דף נושא: שמיני עצרת

On the eighth day you shall hold a solemn gathering; you shall not work at your occupations. You shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to יהוה; one bull, one ram, seven yearling lambs, without blemish; the meal offerings and libations for the bull, the ram, and the lambs, in the quantities prescribed; and one goat for a sin offering—in addition to the regular burnt offering, its meal offering and libation.

Another problem addressed in this chapter relates to the Eighth Day of Assembly, which follows the seven days of Sukkot. On the one hand, it is characterized as a pilgrim Festival in and of itself, independent of Sukkot. However, due to its proximity to the festival of Sukkot, several problems arise, e.g., how does one make the transition from one Festival to another without undermining the sanctity and distinctiveness of each? This is even more problematic in the Diaspora, where there is uncertainty whether the Eighth Day of Assembly is actually the seventh day of Sukkot. Fundamentally, the Eighth Day of Assembly is a Festival in and of itself in every respect, and one recites the blessing of time at the outset of the Festival. However, with regard to residing in the sukka, there are numerous opinions. Even today, there is no firm ruling governing this practice and the custom varies in different areas in the Diaspora.

עצרת הוא — The word is derived from the root עצר “to hold back” and suggests: I keep you back with Me one day more. It is similar to the case of a king who invited his children to a banquet for a certain number of days. When the time arrived for them to take their departure he said, “Children, I beg of you, stay one day more with me; it is so hard for me to part with you!” (cf. Rashi on Numbers 29:36 and Sukkah 55b).

As it is written: On the eighth day, you shall have a restraint for you (Numbers 29:35). As behold, this day is from the King alone, His joy with the Jewish people. There is a [relevant] parable about a king who invited guests: All the members of his chamber exerted themselves for the guests. Afterward, the king said, "Up to now, you and I have all been exerting ourselves for the guests and have offered sacrifices for all the other nations every day. From now on, you and I shall rejoice for a day." That is [the meaning of] that which is written, On the eighth day, you shall have a restraint for you — to offer a sacrifice for yourselves. Indeed, the faithful guests are always present with the King. And on the day of the King's joy, they are all gathered with Him and are present. And that is why it is written, a restraint [atzeret. Its translation is an assembly.

(Numb. 29:35:) “On the eighth day [you shall have] a solemn assembly.” This text is related (to Is. 26:16), “You have added to the nation O Lord, You have added to the nation and been honored; You have pushed away all the ends of the earth." The Community of Israel said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, You added [years of] tranquility to the generation of the flood, did they maybe ever offer a single ram or a single bull in front of You? It is not enough that they did not offer, but they even (in Job 21:14) ‘said, “Go away from us.”’ You added [years of] tranquility to the generation of the [Tower of Babel]. Did any of them maybe honor You? It is not enough that they did not honor You, but they said (in Gen. 11:4), ‘Let us build for ourselves a city.’ And so too with the Sodomites, and so too with Pharaoh, and so too with Sennacherib and so too with Nebuchadnezzar. Did they maybe ever offer a single bull? It is not enough that they did not offer [anything] in front of You, but they even angered You. And to whom is it fitting for You to add tranquility and glory? To Israel, as stated (in Is. 26:16), ‘You have added to the nation.’” And a nation is only referring to Israel, as stated (in I Chron. 17:21), “And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth.” The community of Israel said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “You should add festivals for us, and we shall offer sacrifices in front of You as is fitting.” (Is. 26:16, cont.:) “You have been honored,” “You have given us new moons, and we sacrifice in front of You [then], as is stated (in Numb. 28:11), ‘And on new moons.’ You have given us Passover, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us Pentecost, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us the New Year, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us the Day of Atonement, we have sacrificed to You. And so too on the Festival [of Tabernacles]. We have not ignored the sacrifices for even one festival.” The Community of Israel said, “You should add festivals for us, and we shall offer sacrifices in front of You and honor You.” (Is. 26:16, cont.:) “You have added to the nation and been honored.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “By your lives, I will not take away holidays [from you], but I will add festivals for you to rejoice in them, as stated (in Numb. 29:35), ‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly.’” (Numb. 29:35:) “On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly.” This text is related (to Ps. 109:4), “In return for my love they denounce me, but I am a prayer.” You find that on the Festival (of Tabernacles) Israel would offer seventy bulls for the seventy nations. Israel said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “See, we are offering seventy bulls for the seventy nations. Therefore, they should love us. It is not enough that they do not love us, but they also hate us, as stated (in Ps. 109:4), ‘In return for my love they denounce me.’” Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, “For seven days of the festival you have offered sacrifices to Me for the nations of the world. Now, however, you are to offer [sacrifices] for yourselves, as (according to Numb. 29:35-36), ‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly…. Then you shall offer a whole burnt offering, a fire offering, a sweet smell to the Lord: one bull, one ram.’” [The situation] is comparable to a king who made a seven-day banquet and invited all the people of the province for the seven days of the feast. When the seven days of the feast had passed, he said to his friend, “We have already fulfilled our obligation to all the people of the province. Let us, you and me, make do with whatever you find, a pound of meat, fish, or greens.” Similarly did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Israel, “All the sacrifices which you offered during the seven days of the feast you sacrificed for the nations of the world. However (according to Numb. 29:35), ‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly.’ We shall make do, you and I, with whatever you find (as in Numb. 29:36), ‘One bull, one ram.’”

(Numb. 29:36:) THEN YOU SHALL OFFER A WHOLE BURNT OFFERING, [A FIRE OFFERING, A SWEET AROMA TO THE LORD]: ONE BULL, ONE RAM, <….> is comparble to a king who made a seven-day banquet and invited all the people of the province for the seven days of the feast. When the seven days of the feast had passed, he said to his friend: We have already fulfilled our obligation to the people of the province. Let us, you and me, make do with whatever you find: a pound of meat, fish, or greens. Similarly did the Holy One say to Israel: All the sacrifices which you offered during the seven days of the feast you sacrificed for the nations of the world. However (according to Numb. 29:35): ON THE EIGHTH DAY YOU SHALL HAVE A SOLEMN ASSEMBLY. Make do with whatever you find (as in Numb. 29:36): ONE BULL, ONE RAM <….>

On the eighth day, it shall be a convocation for you, etc. And Rashi explained in the name of the midrash, "It is because all the days of the festival, they offered sacrifices corresponding to the nations, etc. The Omnipresent said, 'I plead with you, make me a small meal, so that I may benefit from you.'" And we should try to understand, why, in fact, a small meal? And had God commanded to offer many sacrifices, would they not have offered them? And also why a small meal specifically on Shemeni Atzeret, after the offering of the seventy bulls, and not on another holiday?

The Laws of the Mentioning of the Wind and Rain and Dew. Containing 9 S'ifim
We start to say "Who makes the wind blow and rain fall" in the second blessing in the Musaf prayer [i.e. Amidah] of the latter Yom Tov of "Chag" [the Sukkot-Shemini Atzeret holiday] (i.e. Shemini Atzeret), and we do not stop [saying it] until the Musaf prayer [i.e. Amidah] of the first Yom Tov of Pesach.

Remember the one who was born from the announcement of, 'let a little water be taken,' and [about whom] You spoke to his parent to slaughter him, to spill his blood like water. He was also careful not to spill out his heart like water (and protest). He dug and found wells of water.