פרשת אמור תש"ב - המועדים

And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you; on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

ממחרת השבת ON THE MORROW AFTER THE DAY OF REST [THE PRIEST SHALL WAVE IT] — This must mean on the morrow of the first day of the Passover festival (on the 16th of Nisan); for if you say that it means on the morrow of the weekly Sabbath (i. e. on a Sunday) you do not know which particular Sabbath Scripture is referring to (Menachot 66a).

the day after the day of rest [literally: the day after the Sabbath] Our Sages, of blessed memory, have said [Menaḥot 65b] that this denotes the second day of the festival; the Dissenters maintain that the verse should be taken literally. The faithful bring examples from the Sabbatical Year [25:2], the Jubilee, Yom Kippur [:32], and the New Year [:24], all of which are called “sabbath”. The first and the eighth days of Sukkot are called “sabbath” [:39], too [see also comment on Exodus 31:13]. Moreover, a “sabbath” also means a “week”, as in “seven sabbaths” [:15] as well as “those who came in on the Sabbath, along with those who had finished for the week” [II Kings 11:9] (where one verse uses two different meanings of the same word ). In addition to these definitive arguments, Meshullam ben Qalonymus of Rome attempted to bring a proof from “…on the day after the Passover, maṣṣot and toasted grain” [Joshua 5:11] without realizing that he thereby weakened his own argument. The Passover sacrifice occurs on the fourteenth of the month; the day after the Passover sacrifice is the first day of the festival, as it is written: “They marched from Rameses, in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover” [Numbers 33:3]. However, the eating of parched grain is forbidden until after the ‘Omer-offering has been waved! To resolve this, Sa‘adya Gaon proposed 1) that there are two Passovers: the first is Israel’s Passover, while the second is God’s Passover, and is observed on the evening of the fifteenth. Thus, the reference to “the day after Passover” in Joshua is a reference to the sixteenth of the month, but the reference to “the day after Passover” in the Torah denotes the day after the Passover sacrifice . This explanation is unsatisfactory, because the Passover festival owes its name to God’s passing over our houses. “The day after” that event denotes the following morning — which is still the fifteenth (compare, “…the entire day, the entire night, and the entire day after” [Numbers 11:32]). 2) Sa‘adya Gaon also suggested that the “maṣṣot and toast” were from the previous year’s crop, which makes sense. Scripture says that the waving of the ‘Omer offering takes place “from the time when you begin to reap the grain” [Deuteronomy 16:9]. If the waving of the ‘Omer that year occurred on the fifteenth, when did they have time to harvest the grain and prepare maṣṣot? Even if they had had the time, the only harvest so far that year was the beginning of the barley crop. The choice of words is also suggestive: Scripture says, “from the land through which they had passed [Hebrew: ‘avur]” [Joshua 5:11]; the word may have been used because it describes the produce from the year that had just passed [Hebrew: ‘avra] (“the land through which they had passed” literally means the land of Siḥon and ‘Og). This is borne out by the contrasting phrase, “…from the fresh produce of the land of Canaan” [Joshua 5:12]. Besides, “toast” [Hebrew: qaluy] is not the same thing as “parched grain” [Hebrew: qalee]. Scripture states only that “You will eat neither bread, nor parched grain [Hebrew: qalee], nor kernels” [:14]. The verse “ripe ears toasted [Hebrew: qaluy] in fire” [2:14] does not contradict anything we have said, because there the word qaluy is used as an adjective. Anything which is “toasted” in fire can be called “toast”. We may press the question still further: What grounds have we to assume that the kohen waved the ‘Omer offering as soon as they crossed the Jordan? In fact, the verse distinctly says “the land which I give you” [:10] and the land as yet had not been given to them. The entire point of the verse in question is that the manna stopped; Scripture mentions the maṣṣot and the toast only in the context of the stopping of the manna. Sa‘adya Gaon also pointed out, that if we are to take the word “Sabbath” literally, from which Sabbath are we to begin the count? Rabbi Abu al-Faraj Furqan ibn Asad replied that there are eighteen days called “set times”, besides the Sabbath, when an additional sacrifice is offered [Numbers, Chapters 28 and 29]. Since we know that an additional sacrifice is offered on the day the ‘Omer is waved [:12], we can deduce that the day of the ‘Omer waving must be included in the days of the Spring festival. He seems to have forgot, however, that the New Month sacrifices are also not mentioned in the list! Moreover, Scripture says, “These shall be offered each day for seven days” [Numbers 28:24]. According to him, it should say, “…except for the day on which the ‘Omerwaving falls” (the absence of such a phrase poses no problem for us , though, because we derive the Commandments from the oral tradition). The parasha of Pinḥas also does not discuss the lambs of the peace-offering [cf . :19] when it comes to the festival of Shavu‘ot, nor does it say anything about the “one young ox, and two rams” mentioned in the previous verse [:18] — instead, it talks about “two … bullocks, and one ram” [Numbers 28:27]. The believer can also argue that Moshe knew prophetically that the first day of the month would be a Sabbath, and consequently he would know on what day of the week the ‘Omer waving would fall (just as he would know that the first arrangement of the showbread would occur on a Sabbath [24:8] [comment on Exodus 40:2]). Scripture mentions the days on which events fell during the first year; but subsequent years use the terms “your Festival of Weeks” [Numbers 28:26] and “seven weeks” [Deuteronomy 16:9] rather than speaking in terms of “Sabbaths” [:15]. Similarly, in the first year they offered the sacrifices mentioned here; but in subsequent years they offered the sacrifices in the parasha of Pinḥas . It is useless to say that a “week” perforce begins on Sunday. The phrase “she will be ritually impure for two weeks” [12:5] clearly invalidates such an argument. Most people do not realize that the reason why Scripture does not mention the day on which Shavu‘ot falls — alone among all the festivals — is that we are commanded to count to the day of the festival. Our Sages, of blessed memory, said [Shabbat 86b] that the day on which Shavu‘ot falls is the anniversary of the giving of the Torah, and that the statement “we have a festival of God” [Exodus 10:9] is a reference to Shavu‘ot.

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest; thou shalt leave them for the poor, and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

ובקצרכם AND WHEN YE REAP [THE HARVEST OF YOUR LAND, THOU SHALT NOT MAKE CLEAR RIDDANCE OF THE CORNER OF THE FIELD] — Scripture repeats the prohibition here (although it has already been mentioned above, 19:9) in order to make one who transgresses this law infringe two negative commands. R. Abdima the son of R. Joseph said: What reason had Scripture to place it (the law concerning the corner of the field) amidst those regarding the festival-sacrifices — those of Passover and Pentecost on this side of it, and those of the New Year, Day of Atonement and “the Feast” (Tabernacles) following on that side of it? To teach you that he who leaves the gleanings, the forgotten sheaf and the corner of the field to the poor as it ought to be, is regarded as though he had built the Temple and offered his sacrifices therein (cf. Sifra, Emor, Chapter 13 11).

The commandment of when you reap the harvest of your land is mentioned a second time [cf . 19:9] apropos the festival of Shavu‘ot, which involves the first-fruits of the wheat harvest. We must not forget the commandments which pertain to that time of year.

אך — The words אך and רק wherever they occur in Scripture have a limitative force; here the word implies: it (Yom Kippur) makes expiation for those who repent, but it does not make expiation for those who do not repent (אך... יום הכפורים הוא — in a limitative sense it is Yom Kippur) (Shevuot 13a; cf. Rashi on Exodus 34:7).

אך בעשור לחודש השביעי, even though on all the other days described in this chapter as מקראי קודש it is proper to express our joy on these days by means of food and drink, as we know from Nechemyah 8,10 where Ezra asks the people on New Year’s day אכלו משמנים ושתו ממתקים, “eat choice foods and drink sweet drinks,” the tenth of this month the day known as Yom Hakippurim, Day of Atonement, is a day devoted to confession of our sins and a day when a person comes to grips with the sins he has been guilty of. On this day it is not in order to preoccupy oneself with anything other than the quest to obtain G’d’s forgiveness and to achieve expiation of one’s sins. Instead of eating and drinking, the order of the day has been best expressed by Isaiah 58,3 הן ביום צומכם תמצאו חפץ וכל עצביכם תנגושו, “because on your fast day you see to your business and you oppress your labourers!” [the prophet sarcastically chastises the people who, while technically fasting, expect G’d to listen to their requests while they continue in their wicked ways, going only through the motions in their religious observance. Ed.]

אך בחמשה עשר יום... תחגו BUT ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY… YE SHALL OFFER A חג — i. e., a sacrifice of peace-offerings as a חגיגה (the pilgrims’ sacrifice on the Festivals) (Chagigah 9a). Since it states that this has to be brought on the fifteenth day of the month, one might think that it (the offering of קרבן חגיגה) shall set aside the Sabbath (supersede the Sabbath law, if that day be the fifteenth of the month)! Scripture, however, uses the word אך (the particle that implies a limitation; cf. Rashi on v. 27): suggesting that it must not be offered on Sabbath because it has a supplementary period consisting of all the seven days of the Festival.

אך בחמשה עשר יום לחודש השביעי, even though both New Year and the Day of Atonement are primarily designed to help the people achieve atonement for their sins and their being remembered favourably by G’d, Sukkot is for enjoyment and giving thanks to the Lord for having enabled them to fill their barns with good produce at the end of the harvest season.

באספכם את תבואת הארץ [ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH] WHEN YE GATHER IN THE INCREASE OF THE LAND — This tells us that this seventh month (in which סכות occurs) must be at the time of the ingathering. Hence we learn that they are enjoined to intercalate the years if necessary (Sifra, Emor, Chapter 15 6), because if there be no such intercalation it (the seventh month) would sometimes fall in the middle of the summer or of the winter.

the day after the day of rest [literally: the day after the Sabbath] Our Sages, of blessed memory, have said [Menaḥot 65b] that this denotes the second day of the festival; the Dissenters maintain that the verse should be taken literally. The faithful bring examples from the Sabbatical Year [25:2], the Jubilee, Yom Kippur [:32], and the New Year [:24], all of which are called “sabbath”. The first and the eighth days of Sukkot are called “sabbath” [:39], too [see also comment on Exodus 31:13]. Moreover, a “sabbath” also means a “week”, as in “seven sabbaths” [:15] as well as “those who came in on the Sabbath, along with those who had finished for the week” [II Kings 11:9] (where one verse uses two different meanings of the same word ). In addition to these definitive arguments, Meshullam ben Qalonymus of Rome attempted to bring a proof from “…on the day after the Passover, maṣṣot and toasted grain” [Joshua 5:11] without realizing that he thereby weakened his own argument. The Passover sacrifice occurs on the fourteenth of the month; the day after the Passover sacrifice is the first day of the festival, as it is written: “They marched from Rameses, in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover” [Numbers 33:3]. However, the eating of parched grain is forbidden until after the ‘Omer-offering has been waved! To resolve this, Sa‘adya Gaon proposed 1) that there are two Passovers: the first is Israel’s Passover, while the second is God’s Passover, and is observed on the evening of the fifteenth. Thus, the reference to “the day after Passover” in Joshua is a reference to the sixteenth of the month, but the reference to “the day after Passover” in the Torah denotes the day after the Passover sacrifice . This explanation is unsatisfactory, because the Passover festival owes its name to God’s passing over our houses. “The day after” that event denotes the following morning — which is still the fifteenth (compare, “…the entire day, the entire night, and the entire day after” [Numbers 11:32]). 2) Sa‘adya Gaon also suggested that the “maṣṣot and toast” were from the previous year’s crop, which makes sense. Scripture says that the waving of the ‘Omer offering takes place “from the time when you begin to reap the grain” [Deuteronomy 16:9]. If the waving of the ‘Omer that year occurred on the fifteenth, when did they have time to harvest the grain and prepare maṣṣot? Even if they had had the time, the only harvest so far that year was the beginning of the barley crop. The choice of words is also suggestive: Scripture says, “from the land through which they had passed [Hebrew: ‘avur]” [Joshua 5:11]; the word may have been used because it describes the produce from the year that had just passed [Hebrew: ‘avra] (“the land through which they had passed” literally means the land of Siḥon and ‘Og). This is borne out by the contrasting phrase, “…from the fresh produce of the land of Canaan” [Joshua 5:12]. Besides, “toast” [Hebrew: qaluy] is not the same thing as “parched grain” [Hebrew: qalee]. Scripture states only that “You will eat neither bread, nor parched grain [Hebrew: qalee], nor kernels” [:14]. The verse “ripe ears toasted [Hebrew: qaluy] in fire” [2:14] does not contradict anything we have said, because there the word qaluy is used as an adjective. Anything which is “toasted” in fire can be called “toast”. We may press the question still further: What grounds have we to assume that the kohen waved the ‘Omer offering as soon as they crossed the Jordan? In fact, the verse distinctly says “the land which I give you” [:10] and the land as yet had not been given to them. The entire point of the verse in question is that the manna stopped; Scripture mentions the maṣṣot and the toast only in the context of the stopping of the manna. Sa‘adya Gaon also pointed out, that if we are to take the word “Sabbath” literally, from which Sabbath are we to begin the count? Rabbi Abu al-Faraj Furqan ibn Asad replied that there are eighteen days called “set times”, besides the Sabbath, when an additional sacrifice is offered [Numbers, Chapters 28 and 29]. Since we know that an additional sacrifice is offered on the day the ‘Omer is waved [:12], we can deduce that the day of the ‘Omer waving must be included in the days of the Spring festival. He seems to have forgot, however, that the New Month sacrifices are also not mentioned in the list! Moreover, Scripture says, “These shall be offered each day for seven days” [Numbers 28:24]. According to him, it should say, “…except for the day on which the ‘Omerwaving falls” (the absence of such a phrase poses no problem for us , though, because we derive the Commandments from the oral tradition). The parasha of Pinḥas also does not discuss the lambs of the peace-offering [cf . :19] when it comes to the festival of Shavu‘ot, nor does it say anything about the “one young ox, and two rams” mentioned in the previous verse [:18] — instead, it talks about “two … bullocks, and one ram” [Numbers 28:27]. The believer can also argue that Moshe knew prophetically that the first day of the month would be a Sabbath, and consequently he would know on what day of the week the ‘Omer waving would fall (just as he would know that the first arrangement of the showbread would occur on a Sabbath [24:8] [comment on Exodus 40:2]). Scripture mentions the days on which events fell during the first year; but subsequent years use the terms “your Festival of Weeks” [Numbers 28:26] and “seven weeks” [Deuteronomy 16:9] rather than speaking in terms of “Sabbaths” [:15]. Similarly, in the first year they offered the sacrifices mentioned here; but in subsequent years they offered the sacrifices in the parasha of Pinḥas . It is useless to say that a “week” perforce begins on Sunday. The phrase “she will be ritually impure for two weeks” [12:5] clearly invalidates such an argument. Most people do not realize that the reason why Scripture does not mention the day on which Shavu‘ot falls — alone among all the festivals — is that we are commanded to count to the day of the festival. Our Sages, of blessed memory, said [Shabbat 86b] that the day on which Shavu‘ot falls is the anniversary of the giving of the Torah, and that the statement “we have a festival of God” [Exodus 10:9] is a reference to Shavu‘ot.

you shall lift up for yourselves We translate according to the words of the Exegetes — since they do not contradict the plain meaning of Scripture — even though elsewhere we translate “every man shall acquire for himself a lamb, for the family group” [Exodus 12:3]. The Exegetes have also transmitted to us the tradition that the fruit of the hadar tree denotes the citron, and, in truth, there is no tree with fruit more beautiful [Hebrew: hadar]. They also called it “the fruit that resides [Hebrew: haddar] on its tree” as a kind of mnemonic [Sukka 35a], as I have explained above concerning the passage “to other people” [Exodus 21:8] [the reference is to an earlier commentary on Exodus, known as the Perush Haqqaṣar — Translator]. The Sadducees [a derogatory reference to Karaites — Translator] have said that the Sukka must be built from these four species, bringing a proof from Ezra’s book [Nehemiah 8:15]. Didn’t these half-wits notice that no mention is made there of the brook-willow , nor of any kind of fruit? On the contrary, it is only a list of branches from five kinds of trees (the fact that “myrtle branches” are mentioned separately from “thick-tree branches” [Nehemiah 8:15] poses no problem to the traditional interpretation; there are two varieties — one tall and one short — and there the term “myrtle” denotes the short variety).

כי בסכות הושבתי THAT I MADE [THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] ABIDE IN BOOTHS — This does not mean literally “booths” but, “the clouds of Glory" by which they were sheltered (cf. Onkelos; Sifra, Emor, Chapter 17 11; Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:35:1; Sukkah 11b).

I made the Israelite people live in booths. Rashi's comment seems to me to be the straightforward sense of the verse. He has commanded that all future generations should know the deeds of the great God "Who dealt so wondrously with you" (Joel 2:26) sheltering them under the clouds of His Presence as in a booth. Having already explained that "over the Tabernacle a cloud of the LORD rested by day, and fire would appear in it by night" (Exodus 40:38), our verse needed only to say, "I made the Israelite people live in booths" - "I made My Presence into clouds of glory as shelters to protect them." We find the same notion in Isaiah 4:5-6, "The LORD will create over the whole shrine and meeting place of Mount Zion cloud by day and smoke with a glow of flaming fire by night. Indeed, over all the glory shall hand a canopy, which shall serve as a pavilion for shade from heat by day and as a shelter for protection against drenching rain." At the beginning of the dry season, we are commanded to remember the exodus by making Nisan the first month of the year, and by celebrating the festival of Passover; here, at the beginning of the rainy season, a further observance is commanded, in commemoration of the ongoing miracle that was done for them throughout their 40 years in the wilderness. According to the opinion that the phrase refers to actual booths, they did begin making them at the start of the rainy season because of the cold, as people do when they camp, and that is why our text commands that booths be made at this season. In that case, what the future generations are supposed to know is that they made their way in the wilderness and "found no settled place" (Psalms 107:4) for 40 years. But God was with them, and they "lacked nothing" (Deuteronomy 2:7).

למען ידעו דורותיכם, the plain meaning of the text is in agreement with the view expressed in Sukkah 11 according to which the word סוכה is to be understood literally. The meaning of the verse then would be: “construct for yourselves the festival of huts when you gather in your grain and grape harvest (Deuteronomy 16,13) You are to do this at the time you gather in the produce of the earth and your houses are filled with all the good things the earth produces such a grain, grape, wine and oil (olives). This is to be done in order that you will remember” כי בסוכות הושבתי את בני ישראל, in the desert for a period of 40 years when they neither owned land nor found themselves in a cultivated part of the earth. Remembering all this you will have ample reason to be grateful to the One Who has provided you with all of your present wealth and comfort. You must not fall into the trap of thinking that all this success is due to your own efforts. We find a similar thought expressed in Deuteronomy 8,2-3 “you shall remember all the way which the Lord your G’d has led you for these last 40 years…and He fed you the manna, etc.” Why do I command you to do all this? For the Lord your G’d brings you to a good …and you will eat and be satisfied, etc. As a result your heart may become haughty and you will credit yourself with all this as your own achievement. (Deuteronomy 8 7-18) In order that this will not happen and to show that the Israelites G’d’s part in their success they will move out of their solid houses as a reminder to the time when they had not been blessed with any of these benefits which they enjoy ever since inheriting the land of their forefathers. They acknowledge that it is G’d Who provides the Jewish people with the ability and valor.

Incidental to the halakhic statement in his name, the Gemara also cites another statement that Rava bar Meḥasseya said that Rav Ḥama bar Gurya said that Rav said: One who gives a gift to another must inform him that he is giving it to him. As it is stated: “Only keep My Shabbatot for it is a sign between Me and you for your generations to know that I am God Who sanctifies you” (Exodus 31:13). When the Holy One, Blessed be He, gave Shabbat to Israel, He told Moses to inform them about it. That was also taught in a baraita: The verse states: “For I am God Who sanctifies you,” meaning that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: I have a good gift in My treasure house and Shabbat is its name, and I seek to give it to Israel. Go inform them about it. From here Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: One who gives a gift of bread to a child needs to inform his mother that he gave it to him. The Gemara asks: What does he do to the child, so that his mother will know that he gave him a gift? Abaye said: He should smear him with oil or place blue shadow around his eye in an obvious manner. When the mother of the child notices and asks him about it, he will tell her that so-and-so gave him a piece of bread. The Gemara asks: And now that we are concerned about witchcraft involving oil or eye shadow, what should one who gives a gift do? Rav Pappa said: He should smear him with food of the same type that he gave him to eat.