Editing Shemini Atzeret (section)

===Simchat Torah===
{{Main|Simchat Torah}}
The practice of reading the Ve-zot ha-berakhah, the last of the [[weekly Torah portion]]s on Shemini Atzeret is documented in the Talmud.<ref>{{cite web|title=Megillah 31a|url=http://e-daf.com/index.asp|work=E-DAF.com|access-date=October 9, 2013|language=he|archive-date=October 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008024654/http://www.e-daf.com/index.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> That Talmudic source does not refer to the occasion as "Simchat Torah", but simply as [the second day of] Shemini Atzeret, and it is also not clear from that source if it is read as the last Torah portion (as is our custom) or as a special Festival reading.

The Simchat Torah celebration of today is of later [[Rabbinic Judaism|rabbinic]] and customary origin. The day (but not the name) is mentioned in the ''[[siddur]]'' of Rav [[Amram Gaon]] (9th century CE); the assignment of the first chapter of [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]] as the ''[[haftarah]]'' of the day is mentioned there. The reading of the first section of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] immediately upon the conclusion of the last section of [[Deuteronomy]]—as well as the name "Simchat Torah"—can be found in the 14th century [[halacha|''halachic'']] work ''[[Arba'ah Turim]].''<ref name=rows>{{cite book|title=Arba'ah Turim|page=227|url=https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=42478&st=&pgnum=227|author=Jacob ben Asher (c. 1270-c. 1340)|edition=1610 Hannover|author-link=Jacob ben Asher|access-date=October 8, 2013|chapter=Orach Chayim 669|language=he|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192629/http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=42478&st=&pgnum=227|url-status=live}}</ref>  By the 16th century CE, most of the features of the modern celebration of Simchat Torah were in place in some form.<ref>{{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia |title=Simḥat Torah |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13735-simhat-torah}}</ref> The Simchat Torah celebration is now the most distinctive feature of this festival—so much so that in the Land of Israel, where Shemini Atzeret lasts only one day, it is more common to refer to the day as "Simchat Torah" than as "Shemini Atzeret".<ref>See, for example, {{cite web|title=Holiday Calendar|url=https://il.usembassy.gov/holiday-calendar/|publisher=United States Embassy Tel Aviv|access-date=January 22, 2018|archive-date=March 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326172409/https://il.usembassy.gov/holiday-calendar/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 20th century, Simchat Torah came to symbolize the public assertion of Jewish identity.<ref>Zenner, Walter P. Persistence and Flexibility: Anthropological Perspectives on the American Jewish Experience. [[SUNY Press]], 1988. p.85</ref> [[History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union|The Jews of the Soviet Union]], in particular, would celebrate the festival ''en masse'' in the streets of [[Moscow]]. On October 14, 1973, more than 100,000 Jews took part in a post-Simchat Torah rally in New York city on behalf of [[Refusenik (Soviet Union)|refuseniks]] and Soviet Jewry.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sovietjewry.org/gallery_photo.php?photo=9 |title=Soviet Jewry |publisher=Soviet Jewry |date=October 14, 1973 |access-date=September 25, 2013 |archive-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012184843/https://www.sovietjewry.org/gallery_photo.php?photo=9 |url-status=live }}</ref>  Dancing in the street with the Torah has become part of the holiday's ritual in various Jewish congregations in the United States as well. In Israel, many communities conduct ''Hakafot shniyot,'' or "Second ''[[hakafot]]",'' on the day after Shemini Atzeret. In part, this shows solidarity with Jewish communities outside Israel, which are still celebrating Simchat Torah (on the second day of the festival). At the same time, it allows for a Simchat Torah celebration unconstrained by [[Activities prohibited on Shabbat|festival work restrictions]], since the festival is over in Israel according to Jewish law.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kordova|first=Shoshana|title=Word of the Day / Hakafot shniyot|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/word-of-the-day/1.549188|access-date=October 9, 2013|newspaper=Haaretz|date=September 27, 2013|archive-date=October 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007231407/http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/word-of-the-day/1.549188|url-status=live}}</ref>

Outside Israel, where Shemini Atzeret is observed for two days,{{sfn|Hoffman|2011|p=41}} Simchat Torah is deferred to the second day, when all agree there is no obligation of ''sukkah''.