Overview
- The two concluding days of the High Holiday season run from the evening of Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 through the evening of Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026 for most Diaspora communities and on Oct. 2 in Israel, when congregations will complete and restart the annual Torah‑reading cycle.
- Simchat Torah centers on hakafot, public dancing with Torah scrolls and offering many aliyot so everyone may be called to the Torah as the final portion of Devarim is read and Genesis is begun.
- Shemini Atzeret is a biblically named ‘eighth day’ whose scriptural text gives it no clear narrative, and its distinct practices include beginning the prayer for rain and holding the Yizkor memorial service.
- Since the October 7, 2023 attacks, many communities have added commemorative elements to Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret services, adapting hakafot and prayers to hold both celebration and collective mourning.
- Observance varies by place and movement: Israel combines the days into one, the Diaspora keeps two days, and some non‑Orthodox congregations follow modified triennial Torah cycles, all of which shape how local communities experience joy, memory, and resilience.