Content deleted Content added
m added ipa |
DocWatson42 (talk | contribs) m →See also: Corrected an instance of alphabetization. |
||
| (9 intermediate revisions by 9 users not shown) | |||
Line 12:
| longtype = Jewish, Samaritan
| date = 22nd day of [[Tishrei]]<ref name=topdate>See {{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:34,36|HE}} and text below.</ref>
| date{{LASTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=last}}<ref name="hebcal.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.hebcal.com/holidays/|title=Jewish Holidays – Hebcal Jewish Calendar|website=www.hebcal.com|access-date=September 30, 2018|archive-date=September 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910164532/https://www.hebcal.com/holidays/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=current}}<ref name="hebcal.com"/>
| date{{NEXTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next}}<ref name="hebcal.com"/>
Line 21:
}}
'''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.
Line 35:
{{anchor|Shemini}}
===''Shemini:'' "Eighth Day" of Sukkot===
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.
Line 48:
==={{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 ''[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]''<ref name=JESA />}}
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 encyclopedia
''[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' states that during the time of the [[Second Temple]], the festival of [[Shavuot]] received the specific name of "'Atzarta" as cited by [[Josephus]] in [[Antiquities of the Jews]] (iii. 10, § 6) and in the [[Talmud]]'s tractate [[Pesahim]] (42b, 68b), signifying "the closing feast" of [[Passover]].<ref name=JESA/> and commenting on this fact, the Rabbis in tractate Pesahim say that:
Line 60:
<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==
Line 74:
[[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/|access-date=July 15, 2013|archive-date=July 17, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130717080730/http://ccarnet.org/responsa/nyp-no-5759-7/|url-status=live}}</ref> The second day observed outside Israel is called ''Simchat Torah'' (see next section).
===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|access-date=October 9, 2013|language=he|archive-date=October 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008024654/http://www.e-daf.com/index.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> That Talmudic source does not refer to the occasion as "Simchat Torah", but simply as [the second day of] Shemini Atzeret.
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=https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=42478&st=&pgnum=227|author=Jacob ben Asher (c. 1270-c. 1340)|edition=1610 Hannover|author-link=Jacob ben Asher|access-date=October 8, 2013|chapter=Orach Chayim 669|language=he|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192629/http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=42478&st=&pgnum=227|url-status=live}}</ref> By the 16th century CE, most of the features of the modern celebration of Simchat Torah were in place in some form.<ref>{{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia |title=Simḥat Torah |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13735-simhat-torah}}</ref> 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".<ref>See, for example, {{cite web|title=Holiday Calendar|url=https://il.usembassy.gov/holiday-calendar/|publisher=United States Embassy Tel Aviv|access-date=January 22, 2018|archive-date=March 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326172409/https://il.usembassy.gov/holiday-calendar/|url-status=live}}</ref>
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 |access-date=September 25, 2013 |archive-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012184843/https://www.sovietjewry.org/gallery_photo.php?photo=9 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 [[Activities prohibited on Shabbat|festival work restrictions]], since the festival is over in Israel according to Jewish law.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kordova|first=Shoshana|title=Word of the Day / Hakafot shniyot|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/word-of-the-day/1.549188|access-date=October 9, 2013|newspaper=Haaretz|date=September 27, 2013|archive-date=October 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007231407/http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/word-of-the-day/1.549188|url-status=live}}</ref>
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''.
Line 95:
====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, 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.<ref name="Kol Torah">{{cite journal|last=Jachter|first=Rabbi Howard|title=Lulav and Sukkah on Shemini Atzeret|journal=Kol Torah|date=September 29, 2001|volume=11|issue=4|url=https://www.koltorah.org/halachah/lulav-and-sukkah-on-shemini-atzeret-by-rabbi-chaim-jachter|access-date=July 19, 2013|archive-date=July 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719203450/https://www.koltorah.org/halachah/lulav-and-sukkah-on-shemini-atzeret-by-rabbi-chaim-jachter|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 the rabbis ruled that one does not sleep in the ''sukkah'' on Shemini Atzeret, even outside the Land of Israel.<ref name="Kol Torah" /> Other rabbis, such as the [[Vilna Gaon]], ruled that one should sleep in the ''sukkah'' on Shemini Atzeret outside the Land of Israel.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kagan|first1=Yisrael M.|author1-link=Yisrael Meir Kagan|title=Mishnah Berurah|at=668:6|url=http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=49628&st=&pgnum=270|access-date=December 22, 2013|language=he|archive-date=December 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224112227/http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=49628&st=&pgnum=270|url-status=live}}</ref>
====Eating in the ''sukkah''====
Line 110:
===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|access-date=July 26, 2013|archive-date=October 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010000721/http://karaite-korner.org/sukkot.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Nevertheless, the Karaite cycle of [[weekly Torah reading]], like the Rabbinic cycle, reaches its conclusion on Shemini Atzeret.<ref>[http://www.orahsaddiqim.org/halakha/HolyDays/Torah_Reading.shtml Congregation Oraḥ Ṣaddiqim (Karaite)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219110710/http://orahsaddiqim.org/halakha/HolyDays/Torah_Reading.shtml |date=December 19, 2010 }} (Site unavailable Friday and Saturday in respect of different start/end times for Shabbat possible around the planet)</ref> Accordingly, in at least some Karaite circles, this day is referred to by the name of ''Simchat Torah.''<ref>{{cite web|title=History – Karaite Jews of America|url=http://www.karaites.org/history.html#simhat|publisher=Karaite Jews of America|access-date=July 26, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716025636/http://www.karaites.org/history.html#simhat|archive-date=July 16, 2011}}</ref>
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|access-date=July 26, 2013|archive-date=May 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527013220/http://www.karaite-korner.org/holiday_dates.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> <!--<ref name=Kholiday />Want not to lose this reference in case we want to go back to it at some point<ref name="Calendars">{{cite web|title=Moetzet Hakhamim Official Holidays Dates 2011–2012|url=http://www.kjuonline.com/calendars.htm|publisher=Karaite Jewish University|access-date=July 26, 2013}}. Or this one http://www.orahsaddiqim.org/Calendar_Files/Calendar_Hodesh_HaShevii_5775.htm</ref>--> 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.<ref name=Kholiday />
===In the Samaritan tradition===
[[Samaritans]], i.e. the northern Israelites who split from Jews during the reign of [[Rehoboam|King Rehoboam]], recognise only the first [[Samaritan Torah|five]] (or [[Book of Joshua (Samaritan)|six]]) books of the Bible as [[Development of the Hebrew Bible canon|canonical]], and thus celebrate only one day of Shemini Aṣereth.
<blockquote>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.<ref>[http://shomron0.tripod.com/educationalguide.pdf ''The Samaritan-Israelites and Their Religion''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120105635/http://shomron0.tripod.com/educationalguide.pdf |date=January 20, 2012 }}, Volume 1, "Educational Guide", 2004. Accessed July 26, 2013.</ref></blockquote>
==See also==
* [[Jewish holidays 2000–2050]], showing Gregorian dates for the holidays▼
* [[Christian observances of Jewish holidays#Shemini|Christian observances of Jewish holidays (Shemini Atzeret)]]
▲* [[Jewish holidays 2000–2050]], showing Gregorian dates for the holidays
== Explanatory notes ==
Line 128:
{{Reflist}}
== General and cited bibliography ==
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
==Further reading==
| |||