פָּרָשַׁת אֱמֹר Parashat ՚Emor
INTRODUCTION:
Parashat ՚Emor (Lev. 21:1-24:23) contains the following sidrot:
Ninety-Sixth Sidra՚, laws for the kohen, laws for the Kohen Gadol [High Priest], blemished kohanim, and purity of the kohanim;
Ninety-Seventh Sidra՚, animals for offerings, and the Holy calendar;
Ninety-Eighth Sidra՚, the Holy calendar continued;
Ninety-Nineth Sidra՚ (continues into the next parasha), the Menorah, the Showbread, the blasphemer and penalties for blasphemy.
ANALYSIS:
Ninety-Sixth Sidra՚ (Lev. 21:1-22:16): Laws for the kohen, laws for the Kohen Gadol [High Priest], blemished kohanim, and purity of the kohanim.
Placing events chronologically, the opening Sidra՚ of Parashat ՚Emor follows on from the Eighty-Fourth Sidra՚ (Parashat Shemini). The Eighty-Fourth Sidra՚ takes place after the death of Nadav and Avihu, and contains the injunction that the kohanim are not to officiate in the Mishkan while in a state of inebriation under pain of death. The Ninety-Sixth Sidra՚ continues with the rules and regulations concerning the kohanim. A kohen cannot become impure on account of a dead body, unless it is his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or virgin sister. However he cannot make himself impure for his own wife, "He shall not make himself impure (as) a husband among his people; to profane himself" (Lev. 21:4). A kohen shall not make bald a bold-spot on his head, shave the sides of his beard, nor incise an incision into his flesh either as an act of mourning or for a tattoo; for they are to be holy to God. A kohen cannot marry a woman who is a whore i.e. a prostitute, promiscuous, or divorced. The daughter of a kohen who profanes herself through whoredom - thus profaning her father - is to be burnt in fire.
If the Kohen Gadol [High Priest] - upon whose head the anointing oil has been sprinkled - is in mourning he cannot unbind his head, rend his garments, or make himself impure on account of any dead - even for the six close relatives mentioned previously. "And from the Holy-Place he shall not go out, and he shall not profane, the Holy-Place of his God; for the consecrated anointing oil of his God is upon him I am YHWH" (Lev. 21:12). The Kohen Gadol is not permitted to act in a licentious manner, nor can he marry a woman who is a whore, promiscuous, a divorcee, or a widow (permissible to a regular kohen), in fact he is only permitted to marry a virgin "of his own people" (Lev. 21:14).
Any kohen in whom there is a blemish - blind, lame, mutilated in the face, too long in a limb, a broken leg or hand, a hunchback or withered, a defect in the eye, a scab or an eruptive disease, or a crushed testicle - shall not approach the altar to officiate at a sacrifice. If he does approach the altar he profanes the Holy Place. However, he may eat from the holiest of the holy-contributions and from the holy-contributions.
Any kohen who approaches the holy-contributions of the Children of Israel in a state of impurity profanes YHWH's holy name and is to be cut off from before YHWH. A kohen who is impure - for whatever reason - cannot eat from the holy-contributions, but he may eat from them once he becomes pure again. A kohen cannot eat a carcass (this includes animals that have been incorrectly slaughtered) or an animal torn apart by beasts [טְרֵפָה]. "They shall keep My charge and they shall not take up sin on account of it, and die by it if they shall profane it; I YHWH make them holy" (Lev. 22:9). A stranger (in this sense a non-kohen) cannot eat from the holy-contributions, nor can a kohen's resident-settler or his hired hand, however, a slave purchased by a kohen or one born into his household may eat from the holy-contributions. The daughter of a kohen who marries a non-kohen may no longer eat from the holy-contributions, however, if she becomes a widow or a divorcee and is childless, she may return to her father's house and eat from the holy-contributions. If someone who is not permitted to eat from the holy-contribution eats from them in error, then they are to repay the amount they took plus 20% giving it to the kohen; otherwise they will bear the iniquity of guilt.
Ninety-Seventh Sidra՚ (Lev. 22:17-23:8): Animals for offerings, and the Holy calendar.
Anyone from the House of Israel or from the sojourners, who brings a sacrifice to YHWH for a vow-offering, freewill-offering, or an ascent-offering, must bring a male without blemish from the cattle, sheep, or goats. A blemished animal is not to be sacrificed; its offering is not acceptable. A wellbeing-offering to YHWH brought as an extraordinary vow-offering or for a freewill-offering can be either an unblemished male or female from the cattle, sheep, or goats. The sidra՚ defines a blemished animal as one that is; blind, broken - has a broken limb, mutilated, has a running sore, scab, or scurvy. However, an ox, or a sheep which is too long in a limb or stunted may be offered as a freewill-offering, but it is not acceptable for a vow-offering. An animal that has been castrated or has had its testicles crushed or damaged in anyway cannot be brought as an offering, nor are we permitted to do any of these things to our animals thus preventing them from reproducing. If we cannot do this to animals then surely it is not permissible to do such things to humans! Even if a foreigner brings a sacrifice, his offering must be without blemish. An ox, sheep, or goat, must be left to nurse under its mother for seven days after it has been born; from the eighth day and beyond it can be brought as an offering to YHWH. An ox or sheep, it and its young cannot be slaughtered on the same day. Anyone who brings a thanksgiving-offering to YHWH must do so of their own freewill. A thanksgiving-offering must be eaten on the day that it is offered; none of it is to remain until the morning. "And you shall keep My commandments, you shall do them; I am YHWH. You shall not profane My holy name, and I will be sanctified, among the Children of Israel; I am YHWH who sanctifies them. The one bringing you out from the land of Egypt, to be to you for a God; I am YHWH" (Lev. 22:31-33).
"These are the appointed times of YHWH, holy proclamations; which you shall proclaim in their appointed times" (Lev. 23:4). Six days we are to do mela՚kha , but the seventh day is a Shabbath of ceasing and a holy day on which we are not to do any mela՚kha in any of our settlements; it is a Shabbath to YHWH. In the First Month on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Pesaḥ [Passover] to YHWH. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth [Unleavened Bread]. The Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth lasts for seven days - the first day and the seventh day are holy on which the performance of any mela՚kha is forbidden - during the seven days we are to eat maṣṣoth.
Ninety-Eighth Sidra՚ (Lev. 23:9-44): The Holy calendar continued.
When we harvest the crop of the land which YHWH has given to us, we are to bring an ՙomer [עֹמֶר - sheaf; between 2.2 and 4.5 litres - dry weight] of the first of the harvest to the kohen. The harvest referred to here is the barley harvest which in the land of Israel falls in the early spring. The kohen is to elevate the ՙomer for acceptance before YHWH, "on the morrow after the Shabbath" (Lev. 23:11). On the day of the elevation of the ՙOmer an offering is to be made consisting of, i) an ascent-offering - a male lamb in its first year without blemish, ii) a gift-offering - two ՙesronim [עֶשְֹרֹנִים, singular - עִשָּׂרוֹן; a dry weight equivalent to an ՙomer] of fine flour mixed with oil "a fire-offering to YHWH a soothing aroma" (Lev. 23:13), and iii) a libation-offering - a fourth of a hin (approximately 0.915 ~ 1.875 litres) of wine. We are not to eat bread, parched grain, or fresh grain, of the new harvest until the elevation of the ՙOmer and the sacrifices that are offered on that day. "And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow after the Shabbath, from the day that you brought, the ՙOmer of the elevation-offering; seven complete Shabbaths there shall be. Until the morrow after the seventh Shabbath, you shall count fifty days" (Lev. 23:15-16). Thus, 7 Shabbaths x 7 Shabbaths + 1 day = 50 days, which brings us to the early summer and the beginning of the wheat harvest. On the fiftieth day a gift-offering consisting of the new grain is brought to YHWH - an elevation-offering of bread (i.e. wheat); two loaves baked with leaven each consisting of two ՙesronim of fine flour from the first-fruits of the harvest. Along with an ascent-offering - seven male lambs a year old without blemish, one bull of the herd, and two rams; as well as their gift-offerings and their libation-offerings. A sin-offering - one hairy he goat, as well as a wellbeing-offering - two male year old sheep, the kohen is to elevate them with the bread of the first-fruits as an elevation-offering before YHWH. The fiftieth day - the Pilgrimage Festivals of Weeks - is to be declared holy on which no mela՚kha is to be performed. When we harvest our land we are not to harvest up to the edge of the field, nor are we to glean the gleanings; but they are to be left for the afflicted and the sojourner.
On the first day of the Seventh Month we are to cease as it is a holy day; no mela՚kha may be performed. It is a remembrance of teruՙa [תְּרוּעָה - trumpeting/shouting with the voice i.e. shout of joy] on which an offering is made to YHWH.
On the tenth of the Seventh Month is Yom Hakkippurim [The Day of Atonement] it is a holy day on which we are to afflict our souls in order to atone for our sins before YHWH. Afflicting one's soul has always been synonymous with fasting, i.e. the total abstention of food or liquid. From the Hebrew word for afflict ՙana [עָנָה] comes the noun taՙanith [תַּעֲנִית] - a fast day. In the Psalms the verb ՙana is equated with fasting, "I afflicted my soul with fasting" (Psalm 35:13), and one of the earliest references to fasting as a means of repentance is found in the Torah itself, where Moses fasted and prayed on account of the sins of the Children of Israel (see Deuteronomy 9:18-20). The performance of mela՚kha is forbidden on Yom Hakkippurim and on this day our energies are to be channelled towards making atonement. Anyone who does not afflict themselves on Yom Hakkippurim will be cut off from their people, and if anyone performs mela՚kha on that day, YHWH will cause them to perish from among their people. Yom Hakkippurim is referred to by the Torah as being a Shabbath; the only holy day apart from the weekly Shabbath to be given this epithet. The Torah informs us that even though Yom Hakkippurim falls on the tenth day of the Seventh Month (the Biblical day is from nightfall to nightfall) its observance is to be kept from the evening of the ninth of the month until the following evening the evening of the tenth. Therefore, the final phase of the ninth day - the period between sunset and nightfall - is added to Yom Hakkippurim.
On the fifteenth day of the Seventh Month is the Pilgrimage Festival of Sukkoth [Booths], which is celebrated for seven days. Both the first day and the eighth day are holy on which no mela՚kha may be performed. The eighth day is called a finalisation. For seven days offerings are to be brought to YHWH.
The Pilgrimage Festival of Sukkoth celebrates the ingathering of the land's produce. We are take before the first day produce of splendid fruit trees, branches of date-trees, boughs of trees with dense foliage, willows of the brook, and to construct sukkoth [booths] (see also Nehemiah 8:14-18). For seven days we are to rejoice before YHWH and to dwell in sukkoth; hence the name of the festival. Every citizen in Israel is to dwell in sukkoth, "In order that your generations will know, that in booths I made the Children of Israel dwell, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am YHWH your God" (Lev. 23:43).
Ninety-Nineth Sidra՚ (Lev. 24:1-23 continues into the next parasha): The Menorah, the Showbread, the blasphemer and penalties for blasphemy.
The Menorah in the Tent of Appointed Times is to be kept continuously burning and its fuel is to be pure beaten olive oil. The Kohen Gadol [High Priest] is to attend the Menorah's lamps in the evening.
Showbread is to be baked for the Table of the Mishkan, twelve round loaves [חַלָּה singular, חַלּוֹת plural] consisting of two ՙesronim of fine flour per loaf. The loaves are to be arranged on the Table in two rows, six loaves per row, along with pure frankincense, "and it shall be for the bread for a remembrance-offering, a fire-offering to YHWH" (Lev. 24:7). The twelve loaves are to be replaced on the Shabbath day, and the old loaves which are for the kohanim must be eaten in the Holy Place.
The Torah now relates an incident that took place while the Children of Israel were camped at Mt. Sinai. This incident concerns a man who is referred to as the son of an Israelite woman and of an Egyptian man; the woman's name is Shelomith daughter of Divri of the tribe of Dan. This man goes out amid the Children of Israel, and a struggle breaks out in the camp between, "the son of the Israelite woman, and an Israelite man" (Lev. 24:10). In the midst of the argument the son of the Israelite woman curses and insults the Name. He is brought before Moses who has him placed under guarded custody, while he inquires from YHWH as to what should be done to him. YHWH tells Moses to take the man outside the camp where all those who heard him curse and insult the Name are to place their hands on his head and all the Community is to stone him. They do as YHWH commanded. The Torah commands that any Israelite or Sojourner who insults his God shall bear his sin, however, if he curses the name of YHWH then the Community shall put him to death by stoning. Parashat ՚Emor concludes with a recap of the punishment of Lex Talionis, first mentioned in Parashat Mishpaṭim. Anyone who strikes any human life is to be put to death. Anyone who strikes the life of an animal shall pay for it; life in place of life. Anyone who maims his fellow; "as he has done, so shall be done to him... as he put a blemish in a human, thus is to be placed in him" (Lev. 24:19,20). There is to be one justice system for both the Sojourner and the Citizen.
TEACHINGS OF HAKHAM REKHAVI:
On the morrow after the Shabbath.
The Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth falls at the time of the barley harvest. During the festival "on the morrow after the Shabbath" (Lev. 23:11) an ՙOmer of the first cuttings of the barley harvest is brought to the Temple as an elevation offering, and until the ՙOmer is elevated we cannot eat from the produce of the new grain. On the day of the elevation of the ՙOmer we commence counting the seven complete Shabbaths which culminate in the Pilgrimage Festival of Weeks, "And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow after the Shabbath, from the day that you brought, the ՙOmer of the elevation-offering; seven complete Shabbaths there shall be. Until the morrow after the seventh Shabbath, you shall count fifty days" (Lev. 23:15-16). But what does the Torah mean by the phrase on the morrow after the Shabbath?
Since the elevation of the ՙOmer occurs during the Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth, there are those who maintain that the Shabbath in the phrase on the morrow after the Shabbath refers to the 15th of the First Month i.e. the first day of the Festival, which is a holy day and thus by definition a type of Shabbath. Therefore, according to this view the term "on the morrow after the Shabbath" means the morrow after the first holy day of the Festival in other words the 16th of the First Month. Those who uphold this view commence the counting of the seven complete Shabbaths from the 16th of the First Month.
However, this understanding of the phrase on the morrow after the Shabbath does not hold its weight when examined in the light of the peshaṭ [plain meaning of the text]:
1. In the passage under discussion, Leviticus 23:9-16, the word Shabbath is preceded by the definite article the, which defines the indeterminate noun a Shabbath as the Shabbath i.e. the weekly Shabbath. There is no Shabbath in the entire Torah other than the Shabbath of Genesis i.e. the 7th Day of the week.
2. If in this context the Shabbath in the phrase the morrow after the Shabbath means the holy day of the festival i.e. the 15th of the First Month, and not the weekly Shabbath, then the phrase seven complete Shabbaths must be referring to seven other festivals; but there are no other festivals! However, the upholders of the view that "on the morrow after the Shabbath" means the 16th of the First Month, maintain that the other seven Shabbaths are not festivals but are in fact periods of seven days i.e. weeks in general, although it is not grammatically logical for the word Shabbath to mean two different things within the same context. If the word Shabbath does mean the holy day of the festival then why the first holy day of the Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth i.e. the 15th, rather than the last holy day of the festival which is the 21st?
3. As already noted, we are not permitted to eat bread, parched grain, or fresh grain, of the new harvest until the elevation of the ՙOmer (see Leviticus 23:14). It is written in the Book of Joshua, "and they ate of the produce of the land on the morrow after the Pesaḥ [Passover], unleavened bread and parched grain; in this self-same day" (Josh. 5:11). Those who uphold the view that the phrase the morrow after the Shabbath means the 16th of the First Month use this verse as evidence for the justification of their understanding. For in order to eat from the produce of the new grain the elevation of the ՙOmer would have already been offered and seeing they ate from the new grain on the morrow after the Pesaḥ, this would mean by insinuation that the morrow after the Pesaḥ is the 16th. In order for this interpretation of Joshua 5:11 to be correct it would mean that the Pesaḥ would have to fall on the 15th. However the Pesaḥ is not an actual festival but is in fact an offering slaughtered at the period of twilight between the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th. The Torah provides evidence that the phrase the morrow after the Pesaḥ refers to the 15th of the First Month and not to the 16th, "And they journeyed from Raՙmeses in the First Month, on the fifteenth day of the First Month; on the morrow after the Pesaḥ" (Num. 33:3). Thus on the year they entered the land under the leadership of Joshua they eat from the produce of the new grain on the morrow after the Pesaḥ which is the 15th, however the produce of the new grain cannot be eaten until the elevation of the ՙOmer which is on the morrow after the Shabbath. Therefore on the year of the entry into the land the morrow after the Shabbath fell on the 15th of the First Month, and it is hence impossible that the phrase the morrow after the Shabbath refers to the 16th.
4. Thus according to the peshaṭ the phrase the morrow after the Shabbath means just that - the day after the weekly Shabbath in other words the first day of the week known in English as Sunday. Thus the day on which the ՙOmer is elevated and we commence counting the seven complete Shabbaths until the Pilgrimage Festival of Weeks is the first Sunday that falls within the Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth. Therefore the Pilgrimage Festival of Weeks would always also fall on a Sunday, hence the reason why it is the only festival that is not given a fixed date by the Torah. Since it always falls on a Sunday i.e. the first day of the week its date would change from year to year.
And went out a son of an Israelite woman
And went out a son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian man, amongst the Children of Israel; and there was a struggle in the camp, (between) the son of the Israelite woman, and an Israelite man. And the son of the Israelite woman uttered a curse against the Name (Lev. 24:10-11)
There is something peculiar about the incident found in the Ninety-Nineth Sidra՚ that involves the individual who cursed and insulted the Name of God. The characters involved in the incident are described not by their names, which aren't even given, but according to their parentage. The individual who cursed and insulted the Name of God (from this point known as the culprit) is described as a son of an Israelite woman whose father was an Egyptian man, while the man with whom he strives is referred to simply as an Israelite man. The terminology used obviously reflects something about the status of these two men.
The status of the man referred to simply as an Israelite, is not in question for he is defined as an Israelite by the very terminology used. The status of the culprit on the other hand is in question, for if by having a mother who is an Israelite was sufficient to make one an Israelite then the Torah would surely have referred to the culprit as an Israelite even though his father was an Egyptian. Thus, by referring to the culprit as the son of an Israelite woman and not as an Israelite the Torah is telling us that having a mother who is an Israelite is not sufficient to deem one an Israelite. The very fact that by having a non-Israelite father the culprit is called the son of an Israelite woman rather than having the status of an Israelite shows that one's father needs to be an Israelite in order to be classified as an Israelite.
Parashat ՚Emor (Lev. 21:1-24:23) contains the following sidrot:
Ninety-Sixth Sidra՚, laws for the kohen, laws for the Kohen Gadol [High Priest], blemished kohanim, and purity of the kohanim;
Ninety-Seventh Sidra՚, animals for offerings, and the Holy calendar;
Ninety-Eighth Sidra՚, the Holy calendar continued;
Ninety-Nineth Sidra՚ (continues into the next parasha), the Menorah, the Showbread, the blasphemer and penalties for blasphemy.
ANALYSIS:
Ninety-Sixth Sidra՚ (Lev. 21:1-22:16): Laws for the kohen, laws for the Kohen Gadol [High Priest], blemished kohanim, and purity of the kohanim.
Placing events chronologically, the opening Sidra՚ of Parashat ՚Emor follows on from the Eighty-Fourth Sidra՚ (Parashat Shemini). The Eighty-Fourth Sidra՚ takes place after the death of Nadav and Avihu, and contains the injunction that the kohanim are not to officiate in the Mishkan while in a state of inebriation under pain of death. The Ninety-Sixth Sidra՚ continues with the rules and regulations concerning the kohanim. A kohen cannot become impure on account of a dead body, unless it is his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or virgin sister. However he cannot make himself impure for his own wife, "He shall not make himself impure (as) a husband among his people; to profane himself" (Lev. 21:4). A kohen shall not make bald a bold-spot on his head, shave the sides of his beard, nor incise an incision into his flesh either as an act of mourning or for a tattoo; for they are to be holy to God. A kohen cannot marry a woman who is a whore i.e. a prostitute, promiscuous, or divorced. The daughter of a kohen who profanes herself through whoredom - thus profaning her father - is to be burnt in fire.
If the Kohen Gadol [High Priest] - upon whose head the anointing oil has been sprinkled - is in mourning he cannot unbind his head, rend his garments, or make himself impure on account of any dead - even for the six close relatives mentioned previously. "And from the Holy-Place he shall not go out, and he shall not profane, the Holy-Place of his God; for the consecrated anointing oil of his God is upon him I am YHWH" (Lev. 21:12). The Kohen Gadol is not permitted to act in a licentious manner, nor can he marry a woman who is a whore, promiscuous, a divorcee, or a widow (permissible to a regular kohen), in fact he is only permitted to marry a virgin "of his own people" (Lev. 21:14).
Any kohen in whom there is a blemish - blind, lame, mutilated in the face, too long in a limb, a broken leg or hand, a hunchback or withered, a defect in the eye, a scab or an eruptive disease, or a crushed testicle - shall not approach the altar to officiate at a sacrifice. If he does approach the altar he profanes the Holy Place. However, he may eat from the holiest of the holy-contributions and from the holy-contributions.
Any kohen who approaches the holy-contributions of the Children of Israel in a state of impurity profanes YHWH's holy name and is to be cut off from before YHWH. A kohen who is impure - for whatever reason - cannot eat from the holy-contributions, but he may eat from them once he becomes pure again. A kohen cannot eat a carcass (this includes animals that have been incorrectly slaughtered) or an animal torn apart by beasts [טְרֵפָה]. "They shall keep My charge and they shall not take up sin on account of it, and die by it if they shall profane it; I YHWH make them holy" (Lev. 22:9). A stranger (in this sense a non-kohen) cannot eat from the holy-contributions, nor can a kohen's resident-settler or his hired hand, however, a slave purchased by a kohen or one born into his household may eat from the holy-contributions. The daughter of a kohen who marries a non-kohen may no longer eat from the holy-contributions, however, if she becomes a widow or a divorcee and is childless, she may return to her father's house and eat from the holy-contributions. If someone who is not permitted to eat from the holy-contribution eats from them in error, then they are to repay the amount they took plus 20% giving it to the kohen; otherwise they will bear the iniquity of guilt.
Ninety-Seventh Sidra՚ (Lev. 22:17-23:8): Animals for offerings, and the Holy calendar.
Anyone from the House of Israel or from the sojourners, who brings a sacrifice to YHWH for a vow-offering, freewill-offering, or an ascent-offering, must bring a male without blemish from the cattle, sheep, or goats. A blemished animal is not to be sacrificed; its offering is not acceptable. A wellbeing-offering to YHWH brought as an extraordinary vow-offering or for a freewill-offering can be either an unblemished male or female from the cattle, sheep, or goats. The sidra՚ defines a blemished animal as one that is; blind, broken - has a broken limb, mutilated, has a running sore, scab, or scurvy. However, an ox, or a sheep which is too long in a limb or stunted may be offered as a freewill-offering, but it is not acceptable for a vow-offering. An animal that has been castrated or has had its testicles crushed or damaged in anyway cannot be brought as an offering, nor are we permitted to do any of these things to our animals thus preventing them from reproducing. If we cannot do this to animals then surely it is not permissible to do such things to humans! Even if a foreigner brings a sacrifice, his offering must be without blemish. An ox, sheep, or goat, must be left to nurse under its mother for seven days after it has been born; from the eighth day and beyond it can be brought as an offering to YHWH. An ox or sheep, it and its young cannot be slaughtered on the same day. Anyone who brings a thanksgiving-offering to YHWH must do so of their own freewill. A thanksgiving-offering must be eaten on the day that it is offered; none of it is to remain until the morning. "And you shall keep My commandments, you shall do them; I am YHWH. You shall not profane My holy name, and I will be sanctified, among the Children of Israel; I am YHWH who sanctifies them. The one bringing you out from the land of Egypt, to be to you for a God; I am YHWH" (Lev. 22:31-33).
"These are the appointed times of YHWH, holy proclamations; which you shall proclaim in their appointed times" (Lev. 23:4). Six days we are to do mela՚kha , but the seventh day is a Shabbath of ceasing and a holy day on which we are not to do any mela՚kha in any of our settlements; it is a Shabbath to YHWH. In the First Month on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Pesaḥ [Passover] to YHWH. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth [Unleavened Bread]. The Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth lasts for seven days - the first day and the seventh day are holy on which the performance of any mela՚kha is forbidden - during the seven days we are to eat maṣṣoth.
Ninety-Eighth Sidra՚ (Lev. 23:9-44): The Holy calendar continued.
When we harvest the crop of the land which YHWH has given to us, we are to bring an ՙomer [עֹמֶר - sheaf; between 2.2 and 4.5 litres - dry weight] of the first of the harvest to the kohen. The harvest referred to here is the barley harvest which in the land of Israel falls in the early spring. The kohen is to elevate the ՙomer for acceptance before YHWH, "on the morrow after the Shabbath" (Lev. 23:11). On the day of the elevation of the ՙOmer an offering is to be made consisting of, i) an ascent-offering - a male lamb in its first year without blemish, ii) a gift-offering - two ՙesronim [עֶשְֹרֹנִים, singular - עִשָּׂרוֹן; a dry weight equivalent to an ՙomer] of fine flour mixed with oil "a fire-offering to YHWH a soothing aroma" (Lev. 23:13), and iii) a libation-offering - a fourth of a hin (approximately 0.915 ~ 1.875 litres) of wine. We are not to eat bread, parched grain, or fresh grain, of the new harvest until the elevation of the ՙOmer and the sacrifices that are offered on that day. "And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow after the Shabbath, from the day that you brought, the ՙOmer of the elevation-offering; seven complete Shabbaths there shall be. Until the morrow after the seventh Shabbath, you shall count fifty days" (Lev. 23:15-16). Thus, 7 Shabbaths x 7 Shabbaths + 1 day = 50 days, which brings us to the early summer and the beginning of the wheat harvest. On the fiftieth day a gift-offering consisting of the new grain is brought to YHWH - an elevation-offering of bread (i.e. wheat); two loaves baked with leaven each consisting of two ՙesronim of fine flour from the first-fruits of the harvest. Along with an ascent-offering - seven male lambs a year old without blemish, one bull of the herd, and two rams; as well as their gift-offerings and their libation-offerings. A sin-offering - one hairy he goat, as well as a wellbeing-offering - two male year old sheep, the kohen is to elevate them with the bread of the first-fruits as an elevation-offering before YHWH. The fiftieth day - the Pilgrimage Festivals of Weeks - is to be declared holy on which no mela՚kha is to be performed. When we harvest our land we are not to harvest up to the edge of the field, nor are we to glean the gleanings; but they are to be left for the afflicted and the sojourner.
On the first day of the Seventh Month we are to cease as it is a holy day; no mela՚kha may be performed. It is a remembrance of teruՙa [תְּרוּעָה - trumpeting/shouting with the voice i.e. shout of joy] on which an offering is made to YHWH.
On the tenth of the Seventh Month is Yom Hakkippurim [The Day of Atonement] it is a holy day on which we are to afflict our souls in order to atone for our sins before YHWH. Afflicting one's soul has always been synonymous with fasting, i.e. the total abstention of food or liquid. From the Hebrew word for afflict ՙana [עָנָה] comes the noun taՙanith [תַּעֲנִית] - a fast day. In the Psalms the verb ՙana is equated with fasting, "I afflicted my soul with fasting" (Psalm 35:13), and one of the earliest references to fasting as a means of repentance is found in the Torah itself, where Moses fasted and prayed on account of the sins of the Children of Israel (see Deuteronomy 9:18-20). The performance of mela՚kha is forbidden on Yom Hakkippurim and on this day our energies are to be channelled towards making atonement. Anyone who does not afflict themselves on Yom Hakkippurim will be cut off from their people, and if anyone performs mela՚kha on that day, YHWH will cause them to perish from among their people. Yom Hakkippurim is referred to by the Torah as being a Shabbath; the only holy day apart from the weekly Shabbath to be given this epithet. The Torah informs us that even though Yom Hakkippurim falls on the tenth day of the Seventh Month (the Biblical day is from nightfall to nightfall) its observance is to be kept from the evening of the ninth of the month until the following evening the evening of the tenth. Therefore, the final phase of the ninth day - the period between sunset and nightfall - is added to Yom Hakkippurim.
On the fifteenth day of the Seventh Month is the Pilgrimage Festival of Sukkoth [Booths], which is celebrated for seven days. Both the first day and the eighth day are holy on which no mela՚kha may be performed. The eighth day is called a finalisation. For seven days offerings are to be brought to YHWH.
The Pilgrimage Festival of Sukkoth celebrates the ingathering of the land's produce. We are take before the first day produce of splendid fruit trees, branches of date-trees, boughs of trees with dense foliage, willows of the brook, and to construct sukkoth [booths] (see also Nehemiah 8:14-18). For seven days we are to rejoice before YHWH and to dwell in sukkoth; hence the name of the festival. Every citizen in Israel is to dwell in sukkoth, "In order that your generations will know, that in booths I made the Children of Israel dwell, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am YHWH your God" (Lev. 23:43).
Ninety-Nineth Sidra՚ (Lev. 24:1-23 continues into the next parasha): The Menorah, the Showbread, the blasphemer and penalties for blasphemy.
The Menorah in the Tent of Appointed Times is to be kept continuously burning and its fuel is to be pure beaten olive oil. The Kohen Gadol [High Priest] is to attend the Menorah's lamps in the evening.
Showbread is to be baked for the Table of the Mishkan, twelve round loaves [חַלָּה singular, חַלּוֹת plural] consisting of two ՙesronim of fine flour per loaf. The loaves are to be arranged on the Table in two rows, six loaves per row, along with pure frankincense, "and it shall be for the bread for a remembrance-offering, a fire-offering to YHWH" (Lev. 24:7). The twelve loaves are to be replaced on the Shabbath day, and the old loaves which are for the kohanim must be eaten in the Holy Place.
The Torah now relates an incident that took place while the Children of Israel were camped at Mt. Sinai. This incident concerns a man who is referred to as the son of an Israelite woman and of an Egyptian man; the woman's name is Shelomith daughter of Divri of the tribe of Dan. This man goes out amid the Children of Israel, and a struggle breaks out in the camp between, "the son of the Israelite woman, and an Israelite man" (Lev. 24:10). In the midst of the argument the son of the Israelite woman curses and insults the Name. He is brought before Moses who has him placed under guarded custody, while he inquires from YHWH as to what should be done to him. YHWH tells Moses to take the man outside the camp where all those who heard him curse and insult the Name are to place their hands on his head and all the Community is to stone him. They do as YHWH commanded. The Torah commands that any Israelite or Sojourner who insults his God shall bear his sin, however, if he curses the name of YHWH then the Community shall put him to death by stoning. Parashat ՚Emor concludes with a recap of the punishment of Lex Talionis, first mentioned in Parashat Mishpaṭim. Anyone who strikes any human life is to be put to death. Anyone who strikes the life of an animal shall pay for it; life in place of life. Anyone who maims his fellow; "as he has done, so shall be done to him... as he put a blemish in a human, thus is to be placed in him" (Lev. 24:19,20). There is to be one justice system for both the Sojourner and the Citizen.
TEACHINGS OF HAKHAM REKHAVI:
On the morrow after the Shabbath.
The Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth falls at the time of the barley harvest. During the festival "on the morrow after the Shabbath" (Lev. 23:11) an ՙOmer of the first cuttings of the barley harvest is brought to the Temple as an elevation offering, and until the ՙOmer is elevated we cannot eat from the produce of the new grain. On the day of the elevation of the ՙOmer we commence counting the seven complete Shabbaths which culminate in the Pilgrimage Festival of Weeks, "And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow after the Shabbath, from the day that you brought, the ՙOmer of the elevation-offering; seven complete Shabbaths there shall be. Until the morrow after the seventh Shabbath, you shall count fifty days" (Lev. 23:15-16). But what does the Torah mean by the phrase on the morrow after the Shabbath?
Since the elevation of the ՙOmer occurs during the Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth, there are those who maintain that the Shabbath in the phrase on the morrow after the Shabbath refers to the 15th of the First Month i.e. the first day of the Festival, which is a holy day and thus by definition a type of Shabbath. Therefore, according to this view the term "on the morrow after the Shabbath" means the morrow after the first holy day of the Festival in other words the 16th of the First Month. Those who uphold this view commence the counting of the seven complete Shabbaths from the 16th of the First Month.
However, this understanding of the phrase on the morrow after the Shabbath does not hold its weight when examined in the light of the peshaṭ [plain meaning of the text]:
1. In the passage under discussion, Leviticus 23:9-16, the word Shabbath is preceded by the definite article the, which defines the indeterminate noun a Shabbath as the Shabbath i.e. the weekly Shabbath. There is no Shabbath in the entire Torah other than the Shabbath of Genesis i.e. the 7th Day of the week.
2. If in this context the Shabbath in the phrase the morrow after the Shabbath means the holy day of the festival i.e. the 15th of the First Month, and not the weekly Shabbath, then the phrase seven complete Shabbaths must be referring to seven other festivals; but there are no other festivals! However, the upholders of the view that "on the morrow after the Shabbath" means the 16th of the First Month, maintain that the other seven Shabbaths are not festivals but are in fact periods of seven days i.e. weeks in general, although it is not grammatically logical for the word Shabbath to mean two different things within the same context. If the word Shabbath does mean the holy day of the festival then why the first holy day of the Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth i.e. the 15th, rather than the last holy day of the festival which is the 21st?
3. As already noted, we are not permitted to eat bread, parched grain, or fresh grain, of the new harvest until the elevation of the ՙOmer (see Leviticus 23:14). It is written in the Book of Joshua, "and they ate of the produce of the land on the morrow after the Pesaḥ [Passover], unleavened bread and parched grain; in this self-same day" (Josh. 5:11). Those who uphold the view that the phrase the morrow after the Shabbath means the 16th of the First Month use this verse as evidence for the justification of their understanding. For in order to eat from the produce of the new grain the elevation of the ՙOmer would have already been offered and seeing they ate from the new grain on the morrow after the Pesaḥ, this would mean by insinuation that the morrow after the Pesaḥ is the 16th. In order for this interpretation of Joshua 5:11 to be correct it would mean that the Pesaḥ would have to fall on the 15th. However the Pesaḥ is not an actual festival but is in fact an offering slaughtered at the period of twilight between the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th. The Torah provides evidence that the phrase the morrow after the Pesaḥ refers to the 15th of the First Month and not to the 16th, "And they journeyed from Raՙmeses in the First Month, on the fifteenth day of the First Month; on the morrow after the Pesaḥ" (Num. 33:3). Thus on the year they entered the land under the leadership of Joshua they eat from the produce of the new grain on the morrow after the Pesaḥ which is the 15th, however the produce of the new grain cannot be eaten until the elevation of the ՙOmer which is on the morrow after the Shabbath. Therefore on the year of the entry into the land the morrow after the Shabbath fell on the 15th of the First Month, and it is hence impossible that the phrase the morrow after the Shabbath refers to the 16th.
4. Thus according to the peshaṭ the phrase the morrow after the Shabbath means just that - the day after the weekly Shabbath in other words the first day of the week known in English as Sunday. Thus the day on which the ՙOmer is elevated and we commence counting the seven complete Shabbaths until the Pilgrimage Festival of Weeks is the first Sunday that falls within the Pilgrimage Festival of Maṣṣoth. Therefore the Pilgrimage Festival of Weeks would always also fall on a Sunday, hence the reason why it is the only festival that is not given a fixed date by the Torah. Since it always falls on a Sunday i.e. the first day of the week its date would change from year to year.
And went out a son of an Israelite woman
And went out a son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian man, amongst the Children of Israel; and there was a struggle in the camp, (between) the son of the Israelite woman, and an Israelite man. And the son of the Israelite woman uttered a curse against the Name (Lev. 24:10-11)
There is something peculiar about the incident found in the Ninety-Nineth Sidra՚ that involves the individual who cursed and insulted the Name of God. The characters involved in the incident are described not by their names, which aren't even given, but according to their parentage. The individual who cursed and insulted the Name of God (from this point known as the culprit) is described as a son of an Israelite woman whose father was an Egyptian man, while the man with whom he strives is referred to simply as an Israelite man. The terminology used obviously reflects something about the status of these two men.
The status of the man referred to simply as an Israelite, is not in question for he is defined as an Israelite by the very terminology used. The status of the culprit on the other hand is in question, for if by having a mother who is an Israelite was sufficient to make one an Israelite then the Torah would surely have referred to the culprit as an Israelite even though his father was an Egyptian. Thus, by referring to the culprit as the son of an Israelite woman and not as an Israelite the Torah is telling us that having a mother who is an Israelite is not sufficient to deem one an Israelite. The very fact that by having a non-Israelite father the culprit is called the son of an Israelite woman rather than having the status of an Israelite shows that one's father needs to be an Israelite in order to be classified as an Israelite.