When Is Shemini Atzeret / Shemini Azeret ?
Shemini Atzeret in 2007 for Jews living outside Israel will begin either just after sunset or just after nightfall on Wednesday, October 3, 2007 and will end either just after sunset or just after nightfall on Friday, October 5, 2007. The time when Shemini Atzeret begins - either just after sunset or just after nightfall - and ends - either at sunset or at nightfall - depends on the authoritative rabbinical opinion that one follows.
When is Shemini Atzeret in the Hebrew/Jewish calendar ?
The date of Shemini Atzeret for Jews living ouside Israel is always on the 22nd day and 23rd day of the seventh Hebrew/Jewish month of Tishri or Tishrei. For Jews living in Israel and for Reform Jews and Reconstructionist Jews, the date of Shemini Atzeret occurs only on the 22nd day of the seventh Hebrew/Jewish month of Tishri or Tishrei.
Originally, Shemini Atzeret was a one-day holiday for all Jews, based on the source for celebrating Shemini Atzeret which is found in the Hebrew Bible (Bamidbar or Numbers 29:35). In this passage, it says, in reference to the Hebrews: "The eighth day (meaning the day after the seven-day festival of Sukkot) shall be a time of retreat for you when you shall do no mundane work." Shemini Atzeret is also mentioned in the biblical book of Vayikra or Leviticus (Vayikra or Leviticus 23:33-36), where it says: "G-d spoke to Moses, telling him to speak to the Hebrews, as follows: The 15th of this seventh month shall be the festival of Sukkot to G-d, (lasting) seven days. The first day shall be a sacred holiday when you may not do any service work. For seven days then, you shall present a fire offering to G-d. The eighth day (Shemini Atzeret) is a sacred holiday to you when you shall bring a fire offering to G-d. It is a time of solumn gathering when you may do no service work...".
However, due to the time taken for Jewish communities living outside Israel to hear about official dates from the Jewish Sages in Jerusalem for upcoming festivals and holidays that would occur in a given month, it was decided by the Jewish Sages in Jerusalem in late Second Temple times (1st century C.E.) to add an extra day to holidays and festivals for Jews living outside Israel to ensure that they would not miss celebrating a festival and/or holiday on its proper date(s). This extra day for Jews living outside Israel was retained when the modern Hebrew/Jewish calendar was established in either 358 C.E. or 359 C.E. Therefore, the one-day holiday of Shemini Atzeret became a two-day holiday for Jews living outside Israel. For Jews living in Israel, Shemini Atzeret remained a one-day holiday.
During the time when the Mishnah of the Talmud was being compiled (about 10 B.C.E. until about either 200 C.E. or 220 C.E.), it was mentioned in one of the tractates of the Mishnah (Talmud, Mishnah, Megillah 31a) that "the second day of Shemini Atzeret" is the day on which there a Torah reading celebration. Therefore, it became a tradition to celebrate the end of the Torah reading cycle and the start of a new Torah reading cycle on Shemini Atzeret. After the 11th century C.E., this Torah reading celebration eventually became known as Simchat Torah ("Rejoicing of the Torah" in Hebrew) to Jewish communities worldwide. For Jews living in Israel, the celebration of the Torah took place on Shemini Atzeret (meaning the first day and only day of Shemini Atzeret for Jews living in Israel) while for Jews living outside Israel, it took place on the second day of Shemini Atzeret. Since for Jews living in Israel both Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah were celebrated on the same day, this combined holiday resulted in a new name being created that reflected both events: "Atzeret Ha-Torah" ("Assembly of the Torah" in Hebrew).
When is Shemini Atzeret in the Gregorian calendar ?
Since there are calendrical differences between the comparatively shorter lunisolar Hebrew/Jewish calendar and the longer and purely solar Gregorian calendar, this means that the date of Shemini Atzeret in the Gregorian calendar will be different from year to year, but will almost always occur in either September or October, and on occasion, in November.
More Shemini Atzeret Information
What is Shemini Atzeret ?
When is Shemini Atzeret ?
Shemini Atzeret Customs
Shemini Atzeret History
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