Thursday, May 7, 2009

Vayikra 23:1-4 (Emor) - Shabbat, a moed and a mikra kodesh?

Vayikra Chapter 23 records the days in the year which are a mikrei kodesh, literally those days that are proclaimed as kodesh. The term mikra kodesh means a day that is proclaimed or designated as a separate day, and one way that it is separated is that no work is done on that day (see Benno Jacob, 1992, p. 322). Accordingly, chapter 23 does not mention the new moon since work is not forbidden on the day and hence it is not a mikra' kodesh.

The chapter begins with an introductory verse, 23:2, then a verse which refers to the Shabbat, 23:3, and then apparently another introductory verse, 23:4, which is very similar to the 23:2. Why is there a need for two introductory verses?

The answer is that this is an example of a repetitive resumption or a bookend, that after there is a digression, the Torah refers to its previous topic by restating the verse prior to the digression. The digression is the reference to the Shabbat in 23:3, but why should the reference to Shabbat be considered a digression?

Ramban (on 23:2) first writes that Shabbat is a moed, a set time, but afterwards he argues that Shabbat is different than the other days mentioned in the chapter since Shabbat is not considered a moed while the other days are considered a moed. Ramban quotes two proofs for why Shabbat is not considered a moed. One, by all the festival days in chapter 23 there are references to sacrifices brought on the particular day, but there is no mention of sacrifices with regard to Shabbat. Thus we see a difference between Shabbat and the other festive days. Secondly, towards the end of the chapter, 23:37 records the phrase "these are the moadim, set times, of G-d," and then 23:38 records the phrase "apart from Shabbat." Ramban claims that the word "apart" in 23:38 means to separate Shabbat from the other days which are moadim, set times. Similarly, Levine (1989, p. 154) writes that Shabbat is not a moed since a festival must have its date "fixed," while Shabbat does not have to have its date fixed since the seventh day is not a "calendrical phenomenon."

On the other hand, the fact that 23:2 ends with phrase "these are My moed," and then 23:3 refers to the Shabbat implies that Shabbat is a moed. Ramban argues that the phrase "these are My moed," in 23:2 refers to the festivals which are recorded in 23:5. While Hoffmann (1953) brings a proof for this idea from Shemot 35, still it would seem that since Shabbat is mentioned immediately after the phrase "these are My moed," Shabbat is a moed.

The answer is that Shabbat is a moed, a set time, and a mikra' kodesh, but it is different than the festivals since there is no need to proclaim Shabbat as a moed and a mikra' kodesh through sacrifices, only through the abstinence of work. (Later usage only refers to the festivals as moadim, but in the Torah, Shabbat is also a moed.)

The festivals are proclaimed as a moed and a mikra' kodesh by the sacrifices that are mentioned in chapter 23 that are to be brought on the particular festival, by some ritual action and the fact that work is forbidden on the day. Verse 23:38 uses the word "apart" since the previous verse, 23:37, stated that "these are the moadim that are proclaimed a mikra' kodesh to bring sacrifices." Shabbat is not included in 23:37 since there was no need to offer sacrifices to proclaim the day as a moed and a mikra kodesh. Yet, Shabbat had to be mentioned in chapter 23 since it is a moed and a mikra' kodesh, but this does not happen due to sacrifices. Thus, 23:2,4 are a bookend that separates Shabbat from the festivals.

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