(34) Say to the Israelite people: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month there shall be the Feast of Booths to Adonai, [to last] seven days. (35) The first day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations; (36) seven days you shall bring offerings by fire to Adonai. On the eighth day you shall observe a sacred occasion and bring an offering by fire to Adonai; it is a solemn gathering: you shall not work at your occupations.
(1) עצרת הוא — The word is derived from the root עצר “to hold back” and suggests: I keep you back with Me one day more. It is similar to the case of a king who invited his children to a banquet for a certain number of days. When the time arrived for them to take their departure he said, “Children, I beg of you, stay one day more with me; it is so hard for me to part with you!” (cf. Rashi on Numbers 29:36 and Sukkah 55b).
(3) לא תעשו YE SHALL NOT DO: — One might think that it is forbidden to do such urgent work (מלאכת עבדה) also on the intermediate days of Passover and Tabernacles (which are Half-festivals)! Scripture, however, states: עצרת] הוא], “it (i. e. the eighth day) forms a restriction: [ye shall do no urgent work]” — but on the intermediate days such work is not forbidden (Sifra, Emor, Section 12 6).
(39) Mark, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the yield of your land, you shall observe the festival of Adonai [to last] seven days: a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day.
(ו) יוֹם טוֹב הָרִאשׁוֹן שֶׁל חָג הָיוּ שָׁם שְׁלשָׁה עָשָׂר פָּרִים, וְאֵילִים שְׁנַיִם, וְשָׂעִיר אֶחָד. נִשְׁתַּיְּרוּ שָׁם אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר כְּבָשִׂים לִשְׁמֹנֶה מִשְׁמָרוֹת. בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן, שִׁשָּׁה מַקְרִיבִין שְׁנַיִם שְׁנַיִם, וְהַשְּׁאָר אֶחָד אֶחָד. בַּשֵּׁנִי, חֲמִשָּׁה מַקְרִיבִין שְׁנַיִם שְׁנַיִם, וְהַשְׁאָר אֶחָד אֶחָד. בַּשְּׁלִישִׁי, אַרְבָּעָה מַקְרִיבִין שְׁנַיִם שְׁנַיִם, וְהַשְׁאָר אֶחָד אֶחָד. בָּרְבִיעִי, שְׁלשָׁה מַקְרִיבִין שְׁנַיִם שְׁנַיִם, וְהַשְּׁאָר אֶחָד אֶחָד. בַּחֲמִשִּׁי, שְׁנַיִם מַקְרִיבִין שְׁנַיִם שְׁנַיִם, וְהַשְּׁאָר אֶחָד אֶחָד. בַּשִּׁשִּׁי, אֶחָד מַקְרִיב שְׁנַיִם, וְהַשְּׁאָר אֶחָד אֶחָד. בַּשְּׁבִיעִי, כֻּלָּן שָׁוִין. בַּשְּׁמִינִי, חָזְרוּ לַפַּיִס כְּבָרְגָלִים. אָמְרוּ, מִי שֶׁהִקְרִיב פָּרִים הַיּוֹם, לֹא יַקְרִיב לְמָחָר, אֶלָּא חוֹזְרִין חֲלִילָה:
(6) On the first festival day of Sukkot there were thirteen bulls, two rams and one goat. Fourteen lambs remained for the other eight priestly watches.On the first day, six [watches] offered two each and the remaining [two] one each. On the second day five offered two each and the remaining [four] one each. On the third day four offered two each and the remaining [six] one each. On the fourth day three offered two each and the remaining [eight] one each. On the fifth day two offered two each and the remaining [ten] one each. On the sixth day one offered two and the remaining [twelve] one each. On the seventh day all were equal. On the eighth day they again cast lots as on the other festivals. They said: the [watch] that offered bulls on one day should not offer them on the next, but that they should take their turns in rotation.
בשמיני חזרו לפייס כברגלים אמרו מי שהקריב פרים היום לא יקריב למחר אלא חוזרין חלילה:
... On the eighth day, when there was a completely different configuration of offerings, they returned to the standard lottery system used to determine which of the priestly watches would sacrifice the offerings, as they did on the other pilgrimage Festivals, which do not have as many offerings as does Sukkot. They said about the ordering of the priestly watches: One who sacrificed bulls today will not sacrifice bulls tomorrow; rather, they will sacrifice one of the other types of offerings. They rotate, so that each of the watches will have the opportunity to sacrifice bulls as well as other animals.
אך בחמשה עשר יום אחר שהזכיר את הדברים הכללים שכל המועדים מסכימים בהם וזה במה שכולם מקראי קדש וטעונים קרבן מוסף כאמרו אלה מועדי ה' אשר תקראו אותם מקראי קדש להקריב אשה וכו' אמר אך בחמשה עשר יום וכו' והודיע שחג הסכות נבדל משאר המועדים ראשונה שהשמיני שלו מקרא קדש כאמרו וביום השמיני שבתון לא כן בימי השבוע ובימי חג המצות וכן בחדשים ובשנים שבהם קדש השביעי לא השמיני. שנית במה שזה החג טעון שנוי דירה כאמרו בסכות תשבו. שלישית שטעון נענוע ארבע מינים כאמרו ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון פרי עץ הדר וכו':
the Torah continues 'אך בחמשה עשר יום וגו, by showing that the festival of Sukkot is different from all the other festivals: 1) the eighth day of that festival is called as we know from וביום השמיני שבתון (uvayom hashmini shabbaton), that the eighth day of that sequence of days is to be regarded as a kind of Sabbath. Such a concept does not exist as a special, day in the “week,” nor on the festival of matzot, neither in connection with months or years. In respect of all of these only the number seven has a connotation of holiness, not the number eight.
it is a stoppage [Hebrew: ‘aṣeret] Some say this word means “assembly”, as in “an assembly [Hebrew: ‘aṣeret] of treacherous men” [Jeremiah 9:1] — in that all Israel gathers together for the three festivals. This translation is incorrect, because concerning Passover Scripture says, “on the seventh day there will be an ‘aṣeret ” [Deuteronomy 16:8]; yet earlier Scripture has said, “in the morning you may return to your homes” [Deuteronomy 16:7]. It is more plausible to translate the word along the lines of “detained [Hebrew: ne‘ṣar] before God” [I Samuel 21:8] to denote a respite from worldly concerns. Accordingly, Scripture says, it is a stoppage: you will do no servile work . A similar phrase describes the stoppage on Passover.
It is a convocation (atseret): "I have held you up (atsarti) with Me. It is similar to a king who invited his children to a banquet for a certain number of days. When the time arrived for them to leave, he said, 'Children, I beg of you, stay one day more with me, as your leaving is hard for me!'" [That is] the language of Rashi, and this homily is taught in Vayikra Rabbah. And in the way of truth, [it means] "Since in six days did God make the Heavens and the Earth" (Exodus 20:11), and the seventh is Shabbat; and [since] it has no match, the community of Israel is its match, as it is stated, "and the earth" - and behold, it is the eighth. "It is a convocation," since everything is stored (ne'etsar) there. And God commanded seven days on the Festival of Matzot, with holiness before them and after them, 'since they are all holy and amongst them is Adonai.' And God counted from it forty-nine days - seven weeks and God sanctified the eighth, like the eighth [day] of Sukkot. And the days that are counted between them are like the intermediate days of the festival (chol ha-moed) between the first and eighth day of the Festival. And it is the day of the giving of the Torah, on which God showed them God's great fire. And therefore in every place, our rabbis called the Festival of Weeks, the convocation - as it is like the eighth day of [Sukkot]. And this is [the meaning of] their statement (Chagigah 17a), "The eighth [day of Sukkot] is a holiday on its own, with regard to lots, time, festival, sacrifice, song and blessing, [but] it is a time of making up the first [days]," since it is an emanation of the first [days], but it is not like their unity.