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Oct. 4, 2026
    
15-second slideshow
Simchat Torah, which means rejoicing with the Torah, is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings and the beginning of a new cycle. The main celebration takes place during evening services—one of the rare occasions when Torah scrolls are taken from the ark at night. In the morning, the last portion of Deuteronomy and first portion of Genesis are read consecutively, and the congregation dances and sings joyfully with the Torah scrolls. This begins the Torah readings for the next year.
Simchat Torah falls on 22 Tishrei (in Israel) and 23 Tishrei (outside of Israel). In Israel, many will celebrate both Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah on the same day (22 Tishrei), which immediately follows the seven day festival of Sukkot. Outside Israel, many Jews will celebrate Simchat Torah on 23 Tishrei, the day after Shemini Atzeret is celebrated on 22 Tishrei.
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Oct. 1, 2026
Every Oct. 1, often referred to as “Shocktober 1st” in southern California, I’m always reminded of the 5.9 Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987. It happened at 7:42 a.m., just as I was finishing breakfast before going to work.
My house in Irvine was about 40 miles from the epicenter, and it rocked for several seconds but did no damage to my property. The quake was felt throughout southern California and southern Nevada.
I was watching the morning news out of Los Angeles. A few minutes after the main shock, there was a small aftershock, which I did not feel.
I remember watching two of the news guys, Kent Shocknek and Christopher Nance. They got freaked out due to the shaking and the swaying lights, caused by the aftershock, and jumped under their desk. You can watch a short David Letterman video where he talked about it and then showed a video of what happened.
I also felt a 5.3 aftershock three days later. Then life went on as usual. Here is a video, under 5 minutes, showing damage from the initial quake on Oct. 1 and from the aftershock on Oct. 4: SoCal Whittier Narrows Earthquakes (1987).
I have felt numerous earthquakes before then and since then. Here is a page with a great deal of information about earthquakes, what to do to prepare for them, and what to do when they occur:
Be Prepared: Household Earthquake Safety Tips
and Helpful Home Modifications to Consider |
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