JEWISH HOLIDAYS

Beginning five days after Yom Kippur, Sukkot is named after the booths or huts (sukkot in Hebrew) in which Jews are supposed to dwell during this week-long celebration. According to rabbinic tradition, these flimsy sukkot represent the huts in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after escaping from slavery in Egypt. The festival of Sukkot is one of the three great pilgrimage festivals (chaggim or regalim) of the Jewish year.

Sukkot History

The origins of Sukkot are found in an ancient autumnal harvest festival. Indeed it is often referred to as hag ha-asif, “The Harvest Festival.” Much of the imagery and ritual of the holiday revolves around rejoicing and thanking God for the completed harvest. The sukkah represent the huts that farmers would live in during the last hectic period of harvest before the coming of the winter rains. As is the case with other festivals whose origins may not have been Jewish, the Bible reinterpreted the festival to imbue it with a specific Jewish meaning. In this manner, Sukkot came to commemorate the wanderings of the Israelites in the desert after the revelation at Mount Sinai, with the huts representing the temporary shelters that the Israelites lived in during those 40 years. 

Coming at the conclusion of Sukkot are the two holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah . In Israel and among liberal Jews they are combined into one holiday on the day after the conclusion of Sukkot . Among more traditional Jews outside of Israel, they are observed separately from one another on two consecutive days. Shemini Atzeret means the “Eighth Day of Assembly,” while Simchat Torah means “Rejoicing in Torah.”

Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah History

Shemini Atzeret is mentioned in the Bible, but its exact function is unclear. In Second Temple times, it appears to have been a day devoted to the ritual cleansing of the altar in the Temple. With the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, this function of the day became obsolete. Although it marks the beginning of the rainy season in Israel and, therefore includes the year’s first prayer for rain, its lack of clear definition may have provided the impetus to celebrate it in conjunction with Simchat Torah, a celebration of the conclusion of one and the beginning of another annual cycle of readings from the Torah. This latter holiday probably originated during the medieval period.

Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah At Home

Unlike many other holidays, the observance of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are centered in the synagogue and community. On Shemini Atzeret, some still eat in the sukkah (the traditional hut associated with the festival of Sukkot), but in contrast to Sukkot no blessings are associated with that activity.

Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah in the Community

Beginning on Shemini Atzeret and lasting until Pesach (Passover), a short prayer for rain is inserted into the second blessing of the Amidah Prayer. It is traditional to include the Yizkor, or memorial service, as part of the liturgy for this day. Simchat Torah is characterized by joyful dancing with the Torah. The final portion of the Book of Deuteronomy is read in the synagogue followed by the beginning of the Book of Genesis. In this manner, the  annual cycle of Torah readings continues unbroken.

*Excerpted from My Jewish Learning

SUKKOT - sunset Monday October 6 - Sundown Monday October 13
SHEMINI ARTZERET- sunset Monday October 13- Sundown Tuesday October 14, 2025 
SIMCHAT TORAH - sunset Tuesday October 14 - sundown Wednesday October 15, 2025
CHANUKAH - sunset Sunday December 14 - sundown Monday December 22, 2025
TU B'SHVAT - sunset Sunday February 1 - sundown Monday February 2, 2026
PURIM - sunset Monday March 2 - sundown Tuesday March 3, 2026
SHUSHAN PURIM  sunset Tuesday March 3 - sundown Wednesday March 4, 2026
PASSOVER - sunset Wednesday April 1 - sundown Thursday, April 9, 2026
YOM HASHOAH - sunset Monday April 13 - sundown Monday April 14, 2026
YOM HA'ATZMAUT - sunset Tuesday April 21 - sundown Wednesday April 22, 2026
LAG B'OMER - sunset Monday May 4 - sundown Tuesday May 5, 2026
YOM JERUSALAYIM - sunset Thursday May 14 - sundown Friday May 15, 2026
SHAVUOT - sunset Thursday May 21- sundown Friday May 22, 2026
ROSH HASHANAH - sunset Friday September 11 -  sundown Sunday September 13, 2026
YOM KIPPUR - sunset Sunday September 20 - sundown Monday September 21, 2026
SUKKOT - sunset Friday September 25 - sundown Friday October 2, 2026
SHEMINI ATZERET - sunset Friday October 2 - Saturday October3, 2026
SIMCHAT TORAH - sunset Saturday October 3 - sundown Sunday October 4, 2026
CHANUKAH - sunset Friday December 4 - sundown Saturday December 12, 2026