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The Message of the Eighth Day (October 2008)

I had not looked at the book in years. It was part of a pile of books, one of many piles that not only fill the book shelves in my study at home, but precariously balance on top.  I was searching for another volume, when I noticed the book’s title: Time for My Soul: A Treasury of Jewish Stories for Our Holy Days.  It was written and edited by Rabbi Eugene Labovitz, who was the rabbi for my grandparents (z”l). As I opened its pages, I saw the lovely inscription written by my grandfather and grandmother, written when they gave me this book so many years ago. The inscription begins, “Stories are the tradition of our people…we pray that you will tell these stories to many people.” Therefore, in honor of the wish of my grandparents, let me share with you one passage that I found within its pages.

But first, a little background. In the Torah, it states, “And you shall dwell in the sukkah for seven days…in order that future generations will know that I made the children of Israel dwell in a sukkah when I brought them forth from Egyptian bondage.” (Lev.  23:42-43). Yet the Torah then adds an eighth day, Sh’mini Atzeret, to the conclusion of the Sukkot holiday. Why? What purpose does an additional day serve?

Rashi, the great eleventh century commentator of the Torah, gives us this touching answer:  “The separation of the Jewish people from the Divine Presence is too difficult to bear, so the Almighty added one more day, so that His people might linger in His presence a little longer.”

Yet in my grandparents’ book, another answer is given, one attributed to Rebbe Avraham Slonim. Taking the idea of separation in another direction, Rebbe Slonim gives us God’s response about the purpose of that mysterious eighth day:

“The separation between one Jew and another, this disunity, the lack of love of fellow Jews is very difficult, very painful for Me to bear. Therefore, I give you, My people, Sh’mini Atzeret, an eighth day for joining yourselves together in peace to heal your wounds, to tighten the grip between one Jew and another, and to reunite those who are separated from each other and from me. I give you this extra day following Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, My people, because you, yourselves, have prayed on Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur, ‘Let all of us be bound together to do your will with a perfect heart.’ You also pray continuously that I spread over you my sukkah of peace. I beg you, my children – look how closely you have been drawn together by the celebration of these festivals. Please don’t destroy the unity that you have attained.”

“Please don’t destroy the unity that you have attained.” What wonderful words of advice, not only for the Jews of Rebbe Slonim’s time, but for us as well. Throughout the High Holidays, we come together as a community in many ways. As one, we gather to pray for a better, sweeter year for us, our families, and our country. In unison, we share visions of peace for Israel and the world. We sing together, eat and drink at Kiddish together, and mourn loved ones now gone together.  We help care for each other’s children; we help each other find our place in the prayer book or in the sanctuary.

Together we fast and experience hunger, reawakening in all of us a renewed desire to help the poor in our midst. Together we built and decorate our sukkah, young and old alike. Throughout these holidays, we share words of support and strength, of comfort and consideration, and of warmth and friendship. The feeling of unity in our community is never stronger then during the days of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

The challenge for us, and for all communities, is to keep that spirit, that feeling of unity, alive and well throughout the months that follow. In the weeks ahead, as we take down our sukkah and return to our regular routines, we must work together at staying together. We must remember the words of support we received, and be ready to give that support to another in our midst. We must remember how we worked together during the holidays, with so many giving of their time and talent, and keep working together on the challenges that lie ahead. We must remember the help given to us by another, and not hesitate to respond when they need our help in return. And we must remember the gentle and considerate way in which we spoke to one another during times of prayer, and continue to speak that way to one another, even when we disagree. 

This is the purpose of Sh’mini Azeret, of that mysterious eighth day commanded in the Torah: to take one extra day to feel the unity among us during this season, to revel in it, and to pledge to continue it. Preserving that unity, extending that unity though the long months of winter and into the spring, is the greatest gift that we can give to our community, and to ourselves. May God give us the will to do so, and may all of us, as the prayer states, “be bound together to do God’s will with a perfect heart”.