MiMachorat HaShabbat/1/en
MiMachorat HaShabbat
Introduction
An Enigmatic Phrase
Vayikra 23 provides a complete list of the annual festivals. After opening by commanding the observance of Shabbat, Pesach, and Chag HaMatzot, it turns to describe the Omer offering and the fifty days leading up to the bringing of the Two Loaves ("שתי הלחם"). In recording the dates of these two offerings and the counting which links them, the Torah thrice repeats the confounding term "מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת":
(י) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וּקְצַרְתֶּם אֶת קְצִירָהּ וַהֲבֵאתֶם אֶת עֹמֶר רֵאשִׁית קְצִירְכֶם אֶל הַכֹּהֵן. (יא) וְהֵנִיף אֶת הָעֹמֶר לִפְנֵי י״י לִרְצֹנְכֶם מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת יְנִיפֶנּוּ הַכֹּהֵן...
(טו) וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת מִיּוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת תְּמִימֹת תִּהְיֶינָה. (טז) עַד מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת תִּסְפְּרוּ חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם מִנְחָה חֲדָשָׁה לַי״י. (יז) מִמּוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם תָּבִיאּוּ לֶחֶם תְּנוּפָה שְׁתַּיִם שְׁנֵי עֶשְׂרֹנִים סֹלֶת תִּהְיֶינָה חָמֵץ תֵּאָפֶינָה בִּכּוּרִים לַי״י...
(כא) וּקְרָאתֶם בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ יִהְיֶה לָכֶם כׇּל מְלֶאכֶת עֲבֹדָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ חֻקַּת עוֹלָם בְּכׇל מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם.
(10) “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its the harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest: (11) and he shall wave the sheaf before Hashem, to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. (12) On the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb without blemish a year old for a burnt offering to Hashem. (13) The meal offering with it shall be two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire to Hashem for a pleasant aroma; and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. (14) You shall eat neither bread, nor roasted grain, nor fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (15) “‘You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be completed: (16) even to the next day after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering to Hashem. (17) You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, for first fruits to Hashem. (18) You shall present with the bread seven lambs without blemish a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to Hashem, with their meal offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet aroma to Hashem. (19) You shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. (20) The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before Hashem, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Hashem for the priest. (21) You shall make proclamation on the same day: there shall be a holy convocation to you; you shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
What is "הַשַּׁבָּת" to which the Torah refers? Does it allude to a day previously mentioned, as the definite article (ה' הידיעה) might imply? Could it hark back to the weekly Shabbat described at the beginning of the Chapter? But, if so, which of the many Sabbaths of the year would it be? Alternatively, if it refers to the immediately preceding holidays of Pesach and Chag HaMatzot, why use the confusing term "שַׁבַּת"?
Uniqueness of Shavuot
For almost all of the holidays in Vayikra 23, the Torah opens by giving their calendrical dates, continues with the prohibitions of performing labor on them, and in some cases adds some of their unique laws. The lone exception is the festival of the Bikkurim (or Shavuot) for which no lunar date is provided. It is instead prefaced by the lengthy description of the offerings and counting detailed above. Only after this does the Torah finally tell us that the day of the Two Loaves offering should also be proclaimed as a holiday. What accounts for the difference between Shavuot and all of the other festivals?
Additionally, while the other sections of the chapter proceed sequentially, the non-calendrical dating of the Omer Offering raises the issue of how it fits within the broader structure of the Chapter. Does it chronologically follow the entire preceding unit of Chag HaMatzot, or might there be overlap between them?
