Shemini Atzeret: A holiday of Holding

By Max Hollander

On the eighth day you shall hold a solemn gathering; you shall not work at your occupations You shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to God; one bull, one ram, seven yearling lambs, without blemish The meal offerings and libations for the bull, the ram, and the lambs, in the quantities prescribed, and one goat for a sin offering—in addition to the regular burnt offering, its meal offering and libation.

The last day of Yom Tov is called "Simchat Torah" because we rejoice on it, making a festive meal in honor of the finishing of the Torah It is customary for the person who finishes the Torah and the one who starts Genesis to make a donation and invite everybody to a party (Tur) It is customary in these countries to take all of the Torahs out of the Ark on Simchat Torah at night and in the morning and to sing songs and praises.

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This is tragic. It is tragic because — while Simchat Torah is certainly a beautiful holiday in its own right and an occasion worth celebrating — in many shuls it comes at the cost of the powerful religious and communal experience Shemini Atzeret can offer.

Rabbinic tradition attempts to describe the nature of Shemini Atzeret with two different parables. The first parable appears in Masechet Sukkah:

“Rabbi Elazar said: These seventy bulls [that are sacrificed as additional offerings over the seven days of Sukkot]. To what do they correspond? They correspond to the seventy nations [and are brought to atone for their sins and to hasten world peace.] Why is a single bull [sacrificed on the Eighth Day of Assembly?] It corresponds to the singular nation, Israel A parable: A king of flesh and blood who said to his servants: Prepare me a great feast. On the last day, he said to his beloved servant: Prepare me a small feast so that I can derive pleasure from you [alone]. ” (Sukkah 55b)

Rabbi Elazar said: These seventy bulls [that are sacrificed as additional offerings over the seven days of Sukkot]. To what do they correspond? They correspond to the seventy nations [and are brought to atone for their sins and to hasten world peace ] Why is a single bull [sacrificed on the Eighth Day of Assembly?] It corresponds to the singular nation, Israel A parable: A king of flesh and blood who said to his servants: Prepare me a great feast. On the last day, he said to his beloved servant: Prepare me a small feast so that I can derive pleasure from you [alone]. (Sukkah 55b)

This Gemara serves as the basis for the theory of Shemini Atzeret by many great commentators, including the Esh Kodesh, the Zohar, the Midrash Tanchuma, and Rashi. It is used to define Shemini Atzeret as a time of intimacy with God. This intimacy comes after seven long days of Sukkot full of sacrifices which, according to this Gemara, are made on behalf of the other nations of the world.

Shemini Atzeret is our chance to have a more exclusive celebration with God In Rashi’ s comments on the Gemara above, he writes: “I (God) don’t benefit or relax from theirs [sacrifices about them], but rather yours [sacrifices about you.]”

However, in the holiday’ s description in Vayikra, the Chizkuni inserts a different parable from the one in Masechet Sukkah. This parable lends a different atmosphere to Shemini Atzeret that can impact how we should embrace and celebrate this holiday.

““It is a day of special assembly;” this is a parable describing a king whose children came to visit him for the first time; at that time the king said to them: “When are you going to visit me again?” they said to him: “in about a couple of months. ”Thereupon the king took his leave of them. When the children came again to see their father the king, he asked again when they would come to see him again. When they said that they would come again in about four months, the king again thanked them for their visit and bid them farewell. When this story repeated itself a third time and on that occasion the children told him that they would not visit him again until after about seven months, the king begged them to delay their departure for at least one additional day. They agreed and did so. He gave them a special blessing for having spent the extra time with him.”

“It is a day of special assembly;” this is a parable describing a king whose children came to visit him for the first time; at that time the king said to them: “When are you going to visit me again?” they said to him: “in about a couple of months ”Thereupon the king took his leave of them. When the children came again to see their father the king, he asked again when they would come to see him again. When they said that they would come again in about four months, the king again thanked them for their visit and bid them farewell When this story repeated itself a third time and on that occasion the children told him that they would not visit him again until after about seven months, the king begged them to delay their departure for at least one additional day. They agreed and did so. He gave them a special blessing for having spent the extra time with him.

Reading these parables side-by-side, there is a tangible difference in the atmospheres they describe The former paints Shemini Atzeret as an extension of an ongoing party with a more exclusive guest list, while the latter isn’t a party at all.

The latter source captures an emotional moment of muted longing by God who is unable to bid the Jewish people, His children, farewell. In this parable, God begs us to spend one more day with Him in Jerusalem. Other versions of this parable more powerfully imagine God as saying “Children, I beg of you, stay one day more with me; it is so hard for me to part from you!”

The second parable offers a very powerful insight into the atmosphere that may have permeated Shemini Atzeret before the advent of Simchat Torah; the insight was subsequently lost in the chaos of Simchat Torah.

One may argue — and many have — that our collective celebration of the Torah is how we have chosen to express our love for God. But I don’t interpret the emotional experience presented by the second parable as one of levity and dancing customary on Simchat Torah. Throughout Tanach, the word “Atzeret” is often translated as a solemn assembly, an atmosphere of thoughtfulness and emotional intensity. We might liken Shemini Atzeret to a goodbye hug that lasts a few seconds longer than normal — a hug that lingers, not because we don’t know when to let go but because we don’t want to

Shemini Atzeret stands at the end of a long period of intense togetherness and the beginning of a distance between the Jewish people and God, who would not be “together” again until Pesach. This parable encourages us to recognize that distance and cleave to God. In Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch’ s commentary on the Torah, he describes the deeper significance of Shemini Atzeret: “On the eighth day, the sounds of the public rejoicing of the Sukkot festival cease. No Longer do we contemplate in a state of rapture the distant future of all mankind’ s salvation. Rather, we quietly assemble before God before we return to the reality of the still unrefined, imperfect present. Only then can we return to the service of God of everyday life, for our consciousness has been enriched and elevated by the whole cycle of the festivals, and the spirit that inspired us when we were before God will not depart from us in all the trials that we are likely to face.

On the eighth day, the sounds of the public rejoicing of the Sukkot festival cease. No longer do we contemplate in a state of rapture the distant future of all mankind’ s salvation. Rather, we quietly assemble before God before we return to the reality of the still unrefined, imperfect present. Only then can we return to the service of God of everyday life, for our consciousness has been enriched and elevated by the whole cycle of the festivals, and the spirit that inspired us when we were before God will not depart from us in all the trials that we are likely to face.

On this eighth day, we renew, at the parting greeting in God’ s Sanctuary, the consciousness that all of us together belong to God and are bound in our destinies and endeavors to His Torah. As one community we shall work in the fields of the future of humanity; as one community we shall be guides leading the flock of nations; and God’ s guidance will be revealed through our destiny, for we are His covenantal people… ” (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on BaMidbar 29:35-38)

On this eighth day, we renew, at the parting greeting in God’ s Sanctuary, the consciousness that all of us together belong to God and are bound in our destinies and endeavors to His Torah. As one community we shall work in the fields of the future of humanity; as one community we shall be guides leading the flock of nations; and God’ s guidance will be revealed through our destiny, for we are His covenantal people… (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on BaMidbar 29:35-38)

There is an intensity to this version of Shemini Atzeret that we must remember as we celebrate Simchat Torah. And at the end of Sukkot, we might relate to God’ s sense of premature longing for the people in our lives who have come home for the holidays — relatives, extended family, grandparents, children — and are not normally with us. Shemini Atzeret is an opportunity to treasure these loved ones and have one more day with them, free from the distractions of prolonged ritual obligations and mitzvot. Shemini Atzeret also offers those who recite Yizkor a chance to contemplate the memory of the departed with an intensity that is usually difficult to access

This vision of Shemini Atzeret should not be lost in the balagan of Simchat Torah. When we love someone, we should not miss the opportunity for a proper goodbye, holding our loved ones quietly and thoughtfully, for just a bit longer.

The holding might make saying goodbye more bitter — but it makes seeing them again that much sweeter.