April 28 Emor - Leviticus 23:1-8
| 1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, | א. וַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: | |
| 2. Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The Lord's appointed [holy days] that you shall designate as holy occasions. These are My appointed [holy days]: | ב. דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם מוֹעֲדֵי יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר תִּקְרְאוּ אֹתָם מִקְרָאֵי קֹדֶשׁ אֵלֶּה הֵם מוֹעֲדָי: | |
| 3. [For] six days, work may be performed, but on the seventh day, it is a complete rest day, a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places. | ג. שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ כָּל מְלָאכָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ שַׁבָּת הִוא לַיהֹוָה בְּכֹל מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם: | |
| 4. These are the Lord's appointed [holy days], holy occasions, which you shall designate in their appointed time: | ד. אֵלֶּה מוֹעֲדֵי יְהֹוָה מִקְרָאֵי קֹדֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר תִּקְרְאוּ אֹתָם בְּמוֹעֲדָם: | |
| 5. In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month, in the afternoon, [you shall sacrifice] the Passover offering to the Lord. | ה. בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר לַחֹדֶשׁ בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם פֶּסַח לַיהֹוָה: | |
| 6. And on the fifteenth day of that month is the Festival of Unleavened Cakes to the Lord; you shall eat unleavened cakes for a seven day period. | ו. וּבַחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה חַג הַמַּצּוֹת לַיהֹוָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים מַצּוֹת תֹּאכֵלוּ: | |
| 7. On the first day, there shall be a holy occasion for you; you shall not perform any work of labor. | ז. בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ יִהְיֶה לָכֶם כָּל מְלֶאכֶת עֲבֹדָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ: | |
| 8. And you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord for a seven day period. On the seventh day, there shall be a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work of labor. | ח. וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם אִשֶּׁה לַיהֹוָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ כָּל מְלֶאכֶת עֲבֹדָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ: |
- According to Rashi on verse 2, why do we have to proclaim the calendar to all the Jewish people all over the world? Now that there is no Temple to make pilgrimage to, why we do you think we need a unified calendar for the world-wide Jewish people?
- According to Rashi on verse 3, why is Shabbat included as the first among the holidays listed? Which do you think tells more about who you are: something you do once a year, or something you do every week? Why?
- According to Rabbi Hirsch’s citation of Sifra in the Stone Chumash, “That you are to designate” (pp. 682-683), how is the calendar symbolic of the relationship between God and Israel? What is God’s part? What is the people Israel’s part? How do you feel about this idea?
- According to the comment on verse 5 in the Stone Chumash, Why is Nisan referred to as the “first month”? In the Mishnah on Rosh Hashanah 1:1, how many new year’s are there, and what are they for? What kind of new years do we have in our secular culture? Why do you think we need different new years?
- In Rebbe Nachman’s Torah (Exodus-Leviticus, p. 394, under “Holy Festivals”), what miracles are associated with each holiday? Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe the miracles in the Torah happened as described, are metaphors, or something in between? Why?
I am answering the question 1. Rashi says: "Speak to the children of Israel…The Lord’s appointed [holy days]: Designate the [times] of the festivals so that [all of] Israel will become accustomed to them, [meaning] that they should proclaim leap years for [the Jews in] the Diaspora who had uprooted themselves from their place to ascend to [Jerusalem for] the festivals, but who had not yet arrived in Jerusalem. [The leap year would enable them to arrive in time. Consequently, in ensuing years, they would not lose hope of arriving on time and would be encouraged to make the pilgrimage.]- [Torath Kohanim 23:139; Levush Ha’orah. See also Mizrachi , Nachalath Ya’akov , Sefer Hazikkaron , Yosef Hallel , Chavel]"
ReplyDeleteI think that the calendar connects us because now that we don't have one temple that we all go to, we should celebrate things at the same time. Then, at least we can pretend that we are all together.
I do not think that it is about pretending to be together. I think that the calendar/having all the holidays on the same is more about having a new way of being connected.
DeleteI am answering question 2. The question is: According to Rashi on verse 3, why is Shabbat included as the first among the holidays listed? Which do you think tells more about who you are: something you do once a year, or something you do every week? Why?
ReplyDeleteIn this verse, it describes how if a person observes the holidays (festivals), then that mean that the person has automatically observed the Sabbath. This is one of the first listed because observing all the festivals. I think that it shows more about a person when you do something good once a week other then once a year. Doing it once a week shows you can make a commitment.
I did Question number 2. Rashi says that Shabbat is listed 1st because if you transgress the other holidays, it is as bad as breaking Shabbat. This shows that Rashi thinks that something that happens once every year is as bad as something that happens once every week, if not more. Shabbat is listed first because all of the other holidays are subsets of Shabbat.
ReplyDeleteI think that what you do once week year tells more about you than something you do every year. Shabbat becomes a routine, so you almost all of one's Shabbatot are the same. How you experience normal Shabbatot tells about how you deal with routines, and what they mean to you. Contrarily, however, how you experience each holiday each year and how you look forward to holidays you like tells plenty about you as well.
- Alexander D. Hailman
It is interesting that you said that Shabbat becomes a routine. It can become a routine, but I think it is still a commitment that people have to be aware of. People have to want to keep Shabbat.
DeleteI am answering question 5 using Rebbe Nachman's Torah. Rebbe Nachman says that the miracles associated with Pesach are the ten plagues, the exodus from Egypt and the splitting of the sea. He says that Shavuot remembers receiving the ten commandments at Mount Sinai, and that Sukkot recalls something called the "clouds of glory" which I assume is mana. I noticed that these are actually the three holidays when people would travel to the Temple, so that's probably not a coincidence.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the question "do you believe in miracles", it depends what your definition of miracles is. I see the word "miracle" as really vague. It really means whatever you interpret it to mean.
I did question 1.
ReplyDeleteRashi said that it was because Jews who were far from the temple would know when to go. Since there is no temple anymore I think that we need a unified calender so that we can invite people over for a holiday.
Shai
We like the calender idea. However who would make it? And how would we all agree?
DeleteAri and Adin
Ari and Adin
The rabbis would make it and everyone agrees with the rabbis
DeleteShai
I answered Q2 which asked for the significance of the sabbath as a festival and the reason it's mentioned before the other annual holidays, even though it's weekly. The sabbath, according to Rashi, is very important because it is frequent and therefore is more essential to the Jewish identity than say Purim. The Sabbath is treated like the other annual festivals.Yom Kippur happens annually and is overmuch important compared to the sabbath times 52. It's special because it's a holy fast for our sins against God and to atone in the most sacred way possible. By Ben
ReplyDeleteI am answering question number 2: According to Rashi on verse 3, why is Shabbat included as the first among the holidays listed? Which do you think tells more about who you are: something you do once a year, or something you do every week? Why?
ReplyDeleteRashi says in Be’er Basadeh ; Torath Kohanim 23:144 that Shabbat being included as the first among the holidays to be listed teaches us that whoever doesn't keep the festivals is considered to have not kept Shabbat. Whoever celebrated the festivals is considered to have kept Shabbat, and the reward is as great. Doing something every week is more of a commitment than doing something once a year, but both commitments are equally important.
We agree. Both Shabbat and holidays are equally important, but it seems that keeping shabbat is more of a commitment then keeping the holidays.
DeleteAri and Adin
how come?
DeleteWe chose to focus on Rebee Nacmans questions about miracles. We believe that the miracles in the torah might not have actually happened but they teach us when we read them. Now on yom hashoah, it is hard to believe in G-d when 6,000,000 Jews were killed. Elie Wiesel once asked a Rabbi "How can you believe in G-d after the Holocaust?" And the Rabbi said "After the Holocaust, how can you not believe in G-d?" We agree with this statement because if God was not playing a role, the Jews would have had no chance and Hitler may still have his reich.
ReplyDeleteAri and Adin
That is so true.
DeleteI answered question 1 Rashi says in perek 2 that we need to proclaim the Jewish calendar so that people can make pilgrimage to Jerusalem for festivals. I think we still need a unified calendar so even though we can't go to the tempal to make sacrifices we can still celebrate the holidays at the same time.
ReplyDeleteGood idea. But there may be some conflicts with the calendar.
DeleteAri and Adin
the problem with that is people end up disagreeing. It's happened before where jews nearly split because of a singgle disagreement on a date
DeleteTrue
Delete2. According to Rashi on verse 3, why is Shabbat included as the first among the holidays listed? Which do you think tells more about who you are: something you do once a year, or something you do every week? Why?
ReplyDeleteRashi says that "To teach you that whoever desecrates the festivals is considered [to have transgressed as severely] as if he had desecrated the Sabbath, and that whoever who fulfills the festivals is considered as if he has fulfilled the Sabbath."
I don't fully understand this concept. Is Rashi saying that some festivals are the same as others?
No he is just saying that shabbat is a good way to set the stage for the holidays because it happens every week.
DeleteMicah Kanter
ReplyDeleteCommentator: Rashi
Question:According to Rashi on verse 3, why is Shabbat included as the first among the holidays listed? Which do you think tells more about who you are: something you do once a year, or something you do every week? Why?
Answer: Shabbat is one of the first listed because it happens very frequently and we have to appreciate that. We should also not desecrate the holiday because it happens so frequently. As Jews, what is frequent is more special. That is why Shabbat is more important than the Shalosh Regalim. We appreciate Shabbat so much because God gave us the world and we must appreciate that more than just a moment.
True but once a year we have Ym Kippur which is considered "Shabbat shabbatot" the shabbat of shabbats, the best shabbat. why is that?
ReplyDeleteI studied Rashi on question 2. He asks, why is shabbat listed among the holidays? He answers, fulfilling a holiday is like fulfilling the shabbat, and vice versa. I agree because shabbat is just like a holiday, except it happens every week.
ReplyDelete