Le Lévitique 2:14 Passages liés

HALAKHAH: “Rebbi Eliezer says, if one did not bring the implement,” etc. Rebbi Joḥanan said, we were of the opinion to say that Rebbi Eliezer disagrees in all cases²⁴The question is whether R. Eliezer permits to perform preparations on the Sabbath which could have been made on Friday for circumcision only or in general for any action prescribed for the Sabbath even if it involves doing work which under other circumstances would be Sabbath violations.. Since Rebbi Eliezer needed to explain “first fruits;” since “first fruits” mentioned with the ˋomer push the Sabbath aside, so also “first fruits” mentioned with the Two Breads push the Sabbath aside²⁵The ˋomer is a measure, a tenth of an epha, about 3.5 liter, of new barley grain which is offered in the Temple to permit the consumption of grain from the new harvest. It has to be brought on the day after the Sabbath (Lev. 23:15) which in rabbinic tradition is the second day of the Feast of unleavened bread, in the Sadducee tradition of the Book of Jubilees the day following the Feast, and in Boethusian tradition on the Sunday in the Feast. The common testimony of Philo and Josephus shows that rabbinic tradition was followed in the Temple service. The ˋomer had to be brought to the Temple on a fixed date, even if this date was a Sabbath (except for Boethusians for which this never could happen.) Therefore it is clear that there is a biblical prescription to cut the barley on the Sabbath if that is the day on which the grain has to be offered.
The Two Breads are the only leavened bread ever permitted in the Temple precinct; they have to be presented to the altar (but not offered on it) on the festival of Weeks (Lev. 23:17), which falls on the 50th day after the ˋomer, on the same day of the week as the ˋomer. These Two Breads permit the use of new wheat in the Temple service. R. Eliezer concludes from an argument of “equal cut”, since both the ˋomer and the Two Breads are referred to in the verse as “first fruits” that they follow the same rules and, therefore, if the two loaves were not baked before the Sabbath they may be baked on the Sabbath.; this implies that Rebbi Eliezer does not disagree in all cases²⁶If it were understood that in all cases of a prescribed action on the Sabbath the preparation also can be done on the Sabbath the argument of “equal cut” would be unnecessary. Babli 131a.. Rebbi Samuel ben Rav Isaac said, Rebbi Eliezer disagrees in all cases²⁷This sentence is missing in modern editions of the Yerushalmi., and why did Rebbi Eliezer have to explain “first fruits” “first fruits”? Only because their essence pushes aside the Sabbath but their enabling actions are work²⁸R. Joḥanan’s argument is not convincing. For the ˋomer the action of harvesting is prescribed on the day of the sacrifice (Lev. 23:10); the grain must be roasted (Lev. 2:14) and part of it burned on the altar. This means that both the preparation and the offering involve actions that are violations of Sabbath prohibitions. But the Two Breads are simply presented to the altar; no part of them may be burned on the altar (Lev. 2:12); they have to be eaten by the priests in the Temple precinct. This means that the offering itself does not imply any Sabbath violation; there is no intrinsic reason which would allow baking the breads on the Sabbath.. They objected, did we not state, the lulav and its enabling actions push the Sabbath aside²⁹Babli 131a,b. Lev. 23:40 requires that on the first day of Tabernacles one has to take four kinds of greenery tied to a palm branch, the lulav. Since this is required at a fixed day of the calendar, it has precedence over the rules of the Sabbath. For R. Eliezer cutting the plants may be done on the Sabbath. The statement has to be dated before the destruction of the Temple since in Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai’s reconstruction of rabbinic Judaism at Jabneh, in imitation of a Temple ceremony the obligation to take the “four kinds” was extended to all seven days of Tabernacles which automatically re-instituted the rules of the Sabbath as preeminent. Here the situation is completely parallel to that of the Two Breads in that taking the Four Kinds on the holiday does not involve any Sabbath desecration; but the preparation involves forms of harvesting which are forbidden on the Sabbath.? Rebbi Jonah said, to bring it from the top of the palm tree³⁰It is possible to explain that R. Eliezer in this case permits only rabbinic prohibitions, not work by biblical standards.. But did we not state, the shofar and its enabling actions push the Sabbath aside? To bring it from outside the Sabbath boundary³¹This statement also refers to the time before the reforms of Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai which permanently extended the holiday of the New Year to two days, thereby eliminating the power of the duty to sound the shofar to override the rules of the Sabbath (including rabbinic rules). The prohibition to bring anything from outside the Sabbath boundaries (at least if the distance is less than three parasang) certainly is rabbinic,. And was it stated so: One does not scratch, and one does not scratch, and one does not break off³²This text seems corrupt. S. Liebermann reads מגדד “one cuts” instead of the second מגרד. It is not clear whether the topic is preparing a ram’s horn for use as a shofar or the preparation of the Four Kinds. מפרך means breaking off outcroppings to produce smooth surface.. It was stated in the name of Rebbi Eliezer: The lulav and its enabling actions push the Sabbath aside. Rebbi Jonah said, the baraita was finished³³The baraita about not scraping, not cutting, etc., is separate from the statement attributed to R. Eliezer about the lulav.. It was stated: It happened that Rebbi instructed following Rebbi Eliezer. Rebbi Joḥanan said, the company was asking, what reason did Rebbi have to disregard the words of the Sages and to act following Rebbi Eliezer³⁴Such an act contradicts ail our rules for determining practice.? Rebbi Hoshaia said, we asked Rebbi Jehudah the circumciser and he told us, it was about a dead-end street, as we had stated that it is forbidden³⁵Rabbinically. to move from it into the houses and from the houses into it. Rebbi Abbahu said, I explained it about a baby and a knife being in the dead-end street on the Sabbath; and it is not forbidden to move in the entire dead-end street³⁶As explained in the next paragraph, this is a matter of different interpretations of rabbinic rules. Since R. Eliezer allows biblical rules to be broken, saying that Rebbi instructed following R. Eliezer is a misrepresentation of what he did..

Rebbi Jonah said, before presentation. Rebbi Yose said, before cutting. Rebbi Jonah said, Cahana’s word supports me, as Cahana said (Lev. 214): “If you bring a cereal gift of first fruits⁸⁹This is the sheaf of barley, cf. Notes 35, 63. to the Eternal.” This one is first fruit, the others are not first fruit. Think of it, even if it were only grasses or only roots the ‘omer comes and permits it. Do we not hold before cutting⁹⁰As usual, the argument is from a part of the verse which is not quoted explicitly: “If you bring a cereal gift of first fruits to the Eternal; milky white roasted in fire, farina from soft kernels you should bring as cereal offering to your God.” The verse prescribes that the barley after cutting must be threshed, roasted, and milled before presentation. But the expression “milky white” specifies which plants are sufficiently ripened to be candidates for cutting. Therefore, the verse must speak of the time of cutting.? In addition, from the following which was stated⁹¹In the Babli (Pesaḥim 55a), the baraita is in the name of R. Jehudah who states in Mishnah Ševiït 2:6 that any transplant which does not form roots in three days will not survive.: “If somebody weeds on the thirteenth and a stalk remains in his hand, he should replant it in a moist spot but not a dry one.” Here you have the 13th, the 14th, the 15th, and part of a day is counted as whole⁹²If the action of the ‘omer would be counted from presentation, then replanting on the 14th would still leave three days, part of 14th, 15th, part of 16th, to form a root. Since the baraita specifies the 13th as last day for replanting, it follows that the operative time of the ‘omer is early in the night of the 16th, the time of cutting the barley..