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{{short description|Jewish holiday}}
{{distinguish|Shemini (parsha)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox holiday
| image =
| caption =
| holiday_name = Shemini Atzeret
| official_name = {{Script/Hebrew|שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶֽרֶת}}
Translation: "The eighth [day] of Assembly"
| observedby = [[
| type = Jewish, Samaritan
| longtype = Jewish, Samaritan
| date = 22nd day of [[Tishrei]]<ref name=topdate>See {{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:34,36|HE}} and text below.</ref>
| date{{LASTYEAR}}
| date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{
| date{{NEXTYEAR}}
| date{{NEXTYEAR|2}}
| celebrations = Prayer for [[Geshem|rain]]; includes the celebration of [[Simchat Torah]]
| significance =
| relatedto = Culmination of [[Sukkot]] (Tabernacles)
}}
'''Shemini Atzeret''' ({{Script/Hebrew|שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת}}—"Eighth [day of] Assembly"
Outside the Land of Israel, this is further complicated by the [[Yom tov sheni shel galuyot|additional day]] added to all Biblical holidays except [[Rosh Hashanah]] and [[Yom Kippur]].<ref name="Egg">Talmud, ''[[Beitza]]'' 4b.</ref> The first day of Shemini Atzeret therefore coincides with the eighth day of Sukkot outside the Land of Israel, leading to sometimes involved analysis as to which practices of each holiday are to apply.
The celebration of [[Simchat Torah]] is the most distinctive feature of the holiday, but it is a later rabbinical innovation. In the Land of Israel, the celebrations of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are combined on a single day, and the names are used interchangeably. In the [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora]], the celebration of Simchat Torah is deferred to the [[Yom tov sheni shel galuyot|second day]] of the holiday. Commonly, only the first day is referred to as ''Shemini Atzeret'', while the second is called ''Simchat Torah''.<ref>''[[Shulchan Aruch]]'', ''Orach Chayim'' 669</ref>
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==Biblical origins==
According to
▲According to the ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'',<ref name=JESA/> ''atzeret'' (or ''aẓeret)'' is the name given to this day in four different locations in the [[Tanakh|Hebrew Bible]].<ref><span class="plainlinks">{{Bibleverse||Leviticus|23:36|HE}}, {{Bibleverse||Numbers|29:35|HE}}, {{Bibleverse||Nehemiah|8:18|HE}} and {{Bibleverse||2Chronicles|7:9|HE}}</span></ref> It is not mentioned in Deuteronomy 16, and is found only in those parts of the Bible known as the Priestly Code. Like ''atzarah,''<ref><span class="plainlinks">See {{Bibleverse||Amos|5:21|HE}}, {{Bibleverse||Isaiah|1:13|HE}} and {{Bibleverse||Joel|1:14|HE}}.</span></ref> ''atzeret'' denotes "day of assembly", from ''atzar'' = "to hold back" or "keep in"; hence, also the name ''atzeret'' given to the seventh day of Pesaḥ. <ref><span class="plainlinks">See {{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:8|HE}}</span></ref> Owing, however, to the fact that both Shemini Atzeret and the seventh day of Pesaḥ are described as ''atzeret'', the name was taken to mean "the closing festival".<ref name=JESA/>
==Significance==
{{anchor|Shemini}}
===
When Shemini Atzeret is mentioned in the [[Torah]] (Pentateuch), it is always mentioned in the context of the seven-day festival of [[Sukkot]]
The [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word ''shemini'' means ''eighth''. This refers to the date of Shemini Atzeret relative to Sukkot; it falls on the eighth day.<ref group=note>In the terminology of the modern [[Hebrew calendar]], Sukkot occurs on 15–21 Tishrei, and Shemini Atzeret on 22 Tishrei.</ref> It is therefore often assumed that Shemini Atzeret is simply the eighth day of Sukkot. That characterization, however, is only partly accurate.
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The celebration of Sukkot is characterized by the use of the ''[[sukkah]]'' (booth or tabernacle) and the [[Four Species]] (tree branches and fruit used in the celebration).<ref group=note>These are known as the ''[[lulav]]'' (branches of the [[Palm (plant)|palm]], [[Myrtus|myrtle]] and [[willow]] trees) and ''[[etrog]]'' (fruit of the [[citron]]).</ref> However, the Torah specifies use of those objects for seven days only, not eight.<ref>{{bibleref|Leviticus|23:40–42|HE}}</ref> The observance of Shemini Atzeret therefore differs in substantial ways from that of Sukkot. The [[Talmud]]<ref name=48a>See [[Sukkah (Talmud)|Tractate Sukkah]] 48a</ref> describes Shemini Atzeret with the words "a holiday in its own right" (''regel bifnei atzmo'').
The Talmud describes six ways in which Shemini Atzeret differs from Sukkot. Four of these relate principally to the [[Temple in Jerusalem#Temple service|Temple service]]. Two others remain relevant to 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.{{sfn|Sacks|2009|pages=306–7 and 1186}} Second, the holiday is referred to distinctively as "Shemini Atzeret" and not as "Sukkot" in the prayer service.{{sfn|Sacks|2009|pages=760–3}}
Immediately below that discussion, however, the Talmud describes Shemini Atzeret as the "end holiday of the festival [of Sukkot]".<ref name=48a /> The context here is that the Sukkot obligations of joy and recitation of [[Hallel]] ([[Psalm]]s 113–118) last eight days. This is also why one of Sukkot's liturgical aliases, "Time of Our Happiness" (''zman simḥatenu''), continues to be used to describe Shemini Atzeret (and by extension Simchat Torah) in prayers.{{sfn|Sacks|2009|pages=760–3}}
Shemini Atzeret is therefore simultaneously "a holiday in its own right" and the "end holiday of [Sukkot]".<ref name=48a />
==={{anchor|name=atzeret}}''Atzeret:'' A day for assembly—or pause===
Spiritually, Shemini Atzeret can also be seen to "guard the seven days of Sukkot".{{sfn|Gurary|Kaplan|2000|p=83-93}} The Hebrew word ''atzeret'' is generally translated as "assembly", but shares a linguistic root with the word ''atzor'', 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.<ref name=JESA>{{Jewish Encyclopedia|title=Shemini 'Azeret|year=1901–1906|publisher=Funk and Wagnalls|location=New York|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13559-shemini-azeret|no-prescript=1|noicon=1}}</ref> [[Rashi]] cites the parable of a king who invites his sons to dine with him for a number of days, but when the time comes for them to leave, he asks them to stay for another day, since it is difficult for him to part from them.<ref>Rashi on Leviticus 23:36.</ref> According to this idea, Sukkot is a universal holiday, but Shemini Atzeret is only for the Jewish people. Moreover, Shemini Atzeret is a modest holiday, just to celebrate [God's] special relationship with His beloved nation.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mayer|first=Sally|title=Why did Shemini Atzeret become Simchat Torah?|date=Autumn 2011|series=YU Torah To-Go|issue=Sukkot To-Go 5772|page=29|url=http://download.yutorah.org/2012/1053/Sukkot_To-Go_-_5772_Mrs_Mayer.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185156/http://download.yutorah.org/2012/1053/Sukkot_To-Go_-_5772_Mrs_Mayer.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-29 |url-status=live|publisher=Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future|location=New York}}</ref>{{refn|Variants are quoted in {{harvtxt|Isaacs|2000|p=88}} and in
A different, but related, interpretation is offered by [[Yaakov
===Connections to the prior Jewish holy days===
The day prior to Shemini Atzeret is the last day of Sukkot. Called [[Hoshana Rabbah]], it is unique and different from the other days of Sukkot. While it is part of the intermediate Sukkot days known as [[Chol HaMoed]], Hoshana Rabbah has [[Hoshana Rabbah#Rituals and customs|extra prayers and rituals]] and is treated and practiced much more seriously and festively than the previous days of Chol HaMoed. In particular during the morning prayer service of Hoshana Rabbah, there are [[Hoshana Rabbah#Seven hoshanot|seven ''hoshanot'']] with their own seven ''[[hakafot]]'', the "seven processions".<ref>{{cite
<blockquote>The closing feast of Sukkot (i.e., Shemini Atzeret) ought rightly to have been, like that of Passover (i.e., Shavuot) on the fiftieth day; but, in order not to force the people to make another journey to Jerusalem in the rainy season, God fixed it as early as the eighth day.<ref name=JESA/></blockquote>
These religious celebrations conclude the process that had begun on the days of [[Rosh Hashanah]] (the Jewish new year) and [[Yom Kippur]], the Day of Atonement, observed ten days after the start of Rosh Hashanah. Five days after the conclusion of Yom Kippur, Sukkot begins, regarded as the celebration of the anticipated Divine "good judgment" that was hopefully granted on the [[High Holy Days]] (Rosh Hashanah + the [[Ten Days of Repentance]] + [[Yom Kippur]]) and then Hoshana Rabbah + Shemini Atzeret + Simchat Torah culminate the process of open celebration and festivity with joyous prayers, festive meals, and hours of dancing holding the Torah scroll(s) at the center of attention during the ''hakafot'' in the synagogue.<ref name="oucycle">{{cite web |last1=Shaviv |first1=Rabbi Yehuda |title=Sukkot in the Cycle of Festivals |url=https://www.ou.org/holidays/sukkot/sukkot_in_the_cycle_of_festivals/ |publisher=Orthodox Union |access-date=September 28, 2018 |archive-date=September 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928201114/https://www.ou.org/holidays/sukkot/sukkot_in_the_cycle_of_festivals/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Evolution of observances and customs==
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[[File:Simhat Torah 17th century.jpg|thumb|Throwing cakes to children on Simḥat Torah, by [[Johann Leusden]] in ''Philologus Hebræo-Mixtus,'' [[Utrecht]], 1657]]
Like most Jewish holidays of Biblical origin, Shemini Atzeret is observed for one day within the [[Land of Israel]], and traditionally for [[Yom tov sheni shel galuyot|two days]] outside Israel. [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] communities generally celebrate this and most Biblical holidays for one day, even outside Israel.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Second Festival Day and Reform Judaism (Responsum 5759.7)|journal=CCAR Responsa|year=1999|url=http://ccarnet.org/responsa/nyp-no-5759-7/|
===Simchat Torah===
{{Main|Simchat Torah}}
The practice of reading the last of the [[weekly Torah portion]]s on Shemini Atzeret is documented in the Talmud.<ref>{{cite web|title=Megillah 31a|url=http://e-daf.com/index.asp|work=E-DAF.com|
The Simchat Torah celebration of today is of later [[Rabbinic Judaism|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 [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]] as the ''[[haftarah]]'' of the day is mentioned there. The reading of the first section of [[Book of Genesis|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 [[halacha|''halachic'']] work ''[[Arba'ah Turim]].''<ref name=rows>{{cite book|title=Arba'ah Turim|page=227|url=
In the 20th century, Simchat Torah came to symbolize the public assertion of Jewish identity.<ref>Zenner, Walter P. Persistence and Flexibility: Anthropological Perspectives on the American Jewish Experience. [[SUNY Press]], 1988. p.85</ref> [[History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union|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 [[Refusenik (Soviet Union)|refuseniks]] and Soviet Jewry.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sovietjewry.org/gallery_photo.php?photo=9 |title=Soviet Jewry |publisher=Soviet Jewry |date=October 14, 1973 |
Outside Israel, where Shemini Atzeret is observed for two days,{{sfn|Hoffman|2011|p=41}} Simchat Torah is deferred to the second day, when all agree there is no obligation of ''sukkah''.
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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,<ref name="Egg"/> 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.{{sfn|Sacks|2009}} When Shemini Atzeret falls on the Shabbat, the Scroll of [[Ecclesiastes]], or Kohelet ({{lang|he|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, unlike Passover and Shavuot, the full length 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 [[tithe#Hebrew Bible|tithes]] and ''[[terumah]]''), which are due at this time of the year. The Haftarah describes the people's blessing of King Solomon at the end of the dedication of the First Temple.{{sfn|Cogan|Weiss|2002|p=162}}
====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''.<ref>''Shulchan Aruch,'' ''Orach Chayim'' 668</ref> 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,
====Eating in the ''sukkah''====
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===In Karaite Judaism===
For [[Karaite (Jewish sect)|Karaites]], followers of a [[Jewish religious movements|branch of Judaism]] that accepts the [[Tanakh|Written Law]], but not the [[Oral Torah|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.<ref name="karaite">{{cite web|title=Hag Ha-Sukkot|url=http://www.karaite-korner.org/sukkot.shtml|publisher=The Karaite Korner|
Additionally, calculation of the [[Jewish calendar#Karaite calendar|Karaite calendar]] is not based on astronomical calculations, but only on direct observation of the New Moon and the [[Aviv|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 [[Jewish calendar|(conventional, Rabbinic) Jewish calendar]].<ref name=Kholiday>{{cite web|title=Holidays and New Moons|url=http://www.karaite-korner.org/holiday_dates.shtml|publisher=The Karaite Korner|
===In the Samaritan tradition===
[[Samaritans]],
==See also==
* [[Christian observances of Jewish holidays#Shemini|Christian observances of Jewish holidays (Shemini Atzeret)]]▼
* [[Jewish holidays
▲*[[Christian observances of Jewish holidays#Shemini|Christian observances of Jewish holidays (Shemini Atzeret)]]
== Explanatory notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
==
{{Reflist}}
== General and cited bibliography ==
* {{
* {{
▲*{{cite book |last1=Bank |first1=Richard |last2=Wiggins |first2=Jane |title=101 Things Everyone Should Know about Judaism: Beliefs, Practices, Customs, and Traditions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9q4EXEhpiAQC&pg=PA139&dq=Shemini+Atzeret#q=Shemini%20Atzeret |accessdate= |year=2012 |publisher=[[Adams Media]] |location= |isbn=978-1440518645 |page= |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Cogan|first1=Lainie Blum|last2=Weiss|first2=Judy|title=Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, & Strategies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WlV9j5AVt18C&pg=PA162|year=2002|publisher=Behrman House, Inc|isbn=978-0-86705-054-7}}
▲*{{cite book|last=Brener|first=Anne|title=Mourning & Mitzvah: A Guided Journal for Walking the Mourner's Path Through Grief to Healing : with Over 60 Guided Exercises|url=https://archive.org/details/mourningmitzvahg00bren|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/mourningmitzvahg00bren/page/221 221]|year=2001|publisher=Jewish Lights Publishing|isbn=978-1-58023-113-8|ref=harv}}
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
==Further reading==
* {{Jewish Encyclopedia|title=Shemini 'Azeret|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13559-shemini-azeret|no-prescript=1}}
==External links==
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[[Category:Shemini Atzeret| ]]
[[Category:Tishrei observances]]▼
[[Category:Hebrew names of Jewish holy days]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law]]
▲[[Category:Tishrei observances]]
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