In keeping with the law of reviewing each parsha with the Aramaic translation, (shnayim mikrah ve'echad targum), one should read the Torah portion of Vezot HaBracha (the Chumash twice and the translation of Onkelus once) on Shmini Atzeret afternoon or Simchat Torah morning before the Torah reading is completed. This is the Chabad custom. Some say that this reading should be done on Hoshana Rabbah or on the evening of Simchat Torah. In Israel, where Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are combined into one day, this reading should be done on Hoshana Rabbah. One shouldn’t do this reading before Hoshana Rabbah.
If one missed this reading before Simchat Torah, one can do it on the night following Simchat Torah. One may not prepare for the second day of Yom Tov before 7:19 p.m.
