Midrash sobre Isaías 1:14

(Numb. 29:35:) “On the eighth day.” What was the reason for [the number of sacrificial animals] being reduced on each day?⁴³Numb. R. 21:25. The Torah is simply teaching you etiquette from the sacrifices. Thus if someone goes for lodging,⁴⁴Gk.: Xenia. and his host receives him; on the first day he receives him properly and feeds him fowl. Then on the second he feeds him fish; on the third he feeds him cheese; on the fourth he feeds him greens. So does he continue to reduce, until he is feeding him pulse. (Numb. 29:35:) “On the eighth day you shall have (literally, there shall be for you) a solemn assembly.” What is the meaning of “for you?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Joy is fitting for you; new moons are fitting for you; festival times are fitting for you; holidays are fitting for you.” It is therefore stated (ibid.), “for you.” A certain gentile questioned R. Aqiva. He said to him, “Why do you keep festival times? Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, say the following to you (in Is. 1:14), ‘Your new moons and your festival times My soul hates?’” R. Aqiva said to him, “If He had said, ‘My new moons and My festival times My soul hates,’ I should have said so. But He said, ‘Your new moons and your festival times’; because of those festival times which Jeroboam instituted, as stated (in I Kings 12:32-33), ‘Jeroboam also instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival in Judah, at Bethel to sacrifice to the calves, and he ascended the altar…. and he made a festival for the Children of Israel.’ These festival times, however, (the ones ordained by the Holy One, blessed be He,) shall never be abolished. Neither shall the new moons. Why? Because they belong to the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in Lev. 23:4), ‘These are My festivals times’” And it is also written (ibid. verse 44), “And Moses told the festival times of the Lord.” They shall, therefore, never be abolished; for it is concerning them that it is stated (in Ps. 111:8), “They are established forever to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.”

(Numb. 29:35:) ON THE EIGHTH DAY YOU SHALL HAVE (literally: THERE SHALL BE FOR YOU) A SOLEMN ASSEMBLY. What is the meaning of FOR YOU? The Holy One said to Israel: The festive occasion⁵²Simhah. The allusion is to the solemn assembly on the eighth day of the festival, which is called Simhat Torah. is fitting FOR YOU; New Moons are fitting FOR YOU; festival times are fitting FOR YOU; holidays are fitting FOR YOU. It is therefore stated (ibid.): FOR YOU. A certain star worshiper questioned R. Aqiva. He said to him: Why do you keep festival times? Did not he say the following to you (in Is. 1:14): YOUR NEW MOONS AND YOUR FESTIVAL TIMES MY SOUL HATES? R. Aqiva said to him: If <the Holy One> had said: "My New Moons and my festival times my soul hates," I should have said so. He only said: YOUR NEW MOONS AND YOUR FESTIVAL TIMES, because these are the festival times which Jeroboam instituted, as stated (in I Kings 12:32): JEROBOAM ALSO INSTITUTED A FESTIVAL…. These festival times, however, (the ones ordained by the Holy One) shall never be abolished. Neither shall the New Moons. Why? Because they belong to the Holy One, as stated (in Lev. 23:2): THE FESTIVAL TIMES OF THE LORD. It also says (ibid.): THESE ARE MY FESTIVAL TIMES. [(Also in vs. 4:) THESE ARE THE FESTIVAL TIMES OF THE LORD.] They shall, therefore, never be abolished; for it is concerning them that it is stated (in Ps. 111:8): THEY ARE ESTABLISHED FOREVER TO BE PERFORMED WITH FAITHFULNESS AND UPRIGHTNESS.

26 (Numb. 29:35) “On the eighth day”: What was the reason for [the number of sacrificial animals] being reduced on each day? The Torah is simply teaching you etiquette from the sacrifices. Thus if someone goes for lodging,²²Gk.: Xenia. and his host receives him; on the first day he receives him properly and feeds him fowl. Then on the second he feeds him meat; on the third he feeds him fish; on the fourth he feeds him greens. So does he continue to reduce, until he is feeding him pulse. (Numb. 29:35) “You shall have (literally, there shall be for you)”: What is the meaning of “for you?” [The Holy One, blessed be He,] said to them, “Festival times are fitting for you.” A certain gentile questioned R. Aqiva. He said to him, “Why do you keep festival times? Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, say the following to you (in Is. 1:14), ‘Your new moons and your festival times My soul hates?’” R. Aqiva said to him, “If He had said, ‘My new moons and My festival times My soul hates,’ I should have said [so. But] He said, ‘Your new moons and your festival times’; because of those festival times which Jeroboam instituted, as stated (in I Kings 12:32-33), ‘Jeroboam also instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival in Judah, at Bethel to sacrifice to the calves. And he ascended the altar […] and he made a festival for the Children of Israel […].’ These festival times, however, (the ones ordained by the Holy One, blessed be He,) shall never be abolished. Neither shall the new moons. Why? Because they belong to the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in Lev. 23:37), ‘These are the festival times of the Lord.’ And similarly (in Lev. 23:4), ‘These are My festivals times.’” And it is also written (ibid. verse 44), “And Moses told the festival times of the Lord.” They shall, therefore, never be abolished; for it is concerning them that it is stated (in Ps. 111:8), “They are established forever to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.”

(Fol. 145b) R. Chiya b. Abba and R. Assi were once sitting before R. Jochanan, while R. Jochanan took a nap. R. Chiya b. Abba asked R. Assi: "Why were the fowls of Babylon so fat?" R. Assi answered him: "Why? Go to the desert of Aza (in Palestine) where I will show thee still fatter ones." Again asked R. Chiya b. Abba: "Why are the Babylonians so joyous during the festivals?" "Because," answered he, "they are poor." "Why are the disciples of Babylon so well dressed?" inquired R. Chiya b. Abba again; "Because," said R. Assi, "they are not so well versed in the Torah as are the Palestinian scholars [and are therefore well dressed to command respect]." "Why do the Babylonians appear to be filthy?" "Because," answered R. Assi, "they eat abominable and creeping things." At that moment R. Jochanan awoke and said to them: "Youngsters! Have I not warned you [to keep in your mind the passage] (Pr. 7, 4.) Say unto wisdom, thou art my sister, which means, if a thing is as certain to thee as the fact that thou canst not marry thine own sister, then say it; otherwise, thou shalt not say it." "Let then the master explain to us some of the above matters," said they. Whereupon R. Jochanan said: "The reason why the fowls of Babylon are so fat is, because they were never driven away from their homes, as it is said (Jer. 48, 11.) Mo'ab was never at ease from his youth, and he was resting on his lees, and was not emptied from vessel to vessel, and had not gone into exile. And whence do we know that the fowls of Palestine were driven from their homes? We are taught that R. Juda said: 'For fifty-two years was the land of Judea isolated so that no man passed through it; as it is said (Ib. 9, 9.) For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, etc., but the fowls of the heavens and the earth are fled; they are gone away, i.e., the numerical value of the word Behema (beast) is fifty-two.' R. Jacob, in the name of Jochanan said: 'All of these came back [to their homes] except only the Calias (tunny fish,' for Rab said that the places of Babylon furnished the water for En-Eitam [by underground pipes and all the fish returned through these pipes] but the tunny-fish, because of its soft backbone, was not able to swim uphill." "The reason that the Babylonians are so joyous during the festivals is because they were not included in the curse which Hoshea pronounced, (Hosh. 2, 13.) And I will cause to cease all her mirth, her festivals, her new moons and her Sabbath and all her appointed feasts. And it is written (Is. 1, 14.) Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth. They are become a burden unto me!" What is meant by They are become a burden unto me? R. Elazar said: "Thus said the Holy One, praised be He! 'It sufficeth not that Israel sins so much against me, that they trouble me to tell them which hard punishment I should inflict upon them.'" R. Isaac said: "There is not a single festival in Palestine in which reconnoitering troops did not come to Sephoras [and therefore enjoyment was difficult]." R. Chanina said: "There is not one single festival in Palestine in which a general with his suite and strap-bearer [of the Romans] did not come to Tiberia." And the reason that the Babylonian scholars are well-dressed is because they are all strangers. This is what people say, 'At home my name [will give me my position]; abroad, my dress.'"