Torah reading term · הַקָּפוֹת
Hakafot: The Torah Circuits of Simchat Torah
Hakafot (Hebrew: הַקָּפוֹת, singular hakafah) are ceremonial processional "circuits" in which worshippers carry the Torah scrolls around the synagogue's reading platform (bimah). They are best known as the joyous, singing-and-dancing centerpiece of Simchat Torah, when the community celebrates completing and immediately restarting the annual Torah-reading cycle.
What Hakafot Means
The word hakafot comes from the Hebrew root meaning "to go around" or "to encircle," and the singular form is hakafah. In the synagogue, a hakafah is a circuit walked around the bimah (also called the almemar), the raised platform from which the Torah is read. While the term can describe several different ritual circlings in Jewish practice, its most prominent Torah-reading use is on Simchat Torah, the festival that caps the fall holiday season. On that day all of the congregation's Torah scrolls are removed from the Ark—with their crowns and ornaments left on—and carried in festive processions while the community sings and dances. Scrolls are passed from person to person so that everyone can share the honor of holding the Torah, and congregants are sometimes described as becoming "the Torah's feet," giving the scrolls a joyful dance through the room.
Hakafot on Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah marks the completion of the yearly Torah-reading cycle—the final verses of Deuteronomy—and its immediate restart with the opening words of Genesis, so that the community never stops engaging with the text. The hakafot are the festive expression of that completion and renewal. In most communities, seven circuits are made around the bimah at the evening (Maariv) service and again the next morning (Shacharit), though the number is community-dependent and some congregations do three. The processions are typically introduced by a set of biblical verses commonly known as "Atah Horeita" ("You have been shown," sometimes transliterated Ata Hareita), after which a leader chants a short prayer for each circuit and the congregation responds. Children often join in waving flags and carrying miniature scrolls, making the hakafot one of the most participatory moments in the Jewish year. If you want to follow along with the actual Torah verses being celebrated—or learn the readings that close Deuteronomy and open Genesis—TropeTrainer lets you hear and practice Torah reading with trope (the traditional cantillation melodies) at an adjustable speed.
The Symbolism of Seven Circuits
The number seven runs throughout the hakafot tradition. The seven circuits on Simchat Torah are widely understood to echo the seven processions made around the Temple altar during Sukkot, the seven circuits Israel made around the walls of Jericho before they fell (Joshua 6), and the seven circuits of Hoshana Rabbah. The circle itself is read as a symbol of wholeness, communal unity, and—in mystical interpretation—divine protection. Although the biblical and Temple-era precedents are ancient, the specific custom of dancing hakafot on Simchat Torah is first documented in the 14th–15th centuries (associated with Rabbi Isaac Tyrnau) and was substantially developed by the kabbalists of 16th-century Safed. Customs still vary: most communities circle seven times, some circle three, and Chabad tradition circles three and a half times (half of seven) on Simchat Torah morning.
Other Kinds of Hakafot
Beyond Simchat Torah, hakafot appear in several other ritual settings. During Sukkot, worshippers holding the four species (lulav and etrog) make a single circuit around the bimah on most days of the festival, and seven circuits on Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh day, while reciting the hoshanot prayers. The term is also used at lifecycle moments: in many Ashkenazi communities the bride circles the groom three or seven times under the wedding canopy (a custom often traced to 15th-century Austria), and in some Sephardic and Hasidic communities seven circuits are made around the deceased before burial. Hakafot may likewise accompany the dedication of a new synagogue. These shared circlings all draw on the same underlying image of encircling something holy to honor and unite around it.
Frequently asked questions
What is Hakafot?
Hakafot are ceremonial processional circuits walked around the synagogue's reading platform (bimah). They are most famous on Simchat Torah, when all the Torah scrolls are taken from the Ark and carried around the bimah—traditionally seven times—amid singing and dancing to celebrate finishing and restarting the annual Torah-reading cycle.
What does Hakafot mean?
Hakafot (singular: hakafah) is a Hebrew word meaning "circuits," "circlings," or "goings-around," from the root meaning "to encircle." In the synagogue it refers to circling the bimah, the platform where the Torah is read.
How do you pronounce Hakafot?
It is commonly pronounced "ha-ka-FOHT," with the stress on the final syllable; the singular hakafah is "ha-ka-FAH." The first sound is a guttural "h" (the Hebrew letter het). You may also see it transliterated as Hakkafot, Hakkofes, or Hakafos depending on the community and pronunciation tradition.
Why do you circle seven times on Simchat Torah?
In most communities the Torah scrolls are carried around the bimah in seven circuits, a number linked to the seven processions around the Temple altar at Sukkot, the seven circuits of Jericho in Joshua 6, and the seven circuits of Hoshana Rabbah. The number is custom-dependent, though: some communities make three circuits, and Chabad tradition makes three and a half on Simchat Torah morning.
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