Editing Shemini Atzeret (section)

==={{anchor|name=atzeret}}''Atzeret:'' A day for assembly—or pause===
Spiritually, Shemini Atzeret can also be seen to "guard the seven days of Sukkot".{{sfn|Gurary|Kaplan|2000|p=83-93}} The Hebrew word ''atzeret'' is generally translated as "assembly", but shares a linguistic root with the word ''atzor'', meaning "stop" or "tarry". Shemini Atzeret is characterized as a day when the Jewish People "tarries" to spend an additional day with God at the end of Sukkot.<ref name=JESA>{{Jewish Encyclopedia|title=Shemini 'Azeret|year=1901–1906|publisher=Funk and Wagnalls|location=New York|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13559-shemini-azeret|no-prescript=1|noicon=1}}</ref> [[Rashi]] cites the parable of a king who invites his sons to dine with him for a number of days, but when the time comes for them to leave, he asks them to stay for another day, since it is difficult for him to part from them.<ref>Rashi on [[Book of Leviticus|Leviticus]] 23:36.</ref> According to this idea, Sukkot is a [[Jewish views on religious pluralism#classical Jewish views|universal]] holiday, but Shemini Atzeret is for only the [[Jews|Jewish People]]. Moreover, Shemini Atzeret is a modest holiday intended to honor [God's] special relationship with his beloved nation.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mayer|first=Sally|title=Why did Shemini Atzeret become Simchat Torah?|date=Autumn 2011|series=YU Torah To-Go|issue=Sukkot To-Go 5772|page=29|url=http://download.yutorah.org/2012/1053/Sukkot_To-Go_-_5772_Mrs_Mayer.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185156/http://download.yutorah.org/2012/1053/Sukkot_To-Go_-_5772_Mrs_Mayer.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-29 |url-status=live|publisher=Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future|location=New York}}</ref>{{refn|Variants are quoted in {{harvtxt|Isaacs|2000|p=88}} and in ''[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]''<ref name=JESA />}}

A different but related interpretation is offered by [[Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg]], who translates ''atzeret'' as "retain": "During the holiday season, we have experienced a heightened religious fervor and a most devout spirit. This last day is devoted to a recapitulation of the message of these days, with the hope that it will be retained the rest of the year".<ref>Quoted in {{harvtxt|Isaacs|2000|p=93}}.</ref>