Shemini Atzeret

Significance

Shemini: "Eighth Day" of Sukkot

When Shemini Atzeret is mentioned in the Torah (known in Greek as the Pentateuch), it is always mentioned in the context of the seven-day festival of Sukkot: the holiday Shemini Atzeret immediately follows. For example, Sukkot is described in detail in Leviticus 23:33–43. Shemini Atzeret is mentioned in only verses 36 and 39. The Hebrew word shemini means eighth. This refers to the date of Shemini Atzeret relative to Sukkot; it falls on the latter's eighth day. It is often assumed that Shemini Atzeret is simply the eighth day of Sukkot. That characterization, however, is only partly accurate.

The celebration of Sukkot is characterized by the use of the sukkah (lit. 'booth' or 'tabernacle') and the Four Species (i.e., the tree branches and fruit used in the celebration). However, the Torah specifies using those objects for only seven days, not eight. The observance of Shemini Atzeret, therefore, differs in substantial ways from that of Sukkot. The Talmud, in tractate Sukkah 48a, describes Shemini Atzeret as "a Festival in and of itself" (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: רֶגֶל בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ, romanized: reḡel bif̄nē ʿaṣmō, lit. 'a Festival in and of itself'). The Talmud describes six ways in which Shemini Atzeret differs from Sukkot. Four of these relate principally to the Temple service, but two others remain relevant to the modern celebration of the holiday. First, the blessing known as Shehecheyanu is recited on the night of Shemini Atzeret just as it is on the first night of all other major Jewish holidays. Second, the holiday is referred to distinctively as "Shemini Atzeret" and not as "Sukkot" in the prayer service.

Immediately following that discussion, however, the Talmud describes Shemini Atzeret as the "end holiday of the festival [of Sukkot]". The context here is that the Sukkot obligations of joy and recitation of Hallel (Psalms 113–118) last eight days. This is also why one of Sukkot's liturgical aliases, "season of our rejoicing" (זְמַן שִׂמְחָתֵנוּ, zəman śimḥāṯēnū), continues to be used to describe Shemini Atzeret—and, by extension, Simchat Torah—in the liturgy.

Atzeret: A day for assembly—or pause

Spiritually, Shemini Atzeret can also be seen to "guard the seven days of Sukkot". The Hebrew word atzeret (עֲצֶרֶת, ʿăṣereṯ) is generally translated as "assembly", but shares a linguistic root with the word atzar (עָצַר, ʿāṣar), meaning "stop" or "tarry". Shemini Atzeret is characterized as a day when the Jewish people "tarries" to spend an additional day with God at the end of Sukkot. Rashi, commenting on Leviticus 23:36, cites a parable in which a king invites his children to dine with him for several days. When the time comes for them to depart, he asks them to remain for one more day because their departure is difficult for him.

According to Rabbi Elazar, the seventy bulls offered during Sukkot correspond to the nations of the world, whereas the single bull offered on Shemini Atzeret represents the Jewish people. On this basis, Sukkot is understood as having a universal dimension, while Shemini Atzeret is understood as a more intimate celebration of the relationship between God and the Jewish people. Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg offers a different but related interpretation based on the root atzar. In his interpretation, the final day provides an opportunity to reflect on the heightened religious experience of the preceding holy days and retain its influence throughout the coming year.

Relationship to the preceding holy days

Shemini Atzeret immediately follows Hoshana Rabbah (הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּה, hōšaʿnā rabbā, 'great supplication'), the seventh and final day of Sukkot. Although Hoshana Rabbah is part of Chol HaMoed (חוֹל הַמּוֹעֵד, ḥōl ha-mōʿēḏ, 'ordinary [days of] the festival'), the intermediate days of Sukkot, it is distinguished by additional prayers and rituals. During the morning service, Shacharit, worshippers recite hoshanot (הוֹשַׁעְנוֹת, hōšaʿnōṯ) while making seven circuits, or hakafot (הַקָּפוֹת, haqqāfōṯ), around the synagogue's pulpit, the bimah (בִּימָה, bīmā). The practice commemorates the Temple rite in which worshippers circled the altar (מִזְבֵּחַ, mizbēaḥ) seven times on the seventh day of Sukkot.

The processions of Hoshana Rabbah are distinct from the hakafot associated with Simchat Torah, during which congregants process or dance with sifrei Torah (סִפְרֵי תוֹרָה, sip̄rē ṯōrā, 'Torah scrolls'). In Israel, Simchat Torah coincides with Shemini Atzeret, whereas in the diaspora it is observed on the second festival day. In Ashkenazic practice, the Torah scrolls are removed from the Torah ark (אֲרוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ, ʾărōn haq-qōḏeš, 'the sacred ark') during the evening and morning services and carried around the bimah.

By the late Second Temple period, Shavuot was also known as עֲצַרְתָּא, an Aramaic form related to the Hebrew עֲצֶרֶת. Josephus identifies Shavuot by the term asartha in Antiquities of the Jews. The name atzeret is also used for Shavuot in the Talmud. Rabbinic tradition accordingly associates Shavuot with the conclusion of Passover, comparable to the relationship between Shemini Atzeret and Sukkot.

A midrashic interpretation compares the interval between Passover and Shavuot with the immediate succession of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret. According to this interpretation, Shemini Atzeret follows Sukkot directly so that pilgrims would not have to make another journey to Jerusalem during the rainy season.

In a later interpretive tradition, Hoshana Rabbah extends the penitential progression that begins with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The Abudarham describes Hoshana Rabbah as the day on which the sealing sought on Yom Kippur is confirmed, a conception reflected in the day's adoption of several liturgical features associated with the High Holy Days (יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, yāmīm nōrāʾīm). Although the Mishnah treats Sukkot as a time of judgment for rainfall, the conception of Hoshana Rabbah as the culmination of the judgment of individuals developed more fully in medieval Jewish tradition.

Evolution of observances and customs

The Torah explicitly mentions Shemini Atzeret three times, all in the context of Sukkot. Only two observances are specified for Shemini Atzeret. One relates to the Temple service, and is not relevant to modern observance. The other is the avoidance of "servile labor" (melechet avodah), as on other major Jewish holidays. (See also Jewish holidays — "Work" on Sabbath and biblical holidays.) No other specific rituals or ritual objects are specified, making Shemini Atzeret unique in that regard among the festivals mentioned in the Torah.

Two observances of Shemini Atzeret are mentioned in the Prophets and Writings portions of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The first occurred at the time of the dedication of the First Temple by Solomon. The second came at the time of the Jews' return from the Babylonian exile. In both cases, however, the mention is limited to the observation that an "assembly [atzeret] was held on the eighth day".

According to the Apocryphal Second Book of Maccabees, the first celebration of Hanukkah mimicked that of Sukkot, which the Maccabees and their followers had been unable to celebrate earlier that year. However, the only allusion to Shemini Atzeret in that narrative is that the Hanukkah celebration was fixed for eight days—in remembrance of both the seven days of Sukkot and the additional day of Shemini Atzeret.

Like most Jewish holidays of Biblical origin, Shemini Atzeret is observed for one day within the Land of Israel, and traditionally for two days outside Israel. Reform and Reconstructionist communities generally celebrate this and most Biblical holidays for one day, even outside Israel. The second day observed outside Israel is called Simchat Torah (see next section).

Simchat Torah

The practice of reading the Ve-zot ha-berakhah, the last of the weekly Torah portions on Shemini Atzeret is documented in the Talmud. That Talmudic source does not refer to the occasion as "Simchat Torah", but simply as [the second day of] Shemini Atzeret, and it is also not clear from that source if it is read as the last Torah portion (as is our custom) or as a special Festival reading.

The Simchat Torah celebration of today is of later rabbinic and customary origin. The day (but not the name) is mentioned in the siddur of Rav Amram Gaon (9th century CE); the assignment of the first chapter of Joshua as the haftarah of the day is mentioned there. The reading of the first section of Genesis immediately upon the conclusion of the last section of Deuteronomy—as well as the name "Simchat Torah"—can be found in the 14th century halachic work Arba'ah Turim. By the 16th century CE, most of the features of the modern celebration of Simchat Torah were in place in some form. The Simchat Torah celebration is now the most distinctive feature of this festival—so much so that in the Land of Israel, where Shemini Atzeret lasts only one day, it is more common to refer to the day as "Simchat Torah" than as "Shemini Atzeret".

In the 20th century, Simchat Torah came to symbolize the public assertion of Jewish identity. The Jews of the Soviet Union, in particular, would celebrate the festival en masse in the streets of Moscow. On October 14, 1973, more than 100,000 Jews took part in a post-Simchat Torah rally in New York city on behalf of refuseniks and Soviet Jewry. Dancing in the street with the Torah has become part of the holiday's ritual in various Jewish congregations in the United States as well. In Israel, many communities conduct Hakafot shniyot, or "Second hakafot", on the day after Shemini Atzeret. In part, this shows solidarity with Jewish communities outside Israel, which are still celebrating Simchat Torah (on the second day of the festival). At the same time, it allows for a Simchat Torah celebration unconstrained by festival work restrictions, since the festival is over in Israel according to Jewish law.

Outside Israel, where Shemini Atzeret is observed for two days, Simchat Torah is deferred to the second day, when all agree there is no obligation of sukkah.

Carryover of Sukkot observances outside the Land of Israel

In Israel—and for different reasons in Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism—none of the unique observances of Sukkot (sukkah, lulav and etrog) carry over to Shemini Atzeret. Shemini Atzeret is a holiday in its own right, without sukkah, lulav and etrog. At the same time, by the rabbinic decree to add one day to all holidays outside the Land of Israel, both Passover and Sukkot, although described in the Torah as seven-day holidays, are observed outside the Land of Israel for eight days. Accordingly, the "eighth day of Sukkot" outside Israel coincides with the separate holiday of Shemini Atzeret.

Psalm 27, which is recited in most communities twice daily starting at the beginning of Elul, continues to be recited on Shemini Atzeret outside the Land of Israel. When Shemini Atzeret falls on the Shabbat, the Scroll of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet (קהלת, otherwise read in Ashkenazi synagogues on the Shabbat of Sukkot), is read on that day outside the Land of Israel. In the Land of Israel, it would have been read on the first day of Sukkot, which would also have been on Shabbat. The Torah reading (Deuteronomy 14:22–16:17) is the same as on the Final Day of Passover and Second Day of Shavuot. However, in the Eastern Ashkenazic rite, unlike Passover and Shavuot, the longer version of the Torah reading is included on Shemini Atzeret even when the day does not fall on the Shabbat because the reading refers to separation of agricultural gifts (like tithes and terumah), which are due at this time of the year; in the Western Ashkenazic rite, as well as in most Sephardic communities, the short reading is read on Shemini Atzeret when it falls on a weekday. The Haftarah describes the people's blessing of King Solomon at the end of the dedication of the First Temple.

Taking the lulav and etrog and sleeping in the sukkah

The prevalent practice is that one eats in the sukkah on the eighth day, but without reciting the blessing (berakhah) for sitting in a sukkah. However, one does not take the lulav and etrog (nor does one sleep in the sukkah according to most opinions) on the eighth day. If someone sees a neighbor on the street with a lulav and etrog on the eighth day, the rabbis reason, they might mistakenly assume that it is still the seventh day (ḥol hamoed), when the lulav and etrog are still needed. They might then violate prohibitions of the yom tov of the eighth day. For that reason, the rabbis ruled that one should not take the lulav and etrog on the eighth day, even outside the Land of Israel. They are therefore muktzah; that is, one may not even move them on a holiday where they are not needed. Sleeping in the sukkah brings a similar discussion. Additionally, most people would prefer to sleep indoors at this point in the year due to the weather, so sleeping in the sukkah may impinge on one's own joy during the festival. This is why many rabbis ruled that one does not sleep in the sukkah on Shemini Atzeret, even outside the Land of Israel. Other rabbis, such as the Vilna Gaon, ruled that one should sleep in the sukkah on Shemini Atzeret outside the Land of Israel.

Eating in the sukkah

Eating in the sukkah does not cause a parallel problem because many people simply enjoy eating outdoors in the shade of a sukkah. Hence, seeing someone eating in a sukkah does not per se lead one to assume it is still ḥol hamoed. Likewise, eating in the sukkah does not per se impinge on one's own celebration of Shemini Atzeret. Therefore, the prevalent practice is to eat in the sukkah on Shemini Azeret outside the Land of Israel, but not to recite the berakhah for sitting in a sukkah, as reciting it would "impinge" on the unique status of Shemini Atzeret.

There are, however, those who have different minhagim (customs). Many Hasidic groups have a tradition to recite the morning kiddush and then have refreshments (such as cake) in the sukkah, but to eat both the evening and morning main meals inside, notwithstanding the Talmudic ruling to the contrary. Others eat the evening meal of Shemini Atzeret indoors but the day meal in the sukkah. Each of these approaches addresses aspects of the dual nature of Shemini Atzeret.

Other customs

The Land of Israel's agriculture depends heavily on rains that come only seasonally, so Jewish prayers for rain, such as Tefillat Geshem or Tikun Geshem (Rain Prayer) are prominent during the Land of Israel's rainy (winter) half of the year. The rainy season starts just after the fall Jewish holidays. Because of that, and because the sukkah (and, by extension, pleasant weather) is no longer required on Shemini Atzeret, Jews begin to praise God for making rain starting with the Musaf amidah prayer of Shemini Atzeret. In the Ashkenazic tradition, this prayer is recited in a traditional, distinctive, plaintive melody during the cantor's repetition of the amidah; according to the original custom, there are also many silent piyyutim, which today are omitted in most communities but still maintained in some communities. In some Ashkenazi synagogues, the cantor is clad in a white kittel, a symbol of piety, owing to the vitality of a positive judgment for rain. A brief mention of rain continues to be inserted in the amidah until Passover. The Yizkor memorial service is also recited in the Eastern Ashkenazic rite on this day, and it was adopted in some Western Ashkenazic communities. Recital of the Yizkor prayer is said to bring the person "closer to the cold and brittle part of mourning", and is necessary to promote the healing of a broken heart.

Observance in non-rabbinical Jewish traditions

As a biblically-mentioned holiday, Shemini Atzeret is also observed by Karaites and Samaritans:

In Karaite Judaism

For Karaites, followers of a branch of Judaism that accepts the Written Law, but not the Oral Law, Shemini Atzeret is observed as a single day of rest, not associated with the practices of Simchat Torah, which are a rabbinic innovation. Nevertheless, the Karaite cycle of weekly Torah reading, like the Rabbinic cycle, reaches its conclusion on Shemini Atzeret. Accordingly, in at least some Karaite circles, this day is referred to by the name of Simchat Torah. Additionally, calculation of the Karaite calendar is not based on astronomical calculations, but only on direct observation of the New Moon and the ripening of barley. Because of that, the 22nd day of the 7th month does not necessarily fall on the same date as 22 Tishrei in the (conventional, Rabbinic) Jewish calendar. In 2015, Shemini Atzeret fell on October 7 for Karaites, two days later than in the conventional Jewish calendar. In 2016, Shemini Atzeret fell on the same day according to both calendars.

In the Samaritan tradition

Samaritans, i.e. the northern Israelites who split from Jews during the reign of King Rehoboam, recognise only the first five (or six) books of the Bible as canonical, and thus celebrate only one day of Shemini Aṣereth.

Shortly after midnight, prayers are made in the synagogue for more than ten hours. No work is permitted on this day. At the end of the holiday, the succahs are dismantled. Their poles and nets will be stored until the next Harvest Festival. The fruits will be squeezed into sweetened juice and some will be eaten by the children.

2023 Hamas-led attack

On October 7, 2023, 06:29, on the morning of Shemini Atzeret, Hamas launched an attack on Israeli army installations and civilian communities near the Gaza border. Around 1,140 Israelis were killed and over 250 were kidnapped and taken to Gaza as hostages, most of them unarmed civilians. This event marked the starting point of the Gaza war.