In October 1942 at the end of Simchas Torah in Tel Aviv, R' Yitzchak Yedidya Frankel, the father-in-law of R' Yisrael Meir Lau, removed a Sefer Torah from the Aron, and addressed his congregants. He spoke of the dire situation in war-torn Europe, particularly Poland, where communication had ceased (no telephones, telegraphs or mail). Entire Jewish communities were cut off, and their fate was unknown. “They should be beginning their Simchas Torah celebrations. (Outside of Eretz Yisrael, Simchas Torah is celebrated the day after Shemini Atzeres while in Eretz Yisrael it’s observed a single day.) But we do not know whether the Jews are allowed to enter their shuls and perform the traditional processions of holding the Sifrei Torah. All Jews are responsible for one another. Let us act and perform processions on their behalf, at least symbolically.” R' Frankel then took the Sifrei Torah, sang songs, danced and completed a second night of hakafos on behalf of European Jewry suffering the horrors of the Holocaust. This was how R' Frankel initiated the tradition of hakafos shniyos in Eretz Yisrael, a second round of dancing with the Torah scrolls, held on Motzai Simchas Torah.
