Shmini Atzeret

Shmini Aceret ( Hebrew שְּׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת , in Ashkenazi pronunciation - Shmini Aceres , literally - “The eighth [day] is a festive meeting ”) - the eighth concluding day of the Jewish festival of Sukkot (in the synodal translation of the Bible is “the feast of tabernacles”, see Lev. 23: 33-36 ). Celebrated on the 22nd of the month of tishrei (in the Gregorian calendar, this date falls on the end of September - the beginning of October).

According to Jewish tradition ( Talmud , Rosh Hashanah , 4b), Shmini Atzeret is not a part of Sukkot, but a separate holiday. On this day, there is no longer any obligation to fulfill the commandments of the Sukkot holiday - sitting in Sukkah and shaking the lulav (although in most Diaspora communities, they still have a festive meal in Sukkah).

Starting with the musaf prayer in Shmini Atzeret, mention of the wind and rain, which continues until Passover , is inserted into Jewish prayers. On this day they also recite the memorial prayer Izkor .

In the Jewish diaspora, the day after Shmini Atzeret, Simchat Torah is celebrated. In Israel , as well as in reformist Judaism, these holidays are combined into one, for which both of these names are used. In this case, in Shmini Atzeret all the rituals of Simchat Torah are performed - akafot and the completion of the annual cycle of reading the Torah.