How Shemini Atzeret is unique amongst all the other holidays TB Yoma 3

 We learned yesterday that seven days before Yom Kippur the high priest separated himself from his normal life and moved into the Chamber of Parhedrin, a room in the Temple itself. The Torah explicitly never says this halakha. Rabbi Yokhanan learned it from a verse in parashat Tzav. “From where in the Torah are these matters derived? Rav Minyomi bar Ḥilkiya said that Rabbi Maḥseya bar Idi said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said they are derived from Aaron and his sons, who remained in the Tabernacle for seven days prior to performing the service in the Tabernacle on the eighth day of their inauguration, as the verse states: “As has been done this day, so the Lord has commanded to do, to make atonement for you” (Leviticus 8:34), meaning that this mitzva of sequestering was not limited to the days prior to the dedication of the Tabernacle; rather, it applies to future generations as well. The verse is interpreted homiletically: “To do”; these are the actions performed in the burning of the red heifer for which the priest performing the ritual is sequestered seven days in advance; “to make atonement”; these are the actions performed on Yom Kippur, before which the High Priest is sequestered seven days.” (TB Yoma 2a, Sefaria.org translation)

Continuing from yesterday’s daf, today’s daf TB Yoma 3 proves through a close analysis why the seven days prior to performing the service in the tabernacle (שבעת ימי המלואים) is a complete match with Yom Kippur. Each of all the other holidays have some type of qualitative difference ruling them out for consideration.

Shemini Atzeret is unique amongst the rest of the holidays. On the one hand, it is considered another day of Sukkot. On the other hand, it is also treated as a holiday unto itself. Shemini Atzeret is considered part and parcel of Sukkot because if one failed to bring the required sacrifices on the first day of Sukkot, he has through Shemini Atzeret to fulfill his Sukkot obligation.

The Gemara elliptically with the acronym, פָּזֵ"ר קֶשֶׁ"ב, tells why Shemini Atzeret has the components of a separate holiday.

“Peh, zayin, reish, kuf, shin, beit, an acronym for: Lottery [payis], as a new lottery is performed on that day to determine which priests will sacrifice the offerings that day, and the order established on Sukkot does not continue; the blessing of time [zeman]: Who has given us life, sustained us, and brought us to this time, is recited just as it is recited at the start of each Festival; Festival [regel], as it is considered a Festival in and of itself and there is no mitzva to reside in the sukka (see Tosafot); offering [korban], as the number of offerings sacrificed on the Eighth Day is not a continuation of the number offered on Sukkot but is part of a new calculation; song [shira], as the Psalms recited by the Levites as the offerings were sacrificed on the Eighth Day are not a continuation of those recited on Sukkot; blessing [berakha], as the addition to the third blessing of Grace after Meals and in the Amida prayer (see Tosafot) is phrased differently than the addition recited on Sukkot.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Rashi disagrees with Tosefot concerning Festival [regel] and the blessing [berakha]. When it comes to the festival Rashi just writes that it has a completely different name than Sukkot i.e. Shemini Atzeret. The blessing is the blessing that the people bless the king at this time as first reported in I Kings 8: 66 “On the eighth day he let the people go. The blessed the king and went to their homes, joyful and glad of hard over all the goodness that the Lord had shown to His servant David and his people Israel.”

The Goanim and Rishonim understand that the laws of mourning before and after Shemini Atzeret conform to the practice of mourning before and after every other holiday. If a person passes away before Sukkot, the first day counts as seven days,  the intermediate days when no mourning is permitted counts for another seven days and Shemini Atzeret, the holiday counts toward another seven days for a total of 21 days out of the first 30. If a person passes away during Sukkot, all mourning practices are delayed until after Shemini Atzeret.