The holiday of Simchat Torah raises a question that has troubled commentators for centuries: why was a special holiday established in the middle of the year in honor of the Torah?

At the beginning of the summer, we celebrate Shavuot, which is "the time of giving of our Torah." We read the Ten Commandments, stay up late studying, and eat dairy foods. It would make sense to complete the reading of Vzos Habracha and start again from Bereishit on Shavuot.

Chassidic philosophy provides an amazing explanation that can shed light on Simchat Torah of this year as well: there is no connection between Simchat Torah and Shavuot, and in truth, these are two opposite occasions. On Shavuot, we celebrate the complete good that came down from the heavens, while on Simchat Torah, we celebrate the doubled good that was born from pain and fracture.

On Shavuot, the Torah came down from the heaven, but its sacred Tablets were soon shattered into pieces. Moshe had ascended to heaven for forty days to receive the Tablets, and some rabblerousers took advantage of a six-hour delay to incite the people to betray G-d.

After a year of unlimited goodness, with the Ten Plagues, the Exodus, the Splitting of the Sea and the manna from heaven, the Jewish people were a group of spoiled children who were used to receiving and not doing.

G-d was upset, and without Moses’ pleas it almost seemed like they had reached the point of no return. However the stunned people of Israel, shaken by G-d's anger, understood the magnitude of the betrayal they had caused. The immense pain and humiliation sparked a reaction of fervent love for Hashem and a passionate commitment to adhere to His Torah. Their repentance and forgiveness were accepted by G-d, and Moses was commanded to create a second set of Tablets. On Yom Kippur, Moses heard the wonderful words from Hashem: "I have forgiven as you have spoken," and descended with the second Tablets.

The pain and shame of the sin of the Golden Calf translated into an outpouring of dedication to building the Mishkan – the Tabernacle – with the most successful fundraising campaign in history. Moses even stopped the fundraising because so much had been donated.

This is the great joy of Simchas Torah. The holiday is the first free day after Yom Kippur, because in the interim we are busy with the joy of Sukkot. Simchat Torah was chosen to express the greatness of the joy that comes from us. The joy of the child who was distanced from their parents and chosen of their own initiative to reconnect with renewed strength and courage.

The immense joy of Simchat Torah is infinitely greater than the joy of Shavuot. It is challenging to dance with joy with something that is not ours – something that has been gifted to us. Joy is an emotion that bursts forth from renewal, as a result of a rejuvenation, re-strengthening, and returning home.

The comparison to our days is obvious: it is precisely Simchat Torah that is fitting to express the emotional complexity we experience: the stinging pain that Israel and the Jewish Nation have felt for the last year, the shattered tablets of 1,200 holy souls and the psyche of a nation, but also the magnitude of joy resulting from the pride, closeness and awakening that has been unprecedented throughout the Jewish people.