Netivot Shalom on Shemini Atzeret

“On the eighth day you will have an assembly/Atzeret.”  Behold, our sages of blessed memory taught (Rosh HaShanah 4b), “The eighth day is a holiday on it’s own.”  We have to explain why, if this is so, everywhere in the Torah only three pilgrimage holidays are mentioned, rather than four.  Also we must explain why the Torah does not provide  a reason for Shemini Atzeret, like it does for the other pilgrimage holidays:  Passover for the exodus from Egypt, Shavuot because of the first fruits, and Sukkot so that “Your generations will know that I made the children of Israel live in Sukkot.” 

Behold, we find in the substance of the holy holiday of Shemini Atzeret three special characteristics:

It is a day of clinging to G’d with special intensity, as our sages of blessed memory said (Succah 55b), “It has an aspect of ‘make me a little meal that I may enjoy time with you.’”  In the Zohar it is written, “From here onwards you and I will enjoy a day together.”  The day also has an aspect of “One who sits with the king will be given whatever he wants.” 

It is a day of completing the sealing of judgment for the New Year, as is written in the Zohar and the Arizal. 

We also find the Jewish custom of Simchat Torah, where we finish the torah with song and dancing.  As it is said in the Zohar, ‘Israel had a custom of rejoicing with her, and it was called Simchat Torah, and they crowned Simchat Torah with her crown.”

One can say with regard to all of this that we the level of this holy festival has an aspect of eight, which hints that the day is above the seven days of building, as the Maharal explains, “Eight is above all other aspects and natural things, for the number seven encompasses all natural things.  For all maters of natural things are included in seven days of construction, and eight is above nature and the world.  Eight includes all matters that are above nature.”  Our master R.  Avraham  teaches that “On the eighth day” means that we completely awaken from all matters of this world.  Thus we have written in the Torah with regard to the number eight,

“On the eighth day” the Tabernacle was completed.  Our sages of blessed memory say that on that day ten crowns were taken, that is that such intense glory was revealed that the Tabernacle was filled with G’d’s glory, a matter surely above nature.

“On the eighth day [the boy’s] foreskin will be circumcised.’  On that day, the child awakens from the state of ‘I was created in sin and in sin my mother bore me.’  Only after the eighth day is the child ready to cross over the border into holiness and to pull down for himself a holy soul through brit mila.  We have a hint of the matter of eight in that such a change is only possible on the eighth day, when there is an awakening from all matters of this world.

Thus we have too the matter of ‘On the eight day you will have an assembly/Atzeret.’  For the holidays of Passover and Sukkot are each seven days, which are limited to this world… while Shemini Atzeret has no relationship to this world.  It is a hint of future redemption when there will be the final repair of the world, in the world to come, as it is written “Then your L-rd will rejoice about you like a groom rejoices about his bride.” 

…. There are three holidays that have the aspect of eight.  Shavuot is after the counting of seven weeks.  Yom Kippur also has the aspect of eight because the High Priest, during the service Temple, splattered bloods one time above and seven times below, with the one splatter above hinting at eight.  They would count the splattering as ‘One and one, one and two” for when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies the entire process was above nature and thus needed this aspect of eight.  We also find this is the reason why the high priest was isolated for seven days before Yom Kippur…  Yom Kippur is distinct from Shemini Atzeret in that Yom Kippur one achieves nullification of the ego through prayer, self-affliction, and penitence while on Shemini Atzeret nullification is done through joy and dancing, through which one completely nullifies themselves before G’d.

One can further understand the holidays of Shavuot, Yom Kippur, and Shemini Atzeret through our holy teacher Avraham’s statement that there are holidays that are ‘Bind me as a seal on your arm’ and others that are ‘Bind me as a seal upon your heart.’  There are three holidays that are have positive, physical commandments.  On Passover we eat matzoh, on Rosh HaShanah we sound the Shofar, and on Sukkot we sit in the Sukkah and shake the four species.  These are all holidays with the aspect of ‘bind me as a seal on your arm.’  However, the holidays with this aspect of eight have no positive physical commandments associated with them, and are on the level of ‘a seal on one’s heart.’  These latter three holidays are on the level of ‘Love is as fierce as death.’  Thus on Shemini Atzeret we finish and begin the Torah, whose first and last letters are  בֹ and ל, which spell לב (heart), ‘A seal on your heart.’  We can explain these two kinds of holidays through a parable of our holy teacher Avraham, of a groom and bride who, due to their love and desire to come closer to each other send each other gifts, and adorn themselves, and only afterwards approach each other from the depth of their hearts.  So to we come closer to G’d through positive commandments, but Shemini Atzeret has the aspect of upper, transcendent unification, ‘A seal upon your heart.’