Sukkot & Simchat Torah
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah Explained
Following on the heels of Sukkot, we celebrate Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. How many holidays are we talking about here? Is this one humongous 9 day festival, or three different holidays? The duo of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are among the least-known and least understood Jewish holidays. Shemini Atzeret (as its name literally means in Hebrew) is the eighth (shemonah) day after the seven day festival of Sukkot. Although Sukkot is the festival that marks the beginning of the rainy season in Israel, we actually postpone adding the prayer for rain until the conclusion of Sukkot (who wants it to rain in our Sukkah! as it inevitably does in North America). It is on Shemini Atzeret that we recite Tefilat Hageshem, and begin to insert the prayer for rain in the Amidah, replacing the summer's prayer for dew.
But although it seems like Shemini Atzeret is simply the last day of Sukkot (like Passover, which has full holidays on the first and last days) sandwiching the intermediate semi-festival days called 'chol hamoe'id', it actually has its own status as a separate holiday, (unlike the last day of Passover which does not have its own name). Twice, the Torah (Ex. 23, Deut. 16) describes Sukkot as a seven day festival. But in Lev. 23 the Torah states, "On the eight day you shall observe a sacred assembly..." (see also Num. 29:35 where the sacrifices for this festival are described).
There is some discussion by the rabbis as to the nature of Shemini Atzeret, and the conclusion is that it really is its own, independent, holiday- even though its name links it to Sukkot (the eighth day of the festival) and is largely devoid of its own ritual and significance. Liturgically, Shemini Atzeret is referred to as its own holiday, and not as Sukkot during the special Amidah for the festival, for example; it is also no longer a mitzvah to eat in the Sukkah.
Shemini Atzeret, being its own festival really marks the transition from the final harvest to the next season: winter. And although the distribution is not quite even, the additional festival creates a nice symmetry so that we have a festival for each season:
1. Passover: Spring
2. Shavuot: Summer
3. Sukkot: Fall
4. Shemini Atzeret: Winter
These four seasons/holidays also represent four themes: the birth of the Jewish people, covenant (marriage) at Sinai, maturing during the wandering in the wilderness, and the death of Moses, marking the transition of the Jewish people into a new reality. The death of Moses was the passage appropriately chosen to be read on this last festival that represents winter.
Sukkot and Passover occur at opposite ends (exactly six months apart) of the calendar. They are both harvest festivals, connected to the exodus from Egypt and fall on the full moon, the fifteenth of the Hebrew month. In both festivals, we act out the story- on Passover with the elaborate Seder retelling and ritual foods, and on Sukkot, with our eating in the Sukkah and shaking the lulav and etrog. The number 'four' figures prominently in the Seder, and on Sukkot we have the four species.
Similarly, Shavuot and Shemini Atzeret have parallels. Both are more abstract holidays, with little ritual. Shavuot is also called 'Atzeret', like this week's holiday: Shemini Atzeret. So just like Pesach connects to Shavuot (through the counting of the Omer), Sukkot connects to Shemini Atzeret. And beginning in the tenth century, Shemini Atzeret developed a connection to the Torah (like Shavuot), this makes for a very neat pattern, with the major spring and fall harvests linked to festivals that celebrate Torah. But we are geting ahead of ourselves, since we haven't yet introduced Simchat Torah. It is not in the Torah. Where does it come from?
Although it was the custom for some Jewish communities to complete reading the Torah over three years (see The Triennial Cycle sidebar above), during the Geonic period (rabbinic scholars of the Babylonian diaspora, 6-11th century), an annual cycle was established so that the entire Torah was read in one year. Since the Torah's concluding verses were read on the second day of Shemini Atzeret, it was established that the Shabbat after Shemini Atzeret the Torah cycle was begun anew. Later, the first verses from Bereishit were added to the celebrations, and the second day of Shemini Atzeret began to emerge as its own holiday: Simchat Torah, now the ninth day of our original seven day Sukkot festival.
In the diaspora, the second day of Shemini Atzeret became further transformed (and one could say eclipsed) with the added non-Torah holiday of Simchat Torah. Confusingly, in Israel and in liberal congregations, now the extra 'diaspora' day is not added, so Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret are indeed one and the same, at the conclusion of Sukkot, on the eighth day. Either way, Shemini Atzeret-Simchat Torah stand on their own as an independent holiday from Sukkot.
And Moses died...
I find it interesting too, that the tone of Sukkot-Shemini Atzeret is joy (we're happy on Passover and Shavuot too, but the Fall/WInter holidays are specifically called, 'zman simchateinu' the time of our rejoicing) even though Shemini Atzeret marks the end of the year as we enter the 'death' of winter. Fittingly, we read the death of Moses. But Shemini Atzeret balances the imagery of death with the images of water and rain that signify birth and growth. Yes, the old is dying, but the cycle of life continues.This message is reinforced by immediately reading the story of Creation. This is not only to demonstrate the Jewish people's commitment and celebration of Torah (although that too), but it also is a message about how life continues, even as we acknowledge death. The haftarah for Shemini Atzeret reinforces this message as well: we read the beginning of Joshua. The Torah does not end. There is continuity.
On Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah we read the story of Moses' death, and the words, "And Moses died." Two years ago, I wrote about the issue of authorship that this passage provokes. The majority opinion is that Joshua in fact added these words, but some rabbis were uncomfortable with this thin edge of the wedge. No, they insist, every word of the Torah was written by Moses, including this epitaph. Rashi, responding to this texual difficulty of how Moses could pen the words, 'And Moses died', quotes Sifre, that Moses wrote the words, 'And Moses died' with tears. As I wrote previously, I had always understood it mean, 'with tears in his eyes', imagining what it would be like to have to write one's own obituary. God says, 'Write this down: You are going to die...' It can't be an easy thing. But the commentator Rashba understands this literally; the rest of the Torah Moses wrote with ink, but these final verses he wrote with tears!
This year, when I picture this startling image, I find in it a powerful message about how to deal with grief. When we encounter sadness in our life, we can go about our life 'with tears in our eyes' or we can transform those tears into the ingredients of something beautiful and move forward. I imagine Moses taking those precious tears and using them to pen the final words of the Torah. I know of many stories of people who have suffered loss, and instead of wallowing in self-pity, have transformed their pain into ways to help others. What can we create with our own challenges? I think of all the people that are remembered by individuals who have sponsored so many of our weekly Parasha columns over the last two years (thank you for your support), and imagine how they would want all of us to use their memories to build something meaningful. It must have been difficult for Moses to hear of his impending death, but God in fact says to all of us that we are going to die, and instead of crying about it, we have the choice to remember to make each day a blessing for ourselves and all those around us.
BDS
