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Parashat HaShavuaפרשת אמורAliyah 6 — ששי

פרשת אמור — ששי (Aliyah 6)

Parashat Emor | Leviticus 23:33–23:44 | Aliyah 6 of 7

קלאוד על הפרשה

The sixth aliyah of Parashat Emor concludes the great festival calendar of Leviticus 23 with the laws of Sukkot, the climactic seventh-month pilgrimage. Structurally, the passage is unusual: it presents the festival twice. The first presentation (verses 33-36) gives the basic data — fifteenth of the seventh month, seven days of chag ha-sukkot, a mikra kodesh on the first day, fire offerings throughout, and a culminating eighth day called atzeret. Then verses 37-38 read like a closing summation of the entire chapter, declaring ‘eleh moadei Hashem’ and noting that all these festival offerings are ‘apart from the sabbaths of the Lord’ and apart from private vows and freewill gifts. Yet the chapter does not actually end there. With the word ‘akh’ (verse 39), the Torah returns and reopens Sukkot, now adding the four species, the joy before the Lord, and the mitzvah to dwell in booths. Ramban famously addresses this doubling and explains that the first passage records the sacrificial dimension of the festival shared with the other moadim, while the second passage records the mitzvot unique to Sukkot — the lulav and the sukkah — which belong to a different category of obligation and therefore warrant their own self-contained presentation.

The first passage establishes the basic shape of the festival: seven days of chag, the first being a mikra kodesh on which melekhet avodah is forbidden, and a final eighth day distinguished by the term atzeret. Rashi, drawing on the midrash in Sukkah 55b, reads atzeret through a tender royal parable: the King has hosted His children for a long banquet, and as the time of departure arrives He pleads, ‘My children, please tarry with Me one more day; your separation is hard for Me.’ Ibn Ezra and Sforno give the term a more philological cast — atzeret is from the root meaning ‘to hold back,’ a day of detention before God for prayer, Torah, and joy in His presence rather than ordinary labor. Either way, Shemini Atzeret functions as a separate festival fused to Sukkot’s end, neither fully part of it nor independent from it, and the halakhah accordingly treats it as a regel bifnei atzmo.

The second passage opens with the four species (verse 40), the most distinctive ritual of the festival. The Torah names them with deliberate ambiguity: ‘pri etz hadar,’ ‘kapot temarim,’ ‘anaf etz avot,’ and ‘arvei nachal.’ Rashi, drawing on the gemara in Sukkah 35a, identifies each. Pri etz hadar is the etrog, since ‘hadar’ alludes to ha-dar be-ilano mi-shanah le-shanah, the fruit that abides on its tree from year to year, and because it is the fruit whose wood and fruit share one taste. Kapot temarim is the lulav, written defectively (kapot rather than kapot) to teach that only one branch is taken. Anaf etz avot is the hadas, whose three-leafed branches are plaited like ropes (avot meaning ‘braided’). Arvei nachal are the willows of the brook. Ibn Ezra, in a strikingly polemical passage, defends the Sages’ identification against the Karaite reading that the verse describes materials for building the sukkah itself, marshalling the testimony of Nehemiah 8 and the simple observation that ‘no fruit of the tree is more beautiful than the etrog.’

The crowning verse of the aliyah is the rationale offered for the mitzvah of sukkah: ‘le-maan yedu doroteikhem ki ba-sukkot hoshavti et bnei Yisrael be-hotsii otam me-eretz mitzrayim’ (verse 43). What were these sukkot? On this question the great Tannaim divided in Sukkah 11b. Rabbi Eliezer holds that they were ananei ha-kavod, the clouds of glory that surrounded Israel in the wilderness — protective, miraculous, supernatural. Rabbi Akiva insists they were sukkot mamash, literal booths that the people built for shelter on their journey. Rashi, in his terse comment here, sides emphatically with Rabbi Eliezer: ‘ki ba-sukkot hoshavti — ananei kavod.’ Ibn Ezra, characteristically, takes the verse on its peshat: Israel built actual booths after crossing the Sea of Reeds and certainly during their long encampment in the wilderness, just as any traveling camp must. He even offers a meteorological insight to explain why the festival falls in Tishri rather than Nisan: in Nisan they had no need of booths because the divine cloud sheltered them, but as the cold weather approached in Tishri they began to construct shelters, and so the festival commemorates the onset of that vulnerability and the divine protection that accompanied it.

The aliyah closes with a single verse (44) that forms a kind of editorial coda to the entire chapter: ‘va-yedaber Moshe et moadei Hashem el bnei Yisrael.’ Moshe transmits the moadim to Israel. Ibn Ezra notes that ‘el bnei Yisrael’ here cannot mean every individual Israelite — Moshe could not literally speak with all of them — but rather to the heads of the people, the representatives through whom the festival calendar entered Israelite life. The verse seals the chapter the way the chapter opened, with Moshe as the faithful conduit of God’s appointed times, and it serves as a reminder that the entire festival cycle, from Pesach through Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, is a single integrated revelation given to Israel through their teacher.

Leviticus 23:33–23:44 · ויקרא כג:לג–כג:מד

פסוק כג:לג · 23:33

Hebrew:

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃

English:

יהוה spoke to Moses, saying:

פסוק כג:לד · 23:34

Hebrew:

דַּבֵּ֛ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֨ה עָשָׂ֜ר י֗וֹם לַחֹ֤דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי֙ הַזֶּ֔ה חַ֧ג הַסֻּכּ֛וֹת שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֖ים לַיהֹוָֽה׃

English:

Say to the Israelite people: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month there shall be the Feast of Booths*Booths Others “Tabernacles.” to יהוה, [to last] seven days.

The Torah introduces the festival of Sukkot, fixed on the fifteenth of Tishri and lasting seven days. Or HaChaim, drawing on the Sifra, finds significance in the seemingly extraneous word 'ha-zeh' ('this one'), which the Sages read as a marker setting Sukkot apart from the festivals already enumerated.
אור החייםOr HaChaim
הזה חג הסוכות. בתורת כהנים דרשו יתור הזה, ופירשתי הברייתא בפרשת מצורע (י"ד ז'):
הזה חג הסכות, "this one is the festival of huts." The extraneous words are explained in Torat Kohanim. Please refer to my comment on this in connection with Leviticus 14,7.

פסוק כג:לה · 23:35

Hebrew:

בַּיּ֥וֹם הָרִאשׁ֖וֹן מִקְרָא־קֹ֑דֶשׁ כׇּל־מְלֶ֥אכֶת עֲבֹדָ֖ה לֹ֥א תַעֲשֽׂוּ׃

English:

The first day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations;

The first day of Sukkot is declared a mikra kodesh on which melekhet avodah is forbidden. Rashi, citing the Sifra, explains that to 'sanctify' the day means to mark it off from ordinary days through clean garments and dedicated prayer, and on the other festivals also through festive food and drink.
רש״יRashi
מקרא קדשׁ. קַדְּשֵׁהוּ בִכְסוּת נְקִיָּה וּבִתְפִלָּה, וּבִשְׁאָר יָמִים טוֹבִים בְּמַאֲכָל וּבְמִשְׁתֶּה וּבִכְסוּת נְקִיָּה וּבִתְפִלָּה (עי' ספרא):
מקרא קדש — This means: Hallow it (make it different from other days) by wearing fine clothes, and through appropriate prayer. In the case of other Festivals of which the same words are used, the expression מקרא קדש implies: Hallow them (distinguish them from other days) by your food and drink, by your fine clothes and appropriate prayers (cf. Sifra, Emor, Section 12 4).

פסוק כג:לו · 23:36

Hebrew:

שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֔ים תַּקְרִ֥יבוּ אִשֶּׁ֖ה לַיהֹוָ֑ה בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֡י מִקְרָא־קֹ֩דֶשׁ֩ יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֜ם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֨ם אִשֶּׁ֤ה לַֽיהֹוָה֙ עֲצֶ֣רֶת הִ֔וא כׇּל־מְלֶ֥אכֶת עֲבֹדָ֖ה לֹ֥א תַעֲשֽׂוּ׃

English:

seven days you shall bring offerings by fire to יהוה. On the eighth day you shall observe a sacred occasion and bring an offering by fire to יהוה; it is a solemn gathering:*solemn gathering Precise meaning of Heb. ‘aṣereth uncertain. Cf. Num. 29.35; Deut. 16.8. you shall not work at your occupations.

Fire offerings are brought all seven days, and the eighth day is itself a separate festival called atzeret. Rashi, drawing on Sukkah 55b, hears in 'atzeret' the tender plea of a king detaining His departing children for one more day, while Ibn Ezra and Sforno read the word philologically as 'detained,' a day held back from worldly labor and devoted to assembling before the Lord.
רש״יRashi
עצרת הוא. עָצַרְתִּי אֶתְכֶם אֶצְלִי; כְּמֶלֶךְ שֶׁזִּמֵּן אֶת בָּנָיו לִסְעוּדָה לְכָךְ וְכָךְ יָמִים, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִגִּיעַ זְמַנָּן לִפָּטֵר, אָמַר, בָּנַי בְּבַקָּשָׁה מִכֶּם עַכְּבוּ עִמִּי עוֹד יוֹם אֶחָד, קָשָׁה עָלַי פְּרֵדַתְכֶם: כל מלאכת עבדה. אֲפִלּוּ מְלָאכָה שֶׁהִיא עֲבוֹדָה לָכֶם, שֶׁאִם לֹא תַעֲשׂוּהָ יֵשׁ חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס בַּדָּבָר. לא תעשו. יָכוֹל אַף חֻלּוֹ שֶׁל מוֹעֵד יְהֵא אָסוּר בִּמְלֶאכֶת עֲבוֹדָה, תַּ"לֹ "הִוא" (שם):
עצרת הוא — The word is derived from the root עצר "to hold back" and suggests: I keep you back with Me one day more. It is similar to the case of a king who invited his children to a banquet for a certain number of days. When the time arrived for them to take their departure he said, "Children, I beg of you, stay one day more with me; it is so hard for me to part with you!" (cf. Rashi on Numbers 29:36 and Sukkah 55b). כל מלאכת עבדה ANY WORK THAT IS AN עבדה — i. e. even such work which rests as an obligation (עבודה) upon you because if it is left undone it involves monetary loss (cf. Rashi v. 8), לא תעשו YE SHALL NOT DO: — One might think that it is forbidden to do such urgent work (מלאכת עבדה) also on the intermediate days of Passover and Tabernacles (which are Half-festivals)! Scripture, however, states: עצרת] הוא], "it (i. e. the eighth day) forms a restriction: [ye shall do no urgent work]" — but on the intermediate days such work is not forbidden (Sifra, Emor, Section 12 6).
אבן עזראIbn Ezra
שבעת ימים תקריבו אשה. ואם איננו שוה כאשה חג הפסח: עצרת הוא. יש אומרים שטעמו קהלה כטעם עצרת בוגדים והטעם התחברות כל ישראל לשלש רגלים ולא דברו נכונה כי הנה כתוב בפסח וביום השביעי עצרת וכתיב ופנית בבקר והלכת לאהליך והקרוב שהוא כמו נעצר לפני ה׳‎ שיהיה בטל מכל עסקי העולם ופירוש עצרת הוא כל מלאכת עבודה לא תעשו וכן כתוב בעצרת מועד הפסח:
SEVEN DAYS YE SHALL BRING AN OFFERING MADE BY FIRE. Even though it is not the same as the offering made by fire that is brought on Passover.225The Torah tells us that on Passover and Sukkot the Jews are to bring an offering made by fire. However, there is a difference in the sacrifices offered on Passover and Sukkot. Thus an offering made by fire does not refer to a specific sacrifice. IT IS A DAY OF SOLEMN ASSEMBLY. Some say that atzeret (solemn assembly) means an assembly as in azteret bogedim (an assembly of treacherous men) (Jer. 9:1). Azteret refers to the gathering of all of Israel on the three pilgrimage festivals. However, they did not speak correctly, for look, Scripture states with regard to Passover, and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly (atzeret) (Deut. 16:8). However, it also states and thou shalt turn in the morning,226On the second day of Passsover. See I.E. on Deut. 16:7 (Vol. 5, p. 112). and go unto thy tents (Deut. 16:7).227There was thus no gathering of all Israel on the seventh day of Passover. Yet the Torah refers to this day as an atzeret. It appears that atzeret is similar to netzar (detained)228Or held back. From the root ayin, tzadi, resh. in detained before the Lord (I Sam. 21:8). Atzeret means that the Israelite shall not be involved in any worldly affairs.229The Israelite shall hold himself back from doing work. The meaning of atzeret is, ye shall do no manner of servile work.230Ye shall do no manner of servile work explains the term atzeret. Scripture writes similarly with regard to the atzeret of the festival of Passover.231Deut. 16:8 reads: "And on the seventh day [of Passover] shall be an azeret…thou shall do no work therein."
ספורנוSforno
עצרת הוא. ענין העצירה הוא לא בלבד לשבות ממלאכת הדיוט אבל היא עם זה אזהרת עמידה איזה זמן במקומות הקדש לעבוד במקומות ההם את האל יתברך בתורה או בתפלה או בעבודה כענין ושם איש מעבדי שאול ביום ההוא נעצר לפני ה' והוא אמרו קדשו צום קראו עצרה ועל זה הדרך אמר יהוא קדשו עצרה לבעל. אמר אם כן שזה היום אחר חג הסכות אשר בו שלמו כל שמחות הרגלים הוא קודש להיות יום עצרת שיעצרו במקומות הקודש ותהיה שמחתו שמחה של תורה ומעשים טובים כאמרו ישמח ישראל בעושיו וזה כענין ויהי כי הקיפו ימי המשתה וישלח איוב ויקדשם והשכים בבקר והעלה עולות מספר כלם כי אמר איוב אולי חטאו בני וכו' וזה מפני השמחה הקודמת ובהיות שביום שביעי של פסח נעצרו ישראל עם משה יחדו לשורר לאל יתברך כאמרו אז ישיר משה ובני ישראל קדש אותו היום להיות עצרת לה' אף על פי שלא היתה התשועה בתחלת היום וזה באר במשנה תורה באמרו וביום השביעי עצרת לה' אלהיך לא תעשה מלאכה ובהיות שהיה יום החמשים ליציאת מצרים יום מתן תורה אשר בו נעצרו ישראל יחדו לעבודת האל יתברך קראוהו רבותינו ז"ל (מועד קטן פרק ואלו מגלחין) עצרת. אמנם בתורה לא הוזכר אותו היום בזה השם כלל וזה מפני שקלקלו ישראל את המושג בעצירתם ויתנצלו את עדים מהר חורב:
עצרת היא. The concept of עצירה is something apart from the concept of שביתות. The latter pertains to abstaining from ordinary secular activities, whereas the former entails spending a certain amount of time performing holy tasks, studying Torah, engaging in communal prayer, etc. The expression נעצר occurs in this context in Samuel I 21,8 ושם איש מעבדי שאול ביום ההוא נעצר לפני ה', "and there was a man, one of Saul's officials detained before the Lord, etc." In Yoel 1,14 we find the line קדשו יום, עצרו עצרה, "solemnize a fast, proclaim an assembly!" In Kings II 10,20 we find that Yehu proclaimed an assembly in honour of the Baal, [he meant to make sure that he could kill all those who would worship the Baal, which he succeeded in doing, eradicating this cult from Israel. Ed.] The invitation read: קדשו עצרה לבעל, "proclaim a holy assembly for the Baal." It is in this sense that the Torah refers to the day following the seventh day of the Sukkot festival as Atzeret, an assembly for G'd, the pilgrims for the Sukkot festival to Jerusalem being detained there for an additional day. The joy on that day was to be a Torah inspired and oriented joy, akin to when David says in Psalms 149,2 ישמח ישראל בעושיו, "Israel rejoices in its Maker."We find that the description of the family dinners held in the home of Job's children, his seven sons and three daughters, at set intervals such festive get togethers were held. On the day after the completion of these festivities their father would send word to them to sanctify themselves and rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings to atone for the possibility that they might have been remiss and committed some misdemeanour which would have displeased their G'd. (Job 1,4-5) On the seventh day after the Exodus from Egypt the Israelites took time out to sing a song of thanksgiving to G'd for their final delivery from the pursuing Egyptians. Subsequently, in commemoration of that occasion, the Torah decreed that this day become an עצרת, a day devoted to contemplation of the great miracle on that first occasion. (Compare Exodus 15,1 and Deuteronomy 16,8). Again, on the fiftieth day after the Exodus when the Israelites in a great assembly at Mount Sinai spent the day contemplating their elevation to an almost supernatural people, this day was also subsequently observed as an עצרת, although in the Torah this day is never referred to as such. The reason why the Torah itself does not refer to this day as an עצרת may be the fact that shortly thereafter all the accomplishments of this day were lost and the Jewish people were even commanded to divest themselves of the "jewelry" they had worn in commemoration of that wonderful day. (Exodus 33,6)

פסוק כג:לז · 23:37

Hebrew:

אֵ֚לֶּה מוֹעֲדֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־תִּקְרְא֥וּ אֹתָ֖ם מִקְרָאֵ֣י קֹ֑דֶשׁ לְהַקְרִ֨יב אִשֶּׁ֜ה לַיהֹוָ֗ה עֹלָ֧ה וּמִנְחָ֛ה זֶ֥בַח וּנְסָכִ֖ים דְּבַר־י֥וֹם בְּיוֹמֽוֹ׃

English:

Those are the set times of יהוה that you shall celebrate as sacred occasions, bringing offerings by fire to יהוה —burnt offerings, meal offerings, sacrifices, and libations, on each day what is proper to it—

This verse is the great closing summation of the festival calendar, declaring 'eleh moadei Hashem' and listing the standard sacrificial categories that accompany each festival. Rashi explains 'devar yom be-yomo' as the precise daily quota fixed in the book of Numbers, and adds the halakhic principle that once a particular day passes its offering is forfeited.
רש״יRashi
עלה ומנחה. מִנְחַת נְסָכִים הַקְּרֵבָה עִם הָעוֹלָה: דבר יום ביומו. חֹק הַקָּצוּב בְּחֻמַּשׁ הַפְּקוּדִים: דבר יום ביומו. הָא אִם עָבַר יוֹמוֹ בָּטֵל קָרְבָּנוֹ (עי' ספרא):
עלה ומנחה A BURNT OFFERING AND A MEAL OFFERING — This means the מנחת נסכים (the meal-offering due with the drink-offering) that is brought together with the‎ עולה (Menachot 44b)‎. ‎‎ביומו‎ ‎יום‎ ‎דבר EVERYTHING UPON ITS DAY (lit., the thing of the day, on its day) — the quantity definitely assigned to each day in the Book of Numbers (cf. Rashi on Exodus 16:4). דבר יום ביומו EVERYTHING UPON ITS DAY (which may mean the matter of the day shall be on its day) — consequently if its day (the day on which some particular one of these sacrifices is due) be past, it's (the day's) offering is past (cf. Sifra, Emor, Section 12 9).
אבן עזראIbn Ezra
אלה מועדי ה׳‎. שאתם חייבים להקריב בהם אשה ופירוש כי בכולם יש בהם עולה ומנחה זבח ונסכים כי עד עתה לא הזכיר רק אשה לבדו ויתכן להיותו עולה לבדה או מנחה לבדה:
THESE ARE THE APPOINTED SEASONS OF THE LORD. Whereon you are obligated to bring an offering made by fire. Scripture explains232That is, Scripture now explains. that on all of these festivals a burnt offering, a meal offering, a sacrifice,233The festival offerings. and libations are to be brought, for until now Scripture only mentioned an offering made by fire, and it is possible that an offering made by fire refers only to a burnt offering or only to a meal offering.234Hence our verse explains that the term burnt offering refers to an offering made by fire.
אור החייםOr HaChaim
מועדי ה'. אמר רבי עקיבא (תורת כהנים פסוק ל"ה) אלו ימי מועד שאסורין במלאכה ע"כ, ונראה כי לזה גמר אומר ומלבד מתנותיכם וגו' כל נדריכם וגו' כל נדבותיכם אשר תתנו לה' שמשמע אפילו עולות ואין עולות באין ביום טוב כאומרם (ביצה י"ט.) לכם ולא לגבוה אלא ודאי שאין הכתוב מדבר אלא בחולו של מועד:
מועדי השם, "the appointed seasons of the Lord, etc." Torat Kohanim on verse 35 quotes Rabbi Akiva as saying that these are the days on which the performance of work is prohibited. I believe this may also be the reason why the Torah concludes by writing: ומלבד מתנותיכם, "and beside your gifts, etc., which you will present to the Lord." These "gifts" include burnt-offerings. We know from Beytzah 19 that burnt-offerings may not be offered on festivals. The Talmud derives this from the word לכם, "for you," and "not for G'd." When we take this into consideration it is clear that verse 38 speaks of the intermediate days of the festivals of Passover and Sukkot.

פסוק כג:לח · 23:38

Hebrew:

מִלְּבַ֖ד שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה וּמִלְּבַ֣ד מַתְּנֽוֹתֵיכֶ֗ם וּמִלְּבַ֤ד כׇּל־נִדְרֵיכֶם֙ וּמִלְּבַד֙ כׇּל־נִדְבֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּתְּנ֖וּ לַיהֹוָֽה׃

English:

apart from the sabbaths of יהוה, and apart from your gifts and from all your votive offerings and from all your freewill offerings that you give to יהוה.

The festival offerings are set in addition to Shabbat offerings, the pilgrim gifts brought on the three regalim, and all private vows and freewill donations. Ibn Ezra connects 'gifts' specifically to the obligatory bringing on the three pilgrimage festivals, while Or HaChaim infers from the language that the verse refers to the intermediate days of the festival, since voluntary olot may not be offered on yom tov itself.
אבן עזראIbn Ezra
מתנותיכם. בג׳‎ רגלים ונדרי הצבור והיחיד ונדבותיהם:
AND BESIDE YOUR GIFTS. On the three pilgrimage festivals.235See Deut. 16:17. Similarly, And the vows of the congregation and of the individual and their freewill offerings.236Which people were wont to bring when they came to God's house on the festivals.

פסוק כג:לט · 23:39

Hebrew:

אַ֡ךְ בַּחֲמִשָּׁה֩ עָשָׂ֨ר י֜וֹם לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י בְּאׇסְפְּכֶם֙ אֶת־תְּבוּאַ֣ת הָאָ֔רֶץ תָּחֹ֥גּוּ אֶת־חַג־יְהֹוָ֖ה שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים בַּיּ֤וֹם הָֽרִאשׁוֹן֙ שַׁבָּת֔וֹן וּבַיּ֥וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֖י שַׁבָּתֽוֹן׃

English:

Mark, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the yield of your land, you shall observe the festival of יהוה [to last] seven days: a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day.

The Torah reopens the Sukkot passage with 'akh,' returning to add the festival's distinctive mitzvot. Rashi reads 'tachogu' as the bringing of the chagigah peace offerings, and famously derives from the words 'be-aspekhem et tevuat ha-aretz' that the Sages were commanded to intercalate the year so that Tishri would always fall in the ingathering season. Ibn Ezra notes that the contrast with Yom Kippur's affliction is sharpened by the Torah's repeated calls to rejoice on Sukkot.
רש״יRashi
אך בחמשה עשר יום, תחגו. קָרְבַּן שְׁלָמִים לַחֲגִיגָה, יָכוֹל תִּדְחֶה אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת, תַּ"לֹ אַךְ, הוֹאִיל וְיֵשׁ לָהּ תַּשְׁלוּמִין כָּל שִׁבְעָה: באספכם את תבואת הארץ. שֶׁיְּהֵא חֹדֶשׁ שְׁבִיעִי זֶה בָּא בִּזְמַן אֲסִיפָה, מִכָּאן שֶׁנִּצְטַוּוּ לְעַבֵּר אֶת הַשָּׁנִים, שֶׁאִם אֵין הָעִבּוּר, פְּעָמִים שֶׁהוּא בְאֶמְצַע הַקַּיִץ אוֹ הַחֹרֶף: תחגו. שַׁלְמֵי חֲגִיגָה: שבעת ימים. אִם לֹא הֵבִיא בָזֶה, יָבִיא בָזֶה, יָכוֹל יְהֵא מְבִיאָן כָּל שִׁבְעָה, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר וחגתם אתו — יוֹם אֶחָד בְּמַשְׁמָע וְלֹא יוֹתֵר, וְלָמָּה נֶאֱמַר שִׁבְעָה? לְתַשְׁלוּמִין (חגיגה ט'):
אך בחמשה עשר יום... תחגו BUT ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY… YE SHALL OFFER A חג — i. e., a sacrifice of peace-offerings as a חגיגה (the pilgrims' sacrifice on the Festivals) (Chagigah 9a). Since it states that this has to be brought on the fifteenth day of the month, one might think that it (the offering of קרבן חגיגה) shall set aside the Sabbath (supersede the Sabbath law, if that day be the fifteenth of the month)! Scripture, however, uses the word אך (the particle that implies a limitation; cf. Rashi on v. 27): suggesting that it must not be offered on Sabbath because it has a supplementary period consisting of all the seven days of the Festival. באספכם את תבואת הארץ [ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH] WHEN YE GATHER IN THE INCREASE OF THE LAND — This tells us that this seventh month (in which סכות occurs) must be at the time of the ingathering. Hence we learn that they are enjoined to intercalate the years if necessary (Sifra, Emor, Chapter 15 6), because if there be no such intercalation it (the seventh month) would sometimes fall in the middle of the summer or of the winter. תחגו YE SHALL CELEBRATE (OFFER) the peace-offerings of the חגיגה. שבעת ימים SEVEN DAYS (during seven days), meaning that if one has not brought them on one he may bring them on another of the seven days. But I might think that the meaning is that one has to offer them on each of the seven days! Scripture, however, states (v. 41): וחגתם אתו, "and ye shall make it the day of the חגיגה" — this implies one day and no more. Why, then, does Scripture say "seven"? In reference to the supplementary period (Chagigah 9a).
אבן עזראIbn Ezra
וטעם אך. בעבור שהזכיר בפרשה שהיא קודם זאת ענוי הנפש אסר להתענות בחג הסכות כי בו כתובות ושמחת ושמחתם והיית אך שמח: באספכם את תבואת הארץ. שדות וכרמים: תחגו. מפעלי הכפל וטעם על הזבחים: ביום הראשון שבתון. שם ויחסר יהיה לכם ואילו הי׳‎ שם התאר היה ה״א תחת בי״ת:
[HOWBEIT.] Scripture reads howbeit because it mentioned the affliction of the soul in the preceding section. The Torah prohibited fasting on the festival of Sukkot, for Scripture reads with regard to this festival, And thou shalt rejoice (Deut. 16:14)…and thou shalt be altogether joyful (Deut. 16:15). WHEN YE HAVE GATHERED IN THE FRUITS OF THE LAND. From the fields and vineyards. YE SHALL KEEP THE FEAST. Tachoggu (ye shall keep the feast) comes from a double root.237Its root is chet, gimel, gimel. The reference is to the sacrifices.238The peace offerings. ON THE FIRST DAY SHALL BE A SOLEMN REST.239Literally, On the first day a solemn rest. Shabbaton (a solemn rest) is a noun. The words "shall be unto you" are missing.240In other words, On the first day a solemn rest should be read as if written: On the first day shall be a solemn rest unto you. If shabbaton were an adjective, the word yom (day) would have a heh rather than a bet prefixed to it.241Our verse reads, be yom ha-rishon shabbaton (on the first day…a solemn rest). If shabbaton were an adjective, then our verse would read ha-yom ha-rishon shabbaton (the first day a solemn rest).
ספורנוSforno
אך בחמשה עשר יום. אחר שהזכיר את הדברים הכללים שכל המועדים מסכימים בהם וזה במה שכולם מקראי קדש וטעונים קרבן מוסף כאמרו אלה מועדי ה' אשר תקראו אותם מקראי קדש להקריב אשה וכו' אמר אך בחמשה עשר יום וכו' והודיע שחג הסכות נבדל משאר המועדים ראשונה שהשמיני שלו מקרא קדש כאמרו וביום השמיני שבתון לא כן בימי השבוע ובימי חג המצות וכן בחדשים ובשנים שבהם קדש השביעי לא השמיני. שנית במה שזה החג טעון שנוי דירה כאמרו בסכות תשבו. שלישית שטעון נענוע ארבע מינים כאמרו ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון פרי עץ הדר וכו':
אך בחמשה עשר יום, after the Torah had discussed the subject of the festivals in general terms, i.e. their common denominator being that these days are called מקראי קודש on which fire offerings on the altar are being offered on the altar in the presence of the Lord, the Torah continues 'אך בחמשה עשר יום וגו, by showing that the festival of Sukkot is different from all the other festivals: 1) the eighth day of that festival is called as we know from וביום השמיני שבתון, that the eighth day of that sequence of days is to be regarded as a kind of Sabbath. Such a concept does not exist as a special, day in the "week," nor on the festival of matzot, neither in connection with months or years. In respect of all of these only the number seven has a connotation of holiness, not the number eight. 2) This is the only festival in which the Jew is required to change his home, move out of his regular home, as stated clearly in verse 42. 3) it requires that every Jew take four plants of specific categories and wave them in the 6 directions on earth. (compare verse 40)

פסוק כג:מ · 23:40

Hebrew:

וּלְקַחְתֶּ֨ם לָכֶ֜ם בַּיּ֣וֹם הָרִאשׁ֗וֹן פְּרִ֨י עֵ֤ץ הָדָר֙ כַּפֹּ֣ת תְּמָרִ֔ים וַעֲנַ֥ף עֵץ־עָבֹ֖ת וְעַרְבֵי־נָ֑חַל וּשְׂמַחְתֶּ֗ם לִפְנֵ֛י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִֽים׃

English:

On the first day you shall take the product of hadarhadar Others “goodly”; exact meaning of Heb. hadar uncertain. Traditionally the product is understood as “citron.” trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafyleafy Meaning of Heb. ‘aboth uncertain. trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before your God יהוה seven days.

The defining mitzvah of the four species is introduced. Rashi, drawing on Sukkah 35a, identifies each: pri etz hadar is the etrog, the fruit that 'abides' on its tree from year to year and whose wood and fruit share one taste; kapot temarim (written defectively) is the single lulav; and anaf etz avot is the hadas, whose plaited branches resemble the ropes called avot. Ibn Ezra defends the rabbinic tradition vigorously against Karaite readings, insisting that no fruit is more beautiful than the etrog.
רש״יRashi
פרי עץ הדר. עֵץ שֶׁטַּעַם עֵצוֹ וּפִרְיוֹ שָׁוֶה (סכה ל"ה): הדר. הַדָּר בְּאִילָנוֹ מִשָּׁנָה לְשָׁנָה, וְזֶהוּ אֶתְרוֹג (שם): כפת תמרים. חָסֵר וי"ו, לִמֵּד שֶׁאֵינָהּ אֶלָּא אַחַת: וענף עץ עבת. שֶׁעֲנָפָיו קְלוּעִים כַּעֲבוֹתוֹת וְכַחֲבָלִים, וְזֶהוּ הֲדַס, הֶעָשׂוּי כְּמִין קְלִיעָה (שם ל"ב):
פרי עץ הדר THE FRUIT OF THE TREE HADAR — a tree the wood of which (עץ) has the same taste as its fruit (פרי) (Sifra, Emor, Chapter 16 4; Sukkah 35a). הדר — It is called הדר because it is the tree whose fruit remains (הַדָּר) on the tree from one year to another (several years) — and this is the "Ethrog". כפת תמרים A BRANCH OF PALM TREES — The word כפת is written defective (without ו, not כפות) to intimate that only one branch is intended (Sukkah 32a). וענף עץ עבת AND BOUGHS OF THE TREE עבת — i. e. of a tree whose boughs are, as it were, plaited (intertwined one with another) like ropes (עבתות) and cords; this is the myrtle plant which is indeed formed as a plait (three leaves issuing from one point of the branch and covering it) (Sukkah 32b).
אבן עזראIbn Ezra
ולקחתם לכם. אנחנו נאמין בדברי המעתיקים כי לא יכחישו הכתוב אף על פי שמצאנו ויקחו להם איש שה לבית אבות. גם הם העתיקו כי פרי עץ הדר הוא אתרוג ובאמת כי אין פרי עץ יותר הדר ממנו ודרשו בו הדר באילנו בדרך אסמכתא כאשר פירשתי בפסוק לעם נכרי והצדוקים אמרו כי מאלה תעשו סוכות והביאו ראיה מספר עזרא ואלה עורי לב הלא יראו כי אין בספר עזרא ערבי נחל ולא פרי עץ כלל רק עלי חמשה מינים ואין זכר לעלי הדס ועלי עץ עבות טענה על קדמונינו וכן מין הדס אין אילנו גבוה והנה הם שני מינים גבוה ונמוך והגולה מארץ קדר לארץ אדום אם יש לו עינים ידע סוד המצוה זאת:
AND YE SHALL TAKE. We shall believe in the words of the transmitters,242The transmitters of tradition, the Talmudic sages. for they do not contradict Scripture.243The rabbis of the Talmud teach that the four types of plants mentioned in our verse are to be actually taken by hand. The latter is so even though we find, they shall take to them every man a lamb (Ex. 12:3).244Here the word "take" does not mean one has to ritually take the animal in one's hand. Or here the word take means buy. See Mekhilta on Ex. 12:3. They245The transmitters of tradition. also transmitted to us the tradition that the fruit of goodly trees (v. 40) refers to the etrog (citron). In truth, there is no fruit of the tree more beautiful than the etrog. The rabbis interpreted the phrase etz hadar (goodly trees) to mean [a fruit] which dwells on its tree.246It doesn't fall off the tree. The Talmud (Sukkah 33a) connects the word hadar (goodly) to the word dar (dwells). It interprets our verse as meaning a fruit which dwells ((or remains) on its tree from year to year. They used the verse as a support for their tradition. I have explained the latter247The use of Biblical verses as supports. in my comments on to sell her unto a foreign people (Ex. 21:8).248See I.E. on Ex. 21:8 (Vol. 2, pp. 458,459). The Sadducees249The Karaites. say that the sukkah shall be built from these plants.250The plants mentioned in our verse. They brought proof from the Book of Ezra.251Neh. 8:15 tells us that the Israelites made sukkot out of olive branches, branches of wild olive, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of thick trees. However, they are blind of heart. Do they not see that the Book of Ezra252That is, Neh. 8:15. does not at all mention willows of the book and fruit of the tree?253That is, fruit of a goodly tree. It only mentions the leaves of five kinds of branches.254Olive branches, branches of wild olive, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of thick trees. The mention there of myrtle branches and branches of thick trees is no argument against our ancients.255The fact that myrtle branches and branches of thick trees were used in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah to build a sukkah does not disprove the Rabbinic tradition that these plants are to be ritually taken in the hand on sukkot. Similarly the kind called myrtle does not grow on a tall tree.256The Karaites claim the "boughs of thick trees" refers to a plant that grows on tall trees. According to the rabbis the "boughs of thick trees" refers to the myrtle. The latter does not grow on a tall tree. There are thus two kinds,257Branches of thick trees (ale etz avot) (Neh. 8:15) and boughs of thick trees (anaf etz avot) are not the exact same plant. The first-mentioned plant grows on a tall tree and the latter on a low tree. There is thus no proof from Neh. 8:15 that myrtles are to be employed in building the sukkah. one growing on a tall tree and one on a low tree. The person who wanders from the land of Kedar258A dry land. Kedar was one of the sons of Ishmael (Gen. 25:13). Kedar in I.E. usually refers to Moslems. The descendants of Ishmael dwelt between Egypt and Assyria. The latter area is semi-dry. to the land of Edom259The Land of the Christians, i.e., Europe. will know the secret of this commandment260The commandment of taking the four kinds mentioned in verse 40. if he has eyes.261The land of Israel, which is located in the Middle East, is a semi-dry land and required special prayers for rain. The "four kinds" serve to induce rainfall. See Ta'anit 2:2. So Weiser. For other interpretations see Motot, Krinsky, and Filwarg.

פסוק כג:מא · 23:41

Hebrew:

וְחַגֹּתֶ֤ם אֹתוֹ֙ חַ֣ג לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֖ים בַּשָּׁנָ֑ה חֻקַּ֤ת עוֹלָם֙ לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם בַּחֹ֥דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֖י תָּחֹ֥גּוּ אֹתֽוֹ׃

English:

You shall observe it as a festival of יהוה for seven days in the year; you shall observe it in the seventh month as a law for all time, throughout the ages.

פסוק כג:מב · 23:42

Hebrew:

בַּסֻּכֹּ֥ת תֵּשְׁב֖וּ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים כׇּל־הָֽאֶזְרָח֙ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל יֵשְׁב֖וּ בַּסֻּכֹּֽת׃

English:

You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths,

The Torah commands the seven-day mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah, applying it to 'every native (ezrach) in Israel.' Rashi, citing the Sifra, points out that the apparently redundant phrase 'be-Yisrael' comes to include converts (gerim) within this obligation, ensuring that the mitzvah belongs to the entire covenant community.
רש״יRashi
האזרח. זֶה אֶזְרָח, בישראל — לְרַבּוֹת אֶת הַגֵּרִים (ספרא):
האזרח THE NATIVE — Since this word means native-born, the word בישראל, ANYONE IN ISRAEL, serves to include the proselytes (cf. Sifra, Emor, Chapter 17 9).

פסוק כג:מג · 23:43

Hebrew:

לְמַ֘עַן֮ יֵדְע֣וּ דֹרֹֽתֵיכֶם֒ כִּ֣י בַסֻּכּ֗וֹת הוֹשַׁ֙בְתִּי֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּהוֹצִיאִ֥י אוֹתָ֖ם מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃

English:

in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt—I, your God יהוה.

The Torah supplies the rationale for the mitzvah of sukkah, anchoring it in the wilderness experience after the Exodus. This verse is the seedbed of the famous Tannaic dispute in Sukkah 11b: Rashi follows Rabbi Eliezer that 'sukkot' refers to the ananei ha-kavod, the clouds of glory that protected Israel, while Ibn Ezra prefers the peshat that they were literal booths built from Tishri onward as the cold set in. Sforno reads the closing 'I am the Lord your God' as a promise that He will never turn His protective gaze from Israel.
רש״יRashi
כי בסכות הושבתי. עַנְנֵי כָבוֹד (שם; מכילתא י"ב):
כי בסכות הושבתי THAT I MADE [THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] ABIDE IN BOOTHS — This does not mean literally "booths" but, "the clouds of Glory" by which they were sheltered (cf. Onkelos; Sifra, Emor, Chapter 17 11; Mekhilta; Sukkah 11b).
אבן עזראIbn Ezra
כי בסכות. שהיו עושים אחר שעברו ים סוף סוכות ואף כי במדבר סיני שעמדו שם קרוב משנה וכן מנהג כל המחנות והנה גם זה המועד זכר ליציאת מצרים ואם ישאל שואל למה בתשרי זאת המצוה יש להשיב כי ענן ה׳‎ היה על המחנה יומם והשמש לא יכם ומימות תשרי החלו לעשות סוכות בעבור הקור:
THAT…IN BOOTHS. The Israelites made booths after they crossed the Sea of Reeds. They certainly did so in the wilderness of Sinai, where they dwelt close to a year. This is the manner of all the camps. This festival too262Like Passover. is thus in memory of the Exodus263As noted in verse 43. from Egypt.264Even though it is not observed in the month of Nisan. Should someone ask why this commandment is to be observed in the month of Tishri,265The month Israel left Egypt. then one can answer: God's cloud was over the camp during the day266When they left Egypt. and the sun did not strike them.267They thus had no need of booths. However, they started to make sukkot from the days of Tishri onwards because of the cold.268I.E.'s point is that Israel had no need of booths for shelter until the cold weather set in. The latter occurred in Tishri. Hence booths are constructed in Tishri.
ספורנוSforno
אני ה' אלהיכם. באר שכל אלה לתכלית נאות לנו מכוון מאתו יתברך כי הוא אלוהינו לא יגרע ממנו עיניו:
אני ה' אלוקיכם, the meaning of the statement, repeated again and again, is that the reason that G'd requests these symbolic deeds from us is that by performing them we insure that He will not ever turn His benevolent eyes away from us.

פסוק כג:מד · 23:44

Hebrew:

וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶת־מֹעֲדֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֑ה אֶל־בְּנֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ {פ}

English:

So Moses declared to the Israelites the set times of יהוה.

The closing verse of the festival chapter notes that Moshe transmitted all the moadei Hashem to Israel, sealing the entire calendar with his faithful teaching. Ibn Ezra observes that 'el bnei Yisrael' cannot mean Moshe spoke to every individual personally, since that was impossible; rather he addressed the heads of the people, through whom the festival laws reached the entire nation.
אבן עזראIbn Ezra
אל בני ישראל. ולא כל בני ישראל כי לא יוכל לדבר עם כולם וכן כתוב דבר אל בני ישראל ואין טענה מפסוק אל כל עדת בני ישראל כי כל ישראל לא יקרא עדה:
UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. Not to all of the children of Israel, for Moses could not talk to all of them.269He spoke to the heads of the people. Scripture similarly reads, Speak unto the children of Israel. (verses 2, 10, 24, 34). The verse unto all the congregation of the children of Israel (Lev. 19:2) is no argument to the contrary,270It does not teach that Moses spoke to all of Israel. for all of Israel is not called a congregation.271The term congregation (edah) refers to the heads of the people who gathered (no'adu) to hear the words of Moses.

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