Difference between revisions of "MiMachorat HaShabbat/2"
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<p>On one side of the controversy surrounding the dating of the Omer stand various groups of Sectarians who unanimously understand the word "Shabbat" to refer to Saturday and date the Omer sacrifice to the following day (Sunday).  They disagree, however, regarding when this "Shabbat" falls out.  Many Karaites view the two Biblical passages which speak of the Omer sacrifice and Chag HaMatzot as referring to simultaneous time periods and thus associate the Omer offering with the festival itself.  The Qumran Sect, in contrast, assumes that the Biblical text is chronological and thus have the Omer offering follow the festival.  A more marginal Karaite approach completely disconnects the two holidays and instead dates the Omer to the first harvest.</p> | <p>On one side of the controversy surrounding the dating of the Omer stand various groups of Sectarians who unanimously understand the word "Shabbat" to refer to Saturday and date the Omer sacrifice to the following day (Sunday).  They disagree, however, regarding when this "Shabbat" falls out.  Many Karaites view the two Biblical passages which speak of the Omer sacrifice and Chag HaMatzot as referring to simultaneous time periods and thus associate the Omer offering with the festival itself.  The Qumran Sect, in contrast, assumes that the Biblical text is chronological and thus have the Omer offering follow the festival.  A more marginal Karaite approach completely disconnects the two holidays and instead dates the Omer to the first harvest.</p> | ||
<p>In opposition to all of the above, the Tannaim established that "Shabbat" in our verses is an alternative designation for the first day of Chag HaMatzot, thus setting the 16th of Nisan as the fixed lunar date for the Omer sacrifice.  Traditional commentators, ever since, have struggled to harmonize the Rabbinic interpretation with the simple meaning of the Biblical text.  Many have attempted to defend the position that the word "Shabbat" can literally mean Yom Tov, while others have tried to find alternative understandings of the word which would still allow for maintaining the Halakhic date of 16 Nisan.</p></div> | <p>In opposition to all of the above, the Tannaim established that "Shabbat" in our verses is an alternative designation for the first day of Chag HaMatzot, thus setting the 16th of Nisan as the fixed lunar date for the Omer sacrifice.  Traditional commentators, ever since, have struggled to harmonize the Rabbinic interpretation with the simple meaning of the Biblical text.  Many have attempted to defend the position that the word "Shabbat" can literally mean Yom Tov, while others have tried to find alternative understandings of the word which would still allow for maintaining the Halakhic date of 16 Nisan.</p></div> | ||
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<point><b>Meaning and mentions of "הַשַּׁבָּת"</b> – As above, the understanding that Shabbat refers to the seventh day of the week is supported by many verses throughout Tanakh.  This interpretation also allows one to explain all three appearances of the word in the same manner.</point> | <point><b>Meaning and mentions of "הַשַּׁבָּת"</b> – As above, the understanding that Shabbat refers to the seventh day of the week is supported by many verses throughout Tanakh.  This interpretation also allows one to explain all three appearances of the word in the same manner.</point> | ||
<point><b>How would one know that "הַשַּׁבָּת" is after Chag HaMatzot?</b> According to this approach, the verses which speak of the Omer offering chronologically follow those which precede them. As such, it is natural to assume that the referred to "Shabbat" is the one which falls right after Chag HaMatzot and not within it.</point> | <point><b>How would one know that "הַשַּׁבָּת" is after Chag HaMatzot?</b> According to this approach, the verses which speak of the Omer offering chronologically follow those which precede them. As such, it is natural to assume that the referred to "Shabbat" is the one which falls right after Chag HaMatzot and not within it.</point> | ||
− | <point><b>Dating of "מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת"</b> – Unlike the Karaite approach above, due to the unique 364 day calendar of the Dead Sea sect<fn>The Torah does not lay forth rules as to how one should set up a calendar and different sects chose different methods. | + | <point><b>Dating of "מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת"</b> – Unlike the Karaite approach above, due to the unique 364 day calendar of the Dead Sea sect<fn>The Torah does not lay forth rules as to how one should set up a calendar and different sects chose different methods. According to the Sages, the calendar is a combined lunar-solar one, in which the festivals are anchored in the lunar months, but are also connected to the agricultural seasons.  The Qumran sect preferred  a solar calendar of 364 days and 52 weeks.  As this is divisible by seven, all monthly dates consistently fall out on the same day of the week.  New months were not determined by the moon but set to be 30 days each, with every third month being 31.<br/>The sect set יום רביעי as the first day of its year, perhaps because on this day of creation the luminaries were established to be "לְאֹתֹת וּלְמוֹעֲדִים וּלְיָמִים וְשָׁנִים".  As such, both the first of Nisan and the 15th of Nisan fall out on a Wednesday, and the day following Shabbat Bereshit after Chag HaMatzot is always the 26th of Nisan.</fn> which is evenly divisible by seven, the Omer offering was always brought, not only on a set day of the week, but also on a set date of the month, the 26th of Nisan.<fn>Others who adopt this approach but do not abide by the Dead Sea sect calendar would say that the date is variable and could fall anywhere between the 22nd and 28th of Nisan, making Shavuot fall anywhere between the 12th and 18th of Sivan.</fn> As such, according to the Qumran calendar,<fn>Since they maintain that Nisan and Iyyar always have thirty days, a count of fifty days from the 26th of Nisan would end with the 15th of Sivan.</fn> Shavuot always falls on the 15th of Sivan.<fn>Compare with <multilink><a href="Jubilees1-1-3" data-aht="source">Jubilees</a><a href="Jubilees1-1-3" data-aht="source">1:1-3</a><a href="Jubilees15-1-4" data-aht="source">15:1-4</a><a href="Jubilees16-16-18" data-aht="source">16:16-18</a><a href="Jubilees44-1-6" data-aht="source">44:1-6</a><a href="Jubilees" data-aht="parshan">About Jubilees</a></multilink> which also sets the holiday on the fifteenth of the month, the day which it understands to be the revelation at Sinai.  As is its wont, Jubilees roots this date with earlier events associated with the Patriarchs, suggesting that the Covenant between the Pieces, Avraham's circumcision and the birth of Yitzchak all occurred on this date as well.  As such, from early on the date was related to covenant making.<br/>Qumran might also associate the date with the revelation at Sinai, in which case, despite their different starting point for the fifty day count, they agree with the Rabbinic position that Shavuot is "חג מתן תורה". [This would be another point of difference between this position and that of the Karaites above.]</fn></point> |
<point><b>Lack of date for Shavuot</b> – Since the Qumran sect does assert that the holiday of Shavuot has a set date<fn>See above point.</fn> it is surprising that the Torah never mentions one.  This position could respond that it was simply unnecessary since the law requires one to count from the Omer offering until the holiday.<fn>Compare this response with the similar one of the Rabbis below.</fn></point> | <point><b>Lack of date for Shavuot</b> – Since the Qumran sect does assert that the holiday of Shavuot has a set date<fn>See above point.</fn> it is surprising that the Torah never mentions one.  This position could respond that it was simply unnecessary since the law requires one to count from the Omer offering until the holiday.<fn>Compare this response with the similar one of the Rabbis below.</fn></point> | ||
<point><b>"וַיֹּאכְלוּ מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח"</b> – This verse in Yehoshua is difficult for this approach, as it implies that the Israelites ate from the new wheat on the 15th or 16th of Nisan, while according to Qumran, this should have been prohibited until the 26th of Nisan when the Omer was brought.  They might answer that the verse is speaking of eating old produce rather than new.<fn>See Ibn Ezra in the name of R. Saadia who raises this possibility below.</fn></point> | <point><b>"וַיֹּאכְלוּ מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח"</b> – This verse in Yehoshua is difficult for this approach, as it implies that the Israelites ate from the new wheat on the 15th or 16th of Nisan, while according to Qumran, this should have been prohibited until the 26th of Nisan when the Omer was brought.  They might answer that the verse is speaking of eating old produce rather than new.<fn>See Ibn Ezra in the name of R. Saadia who raises this possibility below.</fn></point> | ||
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<opinion>First Yom Tov | <opinion>First Yom Tov | ||
<p>The Omer offering follows the first Yom Tov of the festival and falls out on the 16th of Nisan.</p> | <p>The Omer offering follows the first Yom Tov of the festival and falls out on the 16th of Nisan.</p> | ||
− | <mekorot><multilink><a href="PhiloTheSpecialLawsII-XXIX-162" data-aht="source">Philo</a><a href="PhiloTheSpecialLawsII-XXIX-162" data-aht="source">The Special Laws II:XXIX:162</a><a href="Philo" data-aht="parshan">About Philo</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="JosephusAntiquitiesoftheJews3-10-5-6" data-aht="source">Josephus</a><a href="JosephusAntiquitiesoftheJews3-10-5-6" data-aht="source">Antiquities of the Jews 3:10:5-6</a><a href="Josephus" data-aht="parshan">About Josephus</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="סכוליוןלמגילתתעניתחניסן" data-aht="source">Megillat Taanit</a><a href="סכוליוןלמגילתתעניתחניסן" data-aht="source">Scholion 8 Nissan</a><a href="Megillat Taanit" data-aht="parshan">About Megillat Taanit</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="MishnaMenachot10-3" data-aht="source">Mishna</a><a href="MishnaMenachot10-3" data-aht="source">Menachot 10:3</a><a href="Mishna" data-aht="parshan">About the Mishna</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="ToseftaMenachot10-23" data-aht="source">Tosefta</a><a href="ToseftaRoshHaShanah1-15" data-aht="source">Rosh HaShanah 1:15</a><a href="ToseftaMenachot10-23" data-aht="source">Menachot 10:23</a><a href="Tosefta Menachot" data-aht="parshan">About Tosefta Menachot</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="SifraEmor10-12-1-5" data-aht="source">Sifra Vayikra</a><a href="SifraEmor10-5" data-aht="source">Emor 10:10:5</a><a href="SifraEmor10-12-1-5" data-aht="source">Emor 10:12:1-5</a><a href="Sifra Vayikra" data-aht="parshan">About the Sifra Vayikra</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="BavliMenachot65b-66a" data-aht="source">Bavli</a><a href="BavliMenachot65b-66a" data-aht="source">Menachot 65b-66a</a><a href="Talmud Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="TargumNeofitiVayikra23-16" data-aht="source"> | + | <mekorot><multilink><a href="PhiloTheSpecialLawsII-XXIX-162" data-aht="source">Philo</a><a href="PhiloTheSpecialLawsII-XXIX-162" data-aht="source">The Special Laws II:XXIX:162</a><a href="Philo" data-aht="parshan">About Philo</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="JosephusAntiquitiesoftheJews3-10-5-6" data-aht="source">Josephus</a><a href="JosephusAntiquitiesoftheJews3-10-5-6" data-aht="source">Antiquities of the Jews 3:10:5-6</a><a href="Josephus" data-aht="parshan">About Josephus</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="סכוליוןלמגילתתעניתחניסן" data-aht="source">Megillat Taanit</a><a href="סכוליוןלמגילתתעניתחניסן" data-aht="source">Scholion 8 Nissan</a><a href="Megillat Taanit" data-aht="parshan">About Megillat Taanit</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="MishnaMenachot10-3" data-aht="source">Mishna</a><a href="MishnaMenachot10-3" data-aht="source">Menachot 10:3</a><a href="Mishna" data-aht="parshan">About the Mishna</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="ToseftaMenachot10-23" data-aht="source">Tosefta</a><a href="ToseftaRoshHaShanah1-15" data-aht="source">Rosh HaShanah 1:15</a><a href="ToseftaMenachot10-23" data-aht="source">Menachot 10:23</a><a href="Tosefta Menachot" data-aht="parshan">About Tosefta Menachot</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="SifraEmor10-12-1-5" data-aht="source">Sifra Vayikra</a><a href="SifraEmor10-5" data-aht="source">Emor 10:10:5</a><a href="SifraEmor10-12-1-5" data-aht="source">Emor 10:12:1-5</a><a href="Sifra Vayikra" data-aht="parshan">About the Sifra Vayikra</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="BavliMenachot65b-66a" data-aht="source">Bavli</a><a href="BavliMenachot65b-66a" data-aht="source">Menachot 65b-66a</a><a href="Talmud Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="TargumNeofitiVayikra23-16" data-aht="source">Targumim</a><a href="TargumNeofitiVayikra23-16" data-aht="source">Targum Yerushalmi (Neofiti) Vayikra 23:16</a><a href="TargumOnkelosVayikra23-11" data-aht="source">Targum Onkelos Vayikra 23:11</a><a href="TargumOnkelosVayikra23-15-16" data-aht="source">Targum Onkelos Vayikra 23:15-16</a><a href="TargumPseudo-JonathanVayikra23-11" data-aht="source">Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan) Vayikra 23:11</a><a href="TargumPseudo-JonathanVayikra23-15-16" data-aht="source">Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan) Vayikra 23:15-16</a></multilink>,<fn>Targum Onkelos does not specify which Yom Tov is referred to, but probably agrees with the Tanaitic approach that the verse is speaking of the first one.</fn> <multilink><a href="RSaadiaGaonTafsirVayikra23-11" data-aht="source">R. Saadia</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonTafsirVayikra23-11" data-aht="source">Tafsir Vayikra 23:11</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonTafsirVayikra23-15-16" data-aht="source">Tafsir Vayikra 23:15-16</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit2-2" data-aht="source">Commentary Bereshit 2:2</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonSeferHaHavchanah" data-aht="source">Sefer HaHavchanah</a><a href="R. Saadia Gaon" data-aht="parshan">About R. Saadia Gaon</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RashiVayikra23-11" data-aht="source">Rashi</a><a href="RashiVayikra23-11" data-aht="source">Vayikra 23:11</a><a href="RashiVayikra23-15" data-aht="source">Vayikra 23:15</a><a href="R. Shelomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="LekachTovVayikra23-3" data-aht="source">Lekach Tov</a><a href="LekachTovVayikra23-3" data-aht="source">Vayikra 23:3</a><a href="R. Toviah b. Eliezer (Lekach Tov)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Toviah b. Eliezer</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="IbnEzraVayikra23-11" data-aht="source">Ibn Ezra</a><a href="IbnEzraVayikra23-11" data-aht="source">Vayikra 23:11</a><a href="R. Avraham ibn Ezra" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham ibn Ezra</a></multilink> and many others.</mekorot> |
− | <point><b>Meaning of "הַשַּׁבָּת"</b> – The Karaites | + | <point><b>Meaning of "הַשַּׁבָּת"</b> – The Karaites challenge the Rabbinic position that Yom Tov is a valid definition of the word "Shabbat",<fn>See Salmon b. Yerucham's claim: "אתה עתה צריך להביא ראיה ברורה<br/>כי השבת יום טוב כאשר תדברה"</fn> and there have been various Rabbinic attempts to support this option: <br/> |
<ul> | <ul> | ||
− | <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> | + | <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> note that many other holidays are called a "שַׁבָּתוֹן", 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> |
</ul> | </ul> | ||
<ul> | <ul> | ||
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<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> | ||
<point><b>Various mentions of "הַשַּׁבָּת"</b> – This position maintains that while the initial appearance of the word "Shabbat" ("וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת") means Yom Tov; in the later phrases ("שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת" and "עַד מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת") it means week.<fn>See the examples brought by <multilink><a href="LekachTovVayikra23-16" data-aht="source">Lekach Tov</a><a href="LekachTovVayikra23-16" data-aht="source">Vayikra 23:16</a><a href="R. Toviah b. Eliezer (Lekach Tov)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Toviah b. Eliezer</a></multilink> to prove that this is a valid understanding of the word as well.</fn> The Karaites<fn>See Alkumisi and Salmon b. Yerucham above.</fn> point to this inconsistency as a disadvantage of this approach. R. Saadia and Ibn Ezra respond that this is an example of normal variation and literary artistry throughout Tanakh. Often, even within one verse, the text might play with words, using the same root for different understandings.<fn>Amongst R. Saadia's many examples, see Vayikra 14:41, "אֶת <b>הַבַּיִת</b> יַקְצִעַ <b>מִבַּיִת</b>" and  Yonah 3:7, "מִ<b>טַּעַם</b> הַמֶּלֶךְ וּגְדֹלָיו לֵאמֹר הָאָדָם וְהַבְּהֵמָה הַבָּקָר וְהַצֹּאן אַל<b> יִטְעֲמוּ</b> מְאוּמָה".  Ibn Ezra adds the play on words in Shofetim 10:4,"יְהִי לוֹ שְׁלֹשִׁים בָּנִים רֹכְבִים עַל שְׁלֹשִׁים <b>עֲיָרִים</b> וּשְׁלֹשִׁים <b>עֲיָרִים</b> לָהֶם".</fn></point> | <point><b>Various mentions of "הַשַּׁבָּת"</b> – This position maintains that while the initial appearance of the word "Shabbat" ("וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת") means Yom Tov; in the later phrases ("שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת" and "עַד מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת") it means week.<fn>See the examples brought by <multilink><a href="LekachTovVayikra23-16" data-aht="source">Lekach Tov</a><a href="LekachTovVayikra23-16" data-aht="source">Vayikra 23:16</a><a href="R. Toviah b. Eliezer (Lekach Tov)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Toviah b. Eliezer</a></multilink> to prove that this is a valid understanding of the word as well.</fn> The Karaites<fn>See Alkumisi and Salmon b. Yerucham above.</fn> point to this inconsistency as a disadvantage of this approach. R. Saadia and Ibn Ezra respond that this is an example of normal variation and literary artistry throughout Tanakh. Often, even within one verse, the text might play with words, using the same root for different understandings.<fn>Amongst R. Saadia's many examples, see Vayikra 14:41, "אֶת <b>הַבַּיִת</b> יַקְצִעַ <b>מִבַּיִת</b>" and  Yonah 3:7, "מִ<b>טַּעַם</b> הַמֶּלֶךְ וּגְדֹלָיו לֵאמֹר הָאָדָם וְהַבְּהֵמָה הַבָּקָר וְהַצֹּאן אַל<b> יִטְעֲמוּ</b> מְאוּמָה".  Ibn Ezra adds the play on words in Shofetim 10:4,"יְהִי לוֹ שְׁלֹשִׁים בָּנִים רֹכְבִים עַל שְׁלֹשִׁים <b>עֲיָרִים</b> וּשְׁלֹשִׁים <b>עֲיָרִים</b> לָהֶם".</fn></point> | ||
− | <point><b>Lack of date for Shavuot</b> – R. Saadia asserts that no date is given for Shavuot, not because it varies from year to year, but simply because it was unnecessary.  Once the Torah set when to begin the count of fifty days, anyone could calculate when the festival falls.<fn>He compares it to the holiday of Shemini Azeret which is similarly not dated in the Torah, but rather marked as the "eighth day".  In both cases the Torah links a second holiday to a previous one and dates it from there.</fn></point> | + | <point><b>Lack of date for Shavuot</b> – R. Saadia asserts that no date is given for Shavuot, not because it varies from year to year, but simply because it was unnecessary.  Once the Torah set when to begin the count of fifty days, anyone could calculate when the festival falls.<fn>He compares it to the holiday of Shemini Azeret which is similarly not dated in the Torah, but rather marked as the "eighth day".  In both cases the Torah links a second holiday to a previous one and dates it from there.</fn> Alternatively, one might suggest that the date does vary, as until the calendar was fixed, in any given year the date could change depending on the observation of the new moon of Sivan.<fn>R. Saadia does not take this approach because he maintains that the calendar was always fixed and was a factor even during the era that the moon was sanctified based on the testimony of witnesses.</fn></point> |
<point><b>"וַיֹּאכְלוּ מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח"</b> – These commentators disagree regarding the dating of "מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח" and how this verse works with the date of bringing the Omer:<br/> | <point><b>"וַיֹּאכְלוּ מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח"</b> – These commentators disagree regarding the dating of "מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח" and how this verse works with the date of bringing the Omer:<br/> | ||
<ul> | <ul> | ||
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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 merely 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 merely two expressions of the same idea.</point> | ||
<point><b>External Motivations</b><ul> | <point><b>External 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 when the day of the offering of the Omer falls on it.<fn>This is a matter that they were consistently more lenient about than the Sectarians.</fn>  As such, | + | <li><b>Transgressing of Shabbat</b> – As opposed to the Sectarians, the Sages were not bothered by the potential transgressing of Shabbat when the day of the offering of the Omer falls on it.<fn>This is a matter that they were consistently more lenient about than the Sectarians.</fn>  As such, it was more important to have a set monthly date rather than a set day of the week for the offering.</li> |
− | <li><b>Shavuot and Matan Torah</b> – It is possible that part of the Pharisees disagreement with the Karaites related to | + | <li><b>Shavuot and Matan Torah</b> – It is possible that part of the Pharisees disagreement with the Karaites related to the desire to connect Shavuot with the revelation at Sinai.  Counting the Omer from the 16th of Nisan causes Shavuot to fall out on the 6th (or 7th) of Sivan, which was also the date the Sages associated with the Sinaitic revelation.</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 rather has inherent religious value. As such, they maintain that every individual must count, and not just the central court.</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 rather has inherent religious value. As such, they maintain that every individual must count, and not just the central court.</point> |
Latest revision as of 14:43, 4 July 2019
MiMachorat HaShabbat
Exegetical Approaches
Overview
On one side of the controversy surrounding the dating of the Omer stand various groups of Sectarians who unanimously understand the word "Shabbat" to refer to Saturday and date the Omer sacrifice to the following day (Sunday). They disagree, however, regarding when this "Shabbat" falls out. Many Karaites view the two Biblical passages which speak of the Omer sacrifice and Chag HaMatzot as referring to simultaneous time periods and thus associate the Omer offering with the festival itself. The Qumran Sect, in contrast, assumes that the Biblical text is chronological and thus have the Omer offering follow the festival. A more marginal Karaite approach completely disconnects the two holidays and instead dates the Omer to the first harvest.
In opposition to all of the above, the Tannaim established that "Shabbat" in our verses is an alternative designation for the first day of Chag HaMatzot, thus setting the 16th of Nisan as the fixed lunar date for the Omer sacrifice. Traditional commentators, ever since, have struggled to harmonize the Rabbinic interpretation with the simple meaning of the Biblical text. Many have attempted to defend the position that the word "Shabbat" can literally mean Yom Tov, while others have tried to find alternative understandings of the word which would still allow for maintaining the Halakhic date of 16 Nisan.
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 the Saturday to which 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 very brief one day holiday.11
- Prevent Sabbath desecration – Salmon b. Yerucham the Karaite suggests instead that Shavuot was fixed on Sunday to ensure that the holiday never fell on a Shabbat, as one is prohibited from sacrificing the festival's peace offerings on Shabbat.
- Since the Karaites maintain that the Omer can be offered as early as the 15th, they12 are thereby able to harmonize the passage in Yehoshua with their interpretation of "מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת", by assuming that Chag HaPesach (i.e. the 14th of Nisan) was on Shabbat in the year the Israelites entered the land. Thus, the inaugural Omer offering was brought on the following day ("מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח"),13 i.e. Sunday, the 15th of Nisan, allowing the nation to eat of the new harvest already on that very day.
- Since the Samaritans do not accept Sefer Yehoshua as part of their canon they are not troubled by any contradictions from it.14
After Chag HaMatzot
The Omer offering is brought on the day following the first Saturday 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 to which Yom Tov the verse refers:
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 note that many other holidays are called a "שַׁבָּתוֹן", 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 Sages' dating of the Omer sacrifice to the 16th, but offer alternative definitions of 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 (only for purposes of the future counting), and it is thus offered on the morrow of the "week" ending on the 15th.36 Others relate the word to the Akkadian "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 15th of Nisan,45 when eating of the new wheat was still prohibited. To solve the problem, he suggests46 that the verse speaks of eating from the old grain.47 An opinion in Yerushalmi Challah 2:1 alternatively asserts that the prohibition of "new wheat" took effect only after the conquest.48
- Sixteenth of Nisan – Other exegetes49 maintain that "מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח" is the 16th of Nisan. Since the Pesach sacrifice is eaten on the evening of the 15th, the next new day is the 16th. This is equivalent to ""מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת50 when the Omer is brought and the new grain is permitted.51
- Transgressing of Shabbat – As opposed to the Sectarians, the Sages were not bothered by the potential transgressing of Shabbat when the day of the offering of the Omer falls on it.52 As such, it was more important to have a set monthly date rather than a set day of the week for the offering.
- Shavuot and Matan Torah – It is possible that part of the Pharisees disagreement with the Karaites related to the desire to connect Shavuot with the revelation at Sinai. Counting the Omer from the 16th of Nisan causes Shavuot to fall out on the 6th (or 7th) of Sivan, which was also the date the Sages associated with the Sinaitic revelation.
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 VeHaKabbalah56 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 future57 cessation of the manna,58 which took place on the 15th of Nisan in the year of the nation's arrival in Israel.59
- Essence of the 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 called this.
- Recall the manna – According to I. Kislev, the Torah purposely wants to connect the bringing of the Omer to 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.