Difference between revisions of "MiMachorat HaShabbat/2"
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<li>The Scholion to Megillat Taanit, Lekach Tov and Ibn Ezra<fn>See also the <a href="RambamCommentaryontheMishnaChagigah2-4" data-aht="source">Rambam</a>.</fn> respond that many other holidays are called a "Shabbaton", pointing to Rosh HaShanah, Yom HaKippurim and Sukkot as examples.<fn>Though Pesach and Chag HaMatzot are never explicitly identified as a Shabbat or Shabbaton, R. D"Z Hoffmann asserts that the usage by the holidays mentioned can serve as a prototype for all others as well.</fn>  From these one can learn that the word Shabbaton, and hence, Shabbat, is not limited in meaning to a specific day of the week, but can refer to any Yom Tov.<fn>R. Saadia points out that the word itself really means to cease, so any day or time period in which there is a ceasing from work can be so called.  Cf. the opinion below which elaborates on this etymology but does not go as far as to say that the word Shabbat can really substitute for the word Yom Tov..</fn></li> | <li>The Scholion to Megillat Taanit, Lekach Tov and Ibn Ezra<fn>See also the <a href="RambamCommentaryontheMishnaChagigah2-4" data-aht="source">Rambam</a>.</fn> respond that many other holidays are called a "Shabbaton", pointing to Rosh HaShanah, Yom HaKippurim and Sukkot as examples.<fn>Though Pesach and Chag HaMatzot are never explicitly identified as a Shabbat or Shabbaton, R. D"Z Hoffmann asserts that the usage by the holidays mentioned can serve as a prototype for all others as well.</fn>  From these one can learn that the word Shabbaton, and hence, Shabbat, is not limited in meaning to a specific day of the week, but can refer to any Yom Tov.<fn>R. Saadia points out that the word itself really means to cease, so any day or time period in which there is a ceasing from work can be so called.  Cf. the opinion below which elaborates on this etymology but does not go as far as to say that the word Shabbat can really substitute for the word Yom Tov..</fn></li> | ||
− | <li>Other commentators attempt to maintain the Rabbinate dating of the Omer sacrifice as the 16th, but offer other definitions for the word Shabbat.  Ramban proposes that it means "week", as it does in the rest of the passage.  The bringing of the Omer begins a new week (for purposes of the future counting) and thus starts | + | </ul> |
+ | <ul> | ||
+ | <li>Other commentators attempt to maintain the Rabbinate dating of the Omer sacrifice as the 16th, but offer other definitions for the word Shabbat.<fn>See also the position developed below which emphasizes the meaning of cessation.</fn>  Ramban proposes that it means "week", as it does in the rest of the passage.  The bringing of the Omer begins a new week (for purposes of the future counting) and thus starts on the morrow of the week ending on the 15th.<fn>This is not a simple nor fluid reading of the verses, despite the advantage of maintaining a consistent understanding of the word Shabbat.</fn> Others relate the word to "sabattu" which refers to the day of the full moon, and is thus simply another way of saying the 15th of the month.<fn>See Y. Elizur "מילות מפתח ככותרת עומק לפרשיוןת במקרא ושאלת ממחרת השבת", Megadim 38 (2003): 33-43.  This position must still explain why specifically here the Torah would borrow an Akkadian cognate rather than simply use a date.  He suggests that the root "שבת" serves as a guiding word throughout this unit of Vayikra and as such the Torah opted to include one more usage.</fn></li> | ||
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
<point><b>Why use a word with a secondary meaning?</b> R. D"Z Hoffmann points out that the alternatives would have been ambiguous.  The term "ממחרת הפסח" could refer to either the fifteenth or sixteenth of the month<fn>Since the Pesach is sacrificed on the fourteenth and eaten in the evening, the morrow could be interpreted as either the fifteenth or the sixteenth.</fn> and the term "ממחרת החג" would likely be understood as referring to the 22nd of Nisan, the day after the entire festival.<fn>R. Hoffmann adds that had the text instead written a lunar date, that would have severed the connection to Pesach, which is highlighted in the formulation "the morrow of..."</fn></point> | <point><b>Why use a word with a secondary meaning?</b> R. D"Z Hoffmann points out that the alternatives would have been ambiguous.  The term "ממחרת הפסח" could refer to either the fifteenth or sixteenth of the month<fn>Since the Pesach is sacrificed on the fourteenth and eaten in the evening, the morrow could be interpreted as either the fifteenth or the sixteenth.</fn> and the term "ממחרת החג" would likely be understood as referring to the 22nd of Nisan, the day after the entire festival.<fn>R. Hoffmann adds that had the text instead written a lunar date, that would have severed the connection to Pesach, which is highlighted in the formulation "the morrow of..."</fn></point> | ||
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<point><b>"תִּסְפׇּר לָךְ מֵהָחֵל חֶרְמֵשׁ בַּקָּמָה"</b> – This position asserts that the new harvest begins on the 16th of Nisan.  The different time markers in Vayikra and Devarim are just two expressions of the same idea.</point> | <point><b>"תִּסְפׇּר לָךְ מֵהָחֵל חֶרְמֵשׁ בַּקָּמָה"</b> – This position asserts that the new harvest begins on the 16th of Nisan.  The different time markers in Vayikra and Devarim are just two expressions of the same idea.</point> | ||
<point><b>Polemical Motivations</b><ul> | <point><b>Polemical Motivations</b><ul> | ||
− | <li><b>Transgressing of Shabbat</b> – As opposed to the Sectarians, the Sages were not bothered by the potential transgressing of Shabbat were the | + | <li><b>Transgressing of Shabbat</b> – As opposed to the Sectarians, the Sages were not bothered by the potential transgressing of Shabbat were the day of the offering of the Omer to fall on it.<fn>This is a matter that they were consistently more lenient about than the Sectarians.</fn>  As such, they were more concerned with setting a monthly date rather than a day of the week for the offering.</li> |
<li><b>Shavuot and Matan Torah</b> – It is possible that part of the Rabbinate disagreement with the Karaites related to their desire to connect Shavuot with the revelation at Sinai.  Since this was associated with the sixth of Sivan, they had an incentive to date Shavuot then.</li> | <li><b>Shavuot and Matan Torah</b> – It is possible that part of the Rabbinate disagreement with the Karaites related to their desire to connect Shavuot with the revelation at Sinai.  Since this was associated with the sixth of Sivan, they had an incentive to date Shavuot then.</li> | ||
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
− | <point><b>Who Counts?</b> If the date of the bringing of the Omer and Shavuot were variable, the fifty day count would have a practical purpose and one would assume that the calculations be done not by individuals but by the courts, as is done for the Jubilee year.  Since the Sages hold that Shavuot has a set date, though, they assume the count is not purely utilitarian but | + | <point><b>Who Counts?</b> If the date of the bringing of the Omer and Shavuot were variable, the fifty day count would have a practical purpose and one would assume that the calculations be done not by individuals but by the courts, as is done for the Jubilee year.  Since the Sages hold that Shavuot has a set date, though, they assume the count is not purely utilitarian but rather that it must have inherent religious value. As such, they maintain that every individual must count and not just the court.</point> |
</opinion> | </opinion> | ||
<opinion name="">Last Yom Tov | <opinion name="">Last Yom Tov |
Version as of 03:17, 1 May 2015
MiMachorat HaShabbat
Exegetical Approaches
Sunday
The word Shabbat refers to the seventh day of the week (שבת בראשית), and the Omer offering is always brought on the following day. This position subdivides regarding to which Saturday the verses refer:
Within Chag HaMatzot
The Omer is sacrificed on the morrow of the first Saturday which falls within or immediately preceding the holiday of Chag HaMatzot.
- Sunday – The Karaites assume that it is the Omer offering itself (the day which is "מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת") which must overlap with Chag HaMatzot. Thus, the Omer offering could be brought as early as the 15th of Nisan,2 but never after the 21st.
- Shabbat – The Samaritans, in contrast, maintain that the Shabbat itself must fall within the holiday. As such, one would never bring the Omer offering before the 16th, but depending on when Shabbat were to fall, one might bring it as late as the 22nd of Nisan, after the conclusion of the festival.
- Two days of rest – In the Scholion to Megillat Taanit, a Boethusian tells R. Yochanan b. Zakkai that Hashem wanted the nation to rest for two consecutive days on Shavuot, which otherwise would be a short one day holiday.11
- Prevent Sabbath desecration – Salmon b. Yerucham the Karaite suggests instead that Shavuot was set on Sunday to ensure that the holiday never fell on Shabbat which would be problematic for bringing a Shelamim offering.
- The Karaites12 assert that the year the Israelites entered the land, Chag HaPesach fell on a Shabbat, and the Omer offering was brought on the next day ("מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח"),13 the 15th of Nisan, allowing the nation to eat of the new harvest on that very day. The passage in Yehoshua, thus, could support their understanding of "מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת".
- Since the Samaritans do not accept Sefer Yehoshua as part of their canon they are not bothered by any contradictions from it.14
After Chag HaMatzot
The Omer offering is brought on the day following the first Shabbat Bereshit after the festival of Chag HaMatzot.
After the First Harvest
The Omer is brought on the first Sunday following the initial harvest of the season.
Day After Yom Tov
The term Shabbat is another way of referring to Yom Tov. The Omer offering is brought on the day after the Yom Tov of Chag HaMatzot. This approach divides based on which Yom Tov is referred to:
First Yom Tov
The Omer offering follows the first Yom Tov of the festival and falls out on the 16th of Nisan.
- The Scholion to Megillat Taanit, Lekach Tov and Ibn Ezra32 respond that many other holidays are called a "Shabbaton", pointing to Rosh HaShanah, Yom HaKippurim and Sukkot as examples.33 From these one can learn that the word Shabbaton, and hence, Shabbat, is not limited in meaning to a specific day of the week, but can refer to any Yom Tov.34
- Other commentators attempt to maintain the Rabbinate dating of the Omer sacrifice as the 16th, but offer other definitions for the word Shabbat.35 Ramban proposes that it means "week", as it does in the rest of the passage. The bringing of the Omer begins a new week (for purposes of the future counting) and thus starts on the morrow of the week ending on the 15th.36 Others relate the word to "sabattu" which refers to the day of the full moon, and is thus simply another way of saying the 15th of the month.37
- Fifteenth of Nisan – According to Ibn Ezra "מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח" refers to the fifteenth of Nisan,44 when eating of the new wheat was still prohibited. To solve the problem, he suggests45 that the verse speaks of eating from the old grain.46 An opinion in Yerushalmi Challah 2:1 alternatively asserts that the prohibition of "new wheat" only took effect after the conquest.47
- Sixteenth of Nisan – Other exegetes48 maintain that "מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח" is the 16th of Nisan. Since the Pesach sacrifice is eaten on the evening of the fifteenth, the next new day is the 16th. This is equivalent to ""מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת49 when the Omer is brought and the new grain is permitted.50
- Transgressing of Shabbat – As opposed to the Sectarians, the Sages were not bothered by the potential transgressing of Shabbat were the day of the offering of the Omer to fall on it.51 As such, they were more concerned with setting a monthly date rather than a day of the week for the offering.
- Shavuot and Matan Torah – It is possible that part of the Rabbinate disagreement with the Karaites related to their desire to connect Shavuot with the revelation at Sinai. Since this was associated with the sixth of Sivan, they had an incentive to date Shavuot then.
Last Yom Tov
The Omer is sacrificed on the 22nd of Nisan, the day following the last day of Chag HaMatzot.
Morrow of a Cessation
The word Shabbat refers to something which ceased, and the Omer offering is brought on the day following this event.
- Leavened bread – According to HaKetav VeHaKabbalah55 the 15th of Nisan is referred to as a Shabbat since it is a day in which one is obligated to desist from leavened bread.
- The manna – Lichtenschtadt and I. Kislev assert that the Torah is referring to the future56 cessation of the manna,57 which took place on the 15th of Nisan in the year of the nation's arrival in Israel.58
- Essence of day – According to HaKetav VeHaKabbalah, the entire essence of the first day of Yom Tov is the cessation from leavened bread. This was especially true during the year of the Exodus when leavened bread was only prohibited for that one day. HaKetav VeHaKabbalah does not explain, though, why it is only here that the first Yom Tov is so called.
- Recall the manna – According to I. Kislev the Torah purposefully wants to connect the bringing of the Omer and the cessation of the manna. In fact, the entire ritual comes, in part, to commemorate the miracle and the subsequent transition from supernatural providence to natural living. Giving a calendrical date would have obscured the connection. In addition, at this point it was not yet known what specific date the people were to enter the land and stop eating manna.
- Date – By dating one event to the other, the Torah connects them.
- Amount – The specific measure of an omer's worth of the harvest recalls the omer's worth of manna that was allotted to each Israelite each day.
- Food source – While the harvest focuses on man's natural food supply, the manna represents Hashem's supernatural source of sustenance. The cessation of the latter is what led to man's harvesting.