Shemini Atzeret (Simchat Torah)

Shemini Atzeret is October 3, 2026, 22 Tishrei 5787: the eighth day from the start of Sukkot and a holiday in its own right. Like every Jewish day, it begins the evening before, at sunset on October 2. In the Land of Israel Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are celebrated on one day; in the diaspora, on two days in a row.

"Stay a little longer". "Atzeret" comes from the word "to hold back". Tradition speaks of this day almost like a family story: the seven days of Sukkot are full of guests and noise, and on the eighth the Host asks them to stay one more day, quietly, without the crowd, just the family. That is where the holiday's homely note comes from.

The prayer for rain. On this day we begin to ask for rain: in autumn it is decided what the year will be like in the Land of Israel, dry or generous. The prayer is read solemnly, and it is about everyone at once: the fields, the water, the bread that will grow half a year from now.

Simchat Torah. On the same day (in the diaspora, the day after) the yearly cycle of Torah reading is completed: the last lines of the Five Books are read, and right away, without pausing for breath, the first lines of the Book of Bereshit. The Torah has no end: once you finish, you start again. The scrolls are taken out of the ark and carried around the hall, these circles are called hakafot, and people dance, often until late at night. Children are lifted up, given little flags, and on this evening nobody tells them off for the noise.

Women and the dance. In many communities hakafot are also held in the women's section: in some places the women dance in a circle of their own, in others they go out into the courtyard. Customs differ, but one thing is shared: the joy of this evening is not about knowing the Torah by heart, but about it being yours.

And the end of the autumn holidays. On Shemini Atzeret Yizkor is said, the memorial prayer for loved ones who are no longer with us. So on the happiest evening of the year there is room for quiet remembrance too. And the next day a long ordinary autumn begins: it is two months until the next holiday, Chanukah.