Shemini Atzeret
Shemini Atzeret | |
---|---|
Official name | שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶֽרֶת Translation: "The eighth [day] of Assembly" |
Observed by | Jews and Samaritans |
Type | Jewish, Samaritan |
Celebrations | Prayer for rain; includes the celebration of Simchat Torah |
Date | 22nd day of Tishrei[1] |
2023 date | Sunset, 6 October – nightfall, 7 October[2] |
2024 date | Sunset, 23 October – nightfall, 24 October[2] |
2025 date | Sunset, 13 October – nightfall, 14 October[2] |
2026 date | Sunset, 2 October – nightfall, 3 October[2] |
Related to | Culmination of Sukkot (Tabernacles) |
Shemini Atzeret (שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת—"Eighth [day of] Assembly") is a Jewish holiday. It is celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei in the Land of Israel,[1] and on the 22nd and 23rd outside the Land, usually coinciding with late September or early October. It directly follows the Jewish festival of Sukkot which is celebrated for seven days, and thus Shemini Atzeret 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.[3]
Outside the Land of Israel, this is further complicated by the additional day added to all Biblical holidays except Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.[4] 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 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.[5]
Karaite Jews and Samaritans also observe Shemini Atzeret, as they do all Biblical holidays. However, it may occur on a different day from the conventional Jewish celebration, due to differences in calendar calculations. Karaites and Samaritans do not include the rabbinical innovation of Simchat Torah in their observance of the day; and do not observe a second day (of any holiday) in the Diaspora.
Biblical origins
According to
Significance
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, which it immediately follows. For example, Sukkot is described in detail in Leviticus 23:33–43.[10] Shemini Atzeret is mentioned there only in 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 eighth day.[note 1] It is therefore 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 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 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.[13] Second, the holiday is referred to distinctively as "Shemini Atzeret" and not as "Sukkot" in the prayer service.[14]
Immediately below that discussion, however, the Talmud describes Shemini Atzeret as the "end holiday of the festival [of Sukkot]".
Shemini Atzeret is therefore simultaneously "a holiday in its own right" and the "end holiday of [Sukkot]".[12]
Atzeret: A day for assembly—or pause
Spiritually, Shemini Atzeret can also be seen to "guard the seven days of Sukkot".[15] 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.[6] 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.[16] 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.[17][18]
A different, but related, interpretation is offered by Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, who translates atzeret as "retain": "During the holiday season, we have experienced a heightened religious fervor and a most devout spirit. This last day is devoted to a recapitulation of the message of these days, with the hope that it will be retained the rest of the year".[19]
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 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 seven hoshanot with their own seven hakafot, the "seven processions".[20] This sets the stage, in ritual, mood, tenor and a heightened sense of festivity, for the days that follow it—namely, of Shemini Atzeret, when seven hakafot are again performed.[note 3]
and commenting on this fact, the Rabbis in tractate Pesahim say that:
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.[6]
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.[22]
Evolution of observances and customs
The Torah explicitly mentions Shemini Atzeret three times, all in the context of Sukkot.[23] 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.[24] (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
According to the
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.[28] The second day observed outside Israel is called Simchat Torah (see next section).
Simchat Torah
The practice of reading the last of the weekly Torah portions on Shemini Atzeret is documented in the Talmud.[29] 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
In the 20th century, Simchat Torah came to symbolize the public assertion of Jewish identity.
Outside Israel, where Shemini Atzeret is observed for two days,[36] 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,[4] 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
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 (
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.[40]
There are, however, those who have different
Other customs
The Land of Israel's agriculture depends heavily on rains that come only seasonally, so Jewish prayers for rain, such as Tefillat
Observance in non-rabbinical Jewish traditions
As a biblically-mentioned holiday, Shemini Atzeret is also observed by Karaites and Samaritans:
In Karaite Judaism
For
In the Samaritan tradition
, 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.[50]
See also
- Jewish holidays 2000–2050, showing Gregorian dates for the holidays
- Christian observances of Jewish holidays (Shemini Atzeret)
Explanatory notes
- ^ In the terminology of the modern Hebrew calendar, Sukkot occurs on 15–21 Tishrei, and Shemini Atzeret on 22 Tishrei.
- ).
- ^ The hakafot of Shemini Atzeret are those of the Simchat Torah celebration, which occurs in Israel on the single day of Shemini Atzeret. Outside the Land of Israel, the hakafot are performed by some congregations on the night at the beginning of Shemini Atzeret,[21] and then by all on both the night and during the day of Simchat Torah. See § Simchat Torah below.
Citations
- ^ a b See Leviticus 23:34,36 and text below.
- ^ a b c d "Jewish Holidays – Hebcal Jewish Calendar". www.hebcal.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- ^ Bank & Wiggins 2012, p. 139.
- ^ a b Talmud, Beitza 4b.
- ^ Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 669
- ^ a b c d e f Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Shemini 'Azeret". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk and Wagnalls.
- ^ Leviticus 23:36, Numbers 29:35, Nehemiah 8:18 and 2Chronicles 7:9
- ^ See Amos 5:21, Isaiah 1:13 and Joel 1:14.
- ^ See Deuteronomy 16:8
- ^ Leviticus 23:33–43
- ^ Leviticus 23:40–42
- ^ a b c See Tractate Sukkah 48a
- ^ Sacks 2009, pp. 306–7 and 1186.
- ^ a b Sacks 2009, pp. 760–3.
- ^ Gurary & Kaplan 2000, p. 83-93.
- ^ Rashi on Leviticus 23:36.
- ^ Mayer, Sally (Autumn 2011). "Why did Shemini Atzeret become Simchat Torah?" (PDF). YU Torah To-Go (Sukkot To-Go 5772). New York: Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future: 29. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 29, 2013.
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: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Variants are quoted in Isaacs (2000, p. 88) and in The Jewish Encyclopedia[6]
- ^ Quoted in Isaacs (2000, p. 93).
- ^ "HOSHA'NA RABBAH ("the great Hosha'na")". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk and Wagnalls. 1901–1906. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
- ^ Mainly in chassidic congregations. See "Simchat Torah Hakafot Procedure". Chabad.org. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ Shaviv, Rabbi Yehuda. "Sukkot in the Cycle of Festivals". Orthodox Union. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ See Leviticus 23:33–43, with Shemini Atzeret mentioned in verses 36 and 39, and Numbers 29, with Shemini Atzeret featured in verses 35–38.
- ^ Ribiat 1999.
- ^ 2Chronicles 7:9 and 1Kings 8
- ^ Nehemiah 8:18
- ^ 2Maccabees 10:1–9
- ^ "The Second Festival Day and Reform Judaism (Responsum 5759.7)". CCAR Responsa. 1999. Archived from the original on July 17, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ "Megillah 31a". E-DAF.com (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
- ^ Jacob ben Asher (c. 1270-c. 1340). "Orach Chayim 669". Arba'ah Turim (in Hebrew) (1610 Hannover ed.). p. 227. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Simḥat Torah". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- ^ See, for example, "Holiday Calendar". United States Embassy Tel Aviv. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ Zenner, Walter P. Persistence and Flexibility: Anthropological Perspectives on the American Jewish Experience. SUNY Press, 1988. p.85
- ^ "Soviet Jewry". Soviet Jewry. October 14, 1973. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ Kordova, Shoshana (September 27, 2013). "Word of the Day / Hakafot shniyot". Haaretz. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
- ^ Hoffman 2011, p. 41.
- ^ Sacks 2009.
- ^ Cogan & Weiss 2002, p. 162.
- ^ Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 668
- ^ a b c d Jachter, Rabbi Howard (September 29, 2001). "Lulav and Sukkah on Shemini Atzeret". Kol Torah. 11 (4). Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
- ^ Kagan, Yisrael M. Mishnah Berurah (in Hebrew). 668:6. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ Nulman 1996, p. 322.
- ^ Eisenberg 2010, pp. 239–40.
- ^ Kunin 2000, p. 267.
- ^ Brener 2001, p. 222.
- ^ "Hag Ha-Sukkot". The Karaite Korner. Archived from the original on October 10, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
- ^ Congregation Oraḥ Ṣaddiqim (Karaite) Archived December 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (Site unavailable Friday and Saturday in respect of different start/end times for Shabbat possible around the planet)
- ^ "History – Karaite Jews of America". Karaite Jews of America. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
- ^ a b "Holidays and New Moons". The Karaite Korner. Archived from the original on May 27, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
- ^ The Samaritan-Israelites and Their Religion Archived January 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Volume 1, "Educational Guide", 2004. Accessed July 26, 2013.
General bibliography
- Bank, Richard; Wiggins, Jane (2012). 101 Things Everyone Should Know about Judaism: Beliefs, Practices, Customs, and Traditions. ISBN 978-1440518645.
- Brener, Anne (2001). Mourning & Mitzvah: A Guided Journal for Walking the Mourner's Path Through Grief to Healing : with Over 60 Guided Exercises. Jewish Lights Publishing. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-58023-113-8.
- Cogan, Lainie Blum; Weiss, Judy (2002). Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, & Strategies. Behrman House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-86705-054-7.
- Eisenberg, Ronald L. (2010). Jewish Traditions: A JPS Guide. Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 978-0-8276-1039-2.
- Gurary, Guraryeh; Kaplan, Binyomin (2000). The Jewish holy days in Chasidic philosophy. J. Aronson. ISBN 978-0-7657-6120-0.
- Hoffman, C. M. (2011). Judaism Made Simple: Flash. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-4441-4144-3.
- Isaacs, Ronald H. (2000). Every Person's Guide to Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah. Every Person's Guide Series. Jason Aronson. ISBN 978-0-7657-6045-6.
- Kunin, Seth Daniel (2000). Themes and Issues in Judaism. Continuum. ISBN 978-0-304-33758-3.
- Nulman, Macy (1996). The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer: The Ashkenazic and Sephardic Rites. Jason Aronson, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-4616-3124-8.
- Ribiat, Rabbi Dovid (1999). ספר ל״ט מלאכות [The 39 Melochos]. Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 978-1-58330-368-9.
- Sacks, Lord Jonathan (2009), The Koren Siddur (Nusaḥ Ashkenaz, 1st Hebrew/English ed.), Jerusalem: Koren Publishers, ISBN 9789653010673.
- Wylen, Stephen M. (2000). Settings of Silver: An Introduction to Judaism. Paulist Press. ISBN 978-0-8091-3960-6.
Further reading
- Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Shemini 'Azeret". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.