Rabbi's Double Chai Birthday
By: Betty Nelander
Palm Beach Daily News
Friday,October 17, 2014
Double chai birthday — Observers of Simchat Torah, which runs through sunset tonight on the Jewish calendar, enjoyed a double event Thursday at Chabad of Northern Palm Beach Island. They celebrated the holiday — the day the Jewish community finishes and immediately begins reading the Torah anew — and Rabbi Zalman Levitin’s 36th birthday, which is called “double chai” because of the number 36.
“Eighteen in Hebrew is chai, which represents life,” he said via email. “Double chai (which is represented by the number 36) is a double portion of life. Judaism places much emphasis on a birthday as it celebrates life and highlights the sanctity and value we have for the life of each individual.”
The evening featured a “double-size birthday cake,” dinner, singing, and dancing with the Torah, plus resolutions for the coming year and good deeds leading up to the celebration.