Shemini Atzeret

Shemini Atzeret (שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת) is a Jewish holiday that falls on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, typically in late September or early October. It comes right after the seven-day festival of Sukkot, making it the eighth day of assembly. The holiday is both connected to Sukkot and independent: it focuses on the spiritual side of the preceding festival, yet stands as its own holy day. Outside Israel, this dual nature gets more complicated because an extra day is added to most biblical holidays (except Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur).

As a result, Shemini Atzeret is sometimes mistaken for the eighth day of Sukkot in the Diaspora, leading to detailed discussions about which holiday’s practices should apply. The most well-known feature of Shemini Atzeret is Simchat Torah, but this celebration is a later rabbinical addition. In Israel, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are observed together on a single day, and the names are used interchangeably.

In Karaite Judaism

In the Diaspora, Simchat Torah is moved to the second day; usually only the first day is called Shemini Atzeret, while the second is called Simchat Torah. Karaite Jews and Samaritans also observe Shemini Atzeret, as they do all biblical holidays. However, because their calendar calculations differ, the date may not match the conventional Jewish celebration. Karaites and Samaritans do not include Simchat Torah, which they see as a rabbinical innovation, and they do not observe a second day for any holiday in the Diaspora.

Biblical origins

According to The Jewish Encyclopedia, the term atzeret appears for this day in four places in the Hebrew Bible, all within sections known as the Priestly Code. It is not mentioned in Deuteronomy 16. Like atzarah, atzeret means “day of assembly,” from the root atzar (“to hold back” or “keep in”).

Shemini: "Eighth Day" of Sukkot

The same name is given to the seventh day of Passover, and because both Shemini Atzeret and that day are called atzeret, the term came to mean “the closing festival.” Significance Shemini means “eighth,” referring to the day’s position relative to Sukkot. In the Torah, Shemini Atzeret is always mentioned in the context of Sukkot—for example, in Leviticus 23:33–43, it appears only in verses 36 and 39. It is often assumed to be simply the eighth day of Sukkot, but that is only partly accurate. Sukkot is marked by the sukkah (booth) and the Four Species, but the Torah specifies using those objects for only seven days, not eight.

The Talmud calls Shemini Atzeret “a holiday in its own right” (regel bifnei atzmo). The Talmud lists six ways Shemini Atzeret differs from Sukkot. Four relate to the Temple service, but two remain relevant today: the Shehecheyanu blessing is recited on the night of Shemini Atzeret, as on the first night of other major holidays, and the holiday is referred to in prayers as “Shemini Atzeret,” not “Sukkot.” Yet the Talmud also calls it the “end holiday of the festival [of Sukkot],” meaning that Sukkot’s obligations of joy and recitation of Hallel (Psalms 113–118) last eight days. This is why the liturgical name “Time of Our Happiness” (zman simḥatenu) continues to be used for Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

Atzeret: A day for assembly—or pause

So Shemini Atzeret is both “a holiday in its own right” and the “end holiday of Sukkot.” Spiritually, Shemini Atzeret can be seen as “guarding” the seven days of Sukkot. The word atzeret is usually translated as “assembly,” but it shares a root with atzor, meaning “stop” or “tarry.” The day is understood as a time when the Jewish people “tarries” to spend an extra day with God after Sukkot. Rashi tells a parable of a king who invites his sons to dine for several days, then asks them to stay another because it is hard to part.

In this view, Sukkot is a universal holiday, but Shemini Atzeret is for the Jewish people alone—a modest day honoring God’s special relationship with them. Another interpretation, from Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, translates atzeret as “retain”: after the heightened religious fervor of the holiday season, this last day is devoted to recapping the message, hoping it will be kept throughout the year. The day before Shemini Atzeret is the last day of Sukkot, called Hoshana Rabbah. Though it falls within the intermediate days of Sukkot (Chol HaMoed), Hoshana Rabbah has extra prayers and rituals and is treated much more like a full holiday.