Shemini Atzeret / Simcha Torah Service

Shemini Atzeret (שמיני עצרת, “the Eighth [day] of Assembly”) is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, directly following Sukkot. It is considered a holiday in its own right rather than a continuation of Sukkot; unlike Sukkot, it has no mandated ritual objects such as the sukkah or the Four Species. In the Diaspora, an additional day is celebrated, the second day being separately referred to as Simchat Torah. In Israel and Reform Judaism, the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are combined into a single day.