They've got something here that is new to me, its called Hakafot Shniyot. Basically it means that the evening after Simchat Torah, everybody gets together again for another night of dancing with the Torah -- only this time you can have a live band! Ra'anana is very organized and has a huge celebration in Yad Libanim (same place as the Sukkah Shouk). We were only able to attend for a short while because the kids were getting tired, and I had to take Savta Nusha to the airport. In that short time we were able to:
- See somebody thank the new mayor Hofri, the deputy mayor Uzi Cohen, the head of informal education, the chief rabbi and some other guy. He then introduced the mayor, who....
- Thanks the deputy, the head of informal education, the chief rabbi and some other guy. The new mayor then hands the stage over to his deputy, who
- Thanks the head of informal education, the chief rabbi..
Now you might get nervous that with all that music, and public celebration that the men might see, or even dance with, the women. Never fear. As soon as the music started the Frum squad (see picture below) ran to the nearest synagogue and started wheeling out the portable mechizot. To say the least, I was disgusted.
All in all (ignoring the mechizot), it was a huge party and fun to see so many people out dancing with so many torahs. When I got back from my airport run at 10pm the music was still blaring. In fact we could hear it from our appartment until 11:30. Now that's a city that likes to party!
