שמיני עצרת

…On the fifteenth day of the seventh month is the Festival of Sukkot, seven days for HaShem… on the eighth day, there shall be a holy convocation for you. Vayikra / Leviticus 23:34

Tishri 22, the day after the seventh day of Sukkot, is the holiday Shemini Atzeret. In Israel, Shemini Atzeret is also the holiday of Simchat Torah. Outside of Israel, where extra days of holidays are held, only the second day of Shemini Atzeret is Simchat Torah: Shemini Atzeret is Tishri 22 and 23, while Simchat Torah is Tishri 23. These two holidays are commonly thought of as part of Sukkot, but that is technically incorrect; Shemini Atzeret is a holiday in its own right and does not involve some of the special observances of Sukkot.

Shemini Atzeret is a holiday on which work is not permitted.

Holiday Name and Meaning: This is the eighth day of the holiday of Sukkot.  The literal translation of Shemini Atzeret is the "Eighth Day of (solemn) Assembly."  Even though it falls on the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Shemini Atzeret is often observed as a separate holiday. This also means that the requirements of building and eating inside of a Sukkah are no longer in effect.

Scriptural Reference: Vayikra / Leviticus 23:39

Description of Holiday: This is also known as the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, but it is not. This day has its own identity. We gather at the synagogue to pray, specifically asking God to bless Israel with rain for the coming year. Shemini Atzeret is the rainy season in Israel. It is considered by many as a day of rest similar to the sabbath.

Culture and Tradition: Some congregations (mostly in Israel) celebrate Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah on the same day. Outside of Israel it is more common to have two separate days. When viewed as two separate holidays, Simchat Torah should follow Shemini Atzeret.

One of the biggest parts of this holiday is our prayer for rain. Even though some of us do not live in Israel, all still pray for Israel to receive rain. Rain in hebrew is Geshem.

Much of the liturgy for this holiday is similar to Passover and Shavuot. These two holidays along with Sukkot made up the three feasts that were considered to be pilgrimage holidays. During these three holidays, people would try to make it a point to travel up to Jerusalem if they didn’t live there. The reason for this pilgrimage was to get to the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) to take part in the festivities. These three holidays were huge social gatherings, where people camped out near the Beit HaMikdash and fellowshipped together.

The Rabbis are said to have explained this holiday in the following manner: God is like a host, who invites us as visitors for a limited time, but when the time comes for us to leave, He has enjoyed Himself so much that He asks us to stay another day.

Uniqueness of Holiday: According to the Talmud, the haftorah reading (reading of a prophet) for this event is Malachim Alef /1 Kings Chapter 8 which relates how King Solomon blessed the people at the dedication of the newly erected Beit HaMikdash, an event that is usually understood to have occurred on the eighth day of Sukkot also known as Shemini Atzeret.

Simchat Torah: Simchat Torah means "Rejoicing in the Torah." This holiday marks the completion of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings. Each week in synagogue we publicly read a few chapters from the Torah, starting with Genesis Ch. 1 and working our way around to Deuteronomy 34. On Simchat Torah, we read the last Torah portion, then proceed immediately to the first chapter of Genesis, reminding us that the Torah is a circle, and never ends.

This event is marked with great rejoicing, and the "hakafot" procession, held both on the eve and morning of Simchat Torah, in which we march and dance with Torah scrolls around the reading table in the synagogue. In the words of the Chassidic saying, "On Simchat Torah, we rejoice in the Torah, and the Torah rejoices in us; the Torah, too, wants to dance, so we become the Torah’s dancing feet." During today’s Torah reading, everyone, including children under the age of Bar Mitzvah, is called up to the Torah; thus the reading is read numerous times, and each aliyah is given collectively to many individuals, so that everyone should recite the blessing over the Torah on this day.

What do we do? Festival observances include the special prayer for rain included in the musaf prayer of Shemini Atzeret, and the custom that all are called up to the Torah on Simchat Torah. Some people view Shemini Atzeret as the beginning of the next agricultural year.