Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah

Shemini Atzeret is a Jewish holiday also known as The Eighth (Day) of Assembly, which takes place the day after the Sukkot festival, where gratitude for the fall harvest is deeply internalized. Simchat Torah marks the end of the weekly readings of the Torah. The Torah is read from chapter one of Genesis to Deuteronomy 34 and then back to chapter one again, in acknowledgement of the words of the Torah being a never-ending cycle.

Why is it important?

Shemini Atzeret directly follows the Jewish festival of Sukkot which is celebrated for seven days, and thus is literally the eighth day. It is a separate—yet connected—holy day devoted to the spiritual aspects of the festival of Sukkot. Part of its duality as a holy day is that it is simultaneously considered to be both connected to Sukkot and also a separate festival in its own right.

Outside the Land of Israel, an additional day added to all Biblical holidays, therefore the first day of Shemini Atzeret coincides with the eighth day of Sukkot, leading to sometimes involved analysis as to which practices of each holiday are to apply.

What is Atzeret?

An unclear origin

Two cryptic references in the Torah cause the confusion about the status of Shemini Atzeret. In both Leviticus and Numbers, God commands that the eighth (shemini) day –referring to Sukkot – is to be a "sacred occasion" and an atzeret, generally translated as "solemn gathering."

A reasonable explanation

The most appealing depiction of the holiday may be that of Samson Raphael Hirsch, a 19th-century Orthodox rabbi who lived in Germany. He infers the meaning of the holiday from the word atzeret, which he renders as "to gather" or "to store up."

Accordingly, on this eighth day of Sukkot, the final day of celebration, we must store up the sentiments of gratitude and devotion acquired throughout the entire fall holiday season; nearly two months will pass until we celebrate another holiday, that of Hanukkah.

A distinct observance from Sukkot

An Orthodox German rabbi, Samson Raphael Hirsch, infers from the word "atzeret" that when the Talmud (a central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law) declares the eighth day from the beginning of Sukkot to be a separate holiday, it means we are to store up the gratitude and devotion cultivated earlier in the week. The Talmud describes six ways in which Shemini Atzeret differs from Sukkot. Four of these relate principally to the Temple service. Two others remain relevant to modern celebration of the holiday.

source: Wikipedia.org

Shemini Atzeret

Hebrew: ήÍ░ÎüÎ×Í┤ÎÖÎáÍ┤ÎÖ ÎóÍ▓ΪÍοÍάÔÇÄ—"Eighth [day of] Assembly"

When Shemini Atzeret is mentioned in the Torah, it is always mentioned in the context of the seven-day festival of Sukkot,  which it immediately follows. Therefore, it is simultaneously considered "a holiday in its own right" and the "end holiday of Sukkot"

Simchat Torah

Hebrew: ήÍ┤ÎéÎ×Í░ÎùÍÀά άÍ╝ÎòÍ╣οͩÎö, lit., "Rejoicing with/of the Torah"

is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. The celebration of Simchat Torah is the most distinctive feature of Atzeret, 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 Diaspora, the celebration of Simchat Torah is deferred to the second day of the holiday. Commonly, only the first day is referred to as Shemini Atzeret, while the second is called Simchat Torah.

A day for assembly—or pause

Shemini Atzeret is a modest holiday and is characterized as a day when the Jewish people "tarries" to spend an additional day with God at the end of Sukkot

How Shemini Atzeret is Different from Sukkot

Although the observances of Shemini Atzeret generally share the characteristics of the rest of Sukkot, there are some significant differences. Its spiritual celebration combines both thanksgiving for the harvest and prayer for rain to assure next year's harvest.

In Old Testament times a distinction was made regarding sacrifices: whereas 70 sacrifices were offered on the first seven days of Sukkoth to signify the "70 nations" constituting all humanity, a single ram and a single bullock were sacrificed on the eighth day to symbolize Israel's special relationship to God.

Furthermore, there is no more shaking of the Four Species. Although meals are held in the sukkah (though customs vary), no blessings are associated with these activities. Unlike many other holidays, the observance of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are centered in the synagogue and community.

Simchat Torah

On Simchat Torah, congregations carry the Torah around the synagogue in a celebrational procession. This is the day to interact personally with God's given word. In Israel today, and for Reform Jews in the rest of the world, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are celebrated on the same day.

Traditions and customs

Beginning on Shemini Atzeret and lasting until Pesach (Passover), a short prayer for rain is inserted into the second blessing of the Amidah (a central prayer of the Jewish liturgy). It is traditional to include the Yizkor, or memorial service, as part of the liturgy for this day. Simchat Torah is characterized by joyful dancing with the Torah.

Why pray for rain?

The Land of Israel's agriculture depends heavily on rains that come only seasonally, so Jewish prayers for rain are prominent during the Land of Israel's rainy (winter) half of the year. The rainy season starts just after the fall Jewish holidays. In most Ashkenazi synagogues, the cantor is clad in a white kittel, a white cotton robe symbol of piety, owing to the vitality of a positive judgment for rain.

The conclusion of a process

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.

An anticipation of the celebration

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)

The end of the festivities

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 scrolls at the center of attention in the synagogue.