Shemini Atzerat & Simchat Torah: Start of Torah Readings
When
Shemini Atzerat & Simchat Torah are two back-to-back holidays directly following Sukkot, typically in October.
Scripture Reference
Leviticus 23:36
Numbers 29:35
John 7:37-38
History
While Shemini Atzerat (which means “Eighth Day of Assembly”) is seen in the Scriptures, Simchat Torah is not mentioned.
Shemini Atzerat functions as an additional day of climactic celebration following the seven days of Sukkot, both of which were commanded during the days of wandering in the desert. Sukkot was one of the three holidays that eventually called for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and the word atzerat, which comes from the Hebrew root word that means “to hold back”, is a kind of nudge to God’s people to linger in the spirit of rejoicing a moment longer.
While the Scriptures say very little about this holiday other than to make certain food sacrifices, the day is most known for it’s prayer for rain (tefilat geshem), as this day marked a transitional period in which the upcoming crop needed watering to begin to grow and produce.
While Shemini Atzerat is deeply rooted in the Torah, it wasn’t until the early Middle Ages that we eventually see Simchat Torah emerge as an associated holiday directly following Shemini Atzerat.
For context, the Jewish people had for centuries been reading the Scriptures annually in a liturgical manner. They followed the Parashah and Haftarah readings — weekly texts from the Torah and Prophets that would guide them through the Scriptures each year. Simchat Torah was formed around this ancient practice at the conclusion of each cycle of Scripture readings and the start of the next one (a kind of “New Years for Liturgical Scripture reading”).
In both cases, these couple of days are a continuation of the time of rejoicing that comes as an outflow of the week of Sukkot.
Purpose
At a high-level, this dual set of holidays is a time of celebration: for the harvest, for the anticipation of new rains, for the beginning of the Scripture readings.
There is gratitude and acknowledgment of Adonai as provider — the all-powerful God who changes times and seasons, giving food to his children and preparing the way for a new crop.
There is the lighting of Yizkor candles, taking time to remember, tell stories, and pray about the deceased.
There is hakafot, the singing and dancing in circles that often takes place around the bimah, or the table on which the scrolls of the Scriptures sit. Often on Simchat Torah, those gathered do the hakafot in seven circuits as the Torah is raised in the air, an image of joy that the Word of God is ever with us, continuing to guide us and fall afresh on our hearts.
In all of it, the overall purpose of these two days is to simply tarry in the time of rejoicing a moment longer, being present with one another and God amidst the culmination of past events and the excitement of future ones.
Fulfilment
Yeshua rarely, if ever, was in a rush.
He was easily interrupted and inconvenienced, often taking extra time to simply be present with those in front of him — lingering in sacred moments.
Just like the inherent message of Shemini Atzerat, the person of Christ is the overflow of a rejoicing that hovers in the air. Consider this: while a week is seven days, the eighth day marks the first day of a new week (i.e. Sunday). There’s a sense of newness — a bursting forth of new life — that comes with eighth days. It is the exceedingly and abundantly more that extends out of of the preceding week, and, of course, there’s nothing that embodies this more than Yeshua’s resurrection, who on the first day of the following week likewise sprang forth out of holy week (Pesach), coming back to life as the firstborn of a new creation.
Celebrations such as these are simply uncontainable, and Shemini Atzerat represents this kind of joyful observance and merrymaking.
Additionally, when we look at Christ’s visit to the Temple during his own keeping of Sukkot, he brings an even greater fulfillment to this holiday:
“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39)
Whether or not this took place on the seventh day of Sukkot, or the eighth day (being Shemini Atzerat), water — including the harvest rains — was on the hearts and minds and prayers of the Jewish people, and our Lord revealed his Spirit to be the ultimate source of this living water.
Simultaneously, just as Christ showers us with his Spirit, he also provides us with the sustaining bread of his Scriptures, reminding us that “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
These two days together are a culmination of “worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24) — days that can’t help but lead to dancing and singing in the presence of a God who has given himself as “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14) and as “the Word [that] became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
Needs:
Candles
Bible
Dessert
Music (and space for dancing)
Other items may be necessary depending on selected activities below
Modern Liturgical Adaptation
Opening Evening at Sundown
Cookout & Dance Party
Matriarch, or Household Leader (lights the candle(s) at sundown):
Blessed are you, Adonai our God, King of the Universe, who sanctifies us with his divine Word, and who has called us to kindle this festival lamp. May we linger in the spirit of celebration a moment longer, remembering you as the source of living water and the provider of the holy Scriptures. Amen.
Leader:
Adonai, you greet us today as we near the end of this holiday season.
It is tempting to move abruptly back into the normal routines of our ordinary lives — to hurry our minds out of this set apart space and focus on the completion of tasks and chores.
Would you, even now, provide us with a moment of pause, to linger for just a bit longer in this posture of joy and awe and praise?
You have done great and mighty things among us, too deep for words! Your goodness floods even the largest of our vessels, and cannot be contained in a mere week of worship.
You are bigger than our days, our calendars, even time itself. O how above us you are, our King, infinite and without bound!
As you overflow our deepest comprehensions, we also ask that you now overflow our physical lives with your abundant provision. Like the waters of the sky that shower the Earth, would you pour yourself out upon us with every good and perfect gift, exceeding our imaginations with your generative goodness?
Just as we celebrate in the harvest, we also rejoice at the arrival of every new season of planting, for it is in these moments we are availed the opportunity once more to bear witness to your lavish outpouring!
Likewise, as we anticipate the growth that will come with the new rains, we cannot help but look ahead with hope at the impending fruit that will come forth through a new year of Scripture readings.
O Lord, we worship you in Word and in Spirit. May joy abound in the atmosphere as we enter the festivities of this holy day!
Amen.
[Consider Singing or Playing a Song of Praise]
[Dinner]
Possible Discussion Questions During Dinner
What tendencies do you have at the end of moments of celebration? How might you practice lingering in the joy of festivities a little bit longer?
What are ways God has provided for you in this season? How can this provision be a catalyst for hope and anticipation in the coming season?
What is your experience of dancing as a part of your celebration? What might it look (and feel) like to practice dancing as a collective form of worship and play in your home?
What is your relationship with the Scriptures? What barriers might you face with engaging them? How might you move (individually and collectively) towards a greater delight in reading and experiencing the Scriptures?
Prayer after Meal (Prayer for Rain)
Our God and God of our ancestors:
Remember Abraham who flowed to You like water.
You blessed him like a tree planted by streams of water.
You rescued him from fire and water.
He passed Your test by planting good deeds by every source of water.
For Abraham’s sake, do not keep back water.
Remember Isaac, whose birth was foretold when Abraham offered the angels a little water.
You asked his father to spill his blood like water.
In the desert Isaac dug and found wells of water.
For Isaac’s sake, do not keep back water.
Remember Jacob, who crossed the Jordan’s water.
He bravely rolled the stone off the mouth of the well of water.
He wrestled with an angel made of fire and water,
And therefore You promised to be with him through fire and water.
For Jacob’s sake do not keep back water.
Remember Moses, who was drawn in a reed basket out of the Nile’s water.
Who helped Jethro’s daughters: He drew water and gave the sheep water.
He struck the rock and out came water.
For Moses’ sake do not hold back water!
Remember Aaron, the High Priest, who, on Yom Kippur, washed himself five times with water,
He prayed and was sprinkled with purifying water,
He kept apart from a people who were as unstable as water.
For Aaron’s sake do not hold back water.
Remember the Twelve Tribes whom
You brought through the divided waters;
For whom You sweetened bitter water;
Their descendants’ blood was spilled like water.
Turn to us*,* God, who are surrounded by troubles like water.
For your people’s sake, do not hold back water.
You are Adonai, our God
Who causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall.
For blessing and not for curse. Amen.
For life and not for death. Amen.
For plenty and not for lack. Amen.
[Dance the Hakafot to an upbeat worship song; Night of Singing & Dancing]
Texts to consider reading:
Genesis 1:1 - 6:8 (Beginning of Torah)
Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12 (End of Torah)
Pick one to three activities from the following list to enter into the spirit of Shemini Atzerat & Simchat Torah:
Pray the Tefillat Geshem (Prayer for Rain)
Play in the water
Have a dance party (even dance the 7 circuits of the Hakafot)
Sing songs together
Create moments of pause throughout the day to take mental snapshots of goodness and beauty around you (try grounding or breathing exercises)
Eat caramel apples or other special treats to remember the sweetness of God’s Word
Read or tell fun stories with the kids
Have a cookout with friends and play games
Have a worship night and read from the Scriptures