spectrum of group affiliation. Partial support for this can be found by Shadal who comments that the women of his 19th century community surely sang and danced on festive occasions. 

It is clear based on the sources that women should not be hindered from celebrating on Simchat Torah, and singing and dancing has been largely permitted on its own. The question women need to ask themselves when requesting to include Torah scrolls is, “what is my motivation?” Too often, the reasoning of experiencing and practicing a holiday the same way as men do, especially a practice that is so joyous, is the driving force.

However, actual halachic support and encouragement for women dancing while holding Torah scrolls is limited. One issue raised is that of a Niddah, who is prohibited from touching a sefer Torah while menstruating⁹. The exception to this is if it would cause her great anguish, though the Lubavitcher Rebbe¹⁰ was hesitant to label a woman’s anguish at this as “great” by default. The Rema¹¹ brings two diverging opinions on the matter, one permitting a niddah to touch a sefer Torah, and the other prohibiting it. Ultimately, the Rema concludes that the prevailing custom is for a niddah to not touch the Torah scroll. Based on this, if a menstruating woman may not touch a sefer Torah, she surely could not dance with one. This would exclude a fair amount of any given group of women, and furthermore would potentially embarrass any women who would not otherwise publicize such information. 

The other consideration is that of kavod haTorah. This question pertains to men as well – is it dignified to dance with a sefer Torah? This has already been touched on above, and it is clear that this matter is not straightforward. Therefore, the issue for women specifically is that allowing them to dance with a sefer Torah further stretches an already-fraught leniency that is absolutely not universally accepted to begin with. It is true that the minhag of men dancing with sifrei Torah is widespread, but that does not make it any less of a leniency, and women dancing with sifrei Torah is the same thing. It would be hard to find an explicit halachic encouragement of this practice with sources purely because it is a gray matter to begin with. 

It is clear based on the sources that women should not be hindered from celebrating on Simchat Torah, and singing and dancing has been largely permitted on its own. The question women need to ask themselves when requesting to include Torah scrolls is, “what is my motivation?” Too often, the reasoning of experiencing and practicing a holiday the same way as men do, especially a practice that is so joyous, is the driving force. However, many poskim and women would acknowledge how remiss this is. 

The joy of celebrating Simchat Torah is so much more than the hakafot – we have toiled for an entire year in the Torah, starting from the very creation of the world and ending with the tragic farewell to Moshe Rabbeinu, and the start of our lives in Eretz Yisrael. Each week, we found new questions to ask, developed closer understandings of the text, and grew closer to Hashem through His Torah. Now, we get to do it all over again. This is the focus of Simchat Torah. B’ezrat Hashem this Simchat Torah we will celebrate together, emphasizing the kavod for the Torah that it deserves. 

1. Geonic Responsa Sha’arei Teshuva 314 ↩︎
2. Rambam Hilchot Shofar Ve’sukka Ve’lulav 8:14 ↩︎
3. Rema Orach HaChaim 669 ↩︎
4. Chemdat Yamim III Sukka 8 ↩︎
5. Rav Ya’akov Ariel, Halacha Be’yameinu, 252-3 ↩︎
6. Rambam Hilchot Shofar Ve’sukka Ve’lulav 8:14 ↩︎
7. Rav Yosef Yozfo Ha-levi, 17th century beadle of Worms, quoted in Ya’ari p. 210 ↩︎
8. Rav Avraham Yosef, ‘Simchat Torah Le-nashim,’ moreshet.co.il, 5774 ↩︎
9. Shulchan Aruch Orach HaChaim 88 ↩︎
10. Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson, letter to Rav Shlomo Riskin, 13 Kislev 1976  ↩︎
11. Rema, Shulchan Aruch Orach HaChaim 88:1 ↩︎