Shemini Atzeret

Shemini Atzeret (שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת – "Eighth [day of] Assembly"; Sefardic/Israeli pron. shemini atzèret; Ashkenazic pron. shmini-atsères) is a Jewish holiday. It is celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei in the Land of Israel, and on the 22nd and 23rd outside the Land, usually coinciding with late September and/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.

Outside the Land of Israel, this is further complicated by the additional day added to all Biblical holidays except Yom Kippur. The first day of Shemini Atzeret therefore coincides with the eighth day of Sukkot outside of the Land of Israel, leading to sometimes involved analysis as to which practices of each holiday are to apply.

The Eighth Day

The eighth day may refer to:

As a proper name, The Eighth Day may refer to:

See also

Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah (also Simkhes Toreh, Hebrew: שִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה, lit., "Rejoicing of/[with 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. Simchat Torah is a component of the Biblical Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret ("Eighth Day of Assembly"), which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei (occurring in mid-September to early October on the Gregorian calendar).

The main celebration of Simchat Torah takes place in the synagogue during evening and morning services. In Orthodox as well as many Conservative congregations, this is the only time of year on which the Torah scrolls are taken out of the ark and read at night. In the morning, the last parashah of Deuteronomy and the first parashah of Genesis are read in the synagogue. On each occasion, when the ark is opened, the worshippers leave their seats to dance and sing with the Torah scrolls in a joyous celebration that can last for several hours.