פירוש על ויקרא 23:28

B’ETZEM’ OF THIS DAY. The commentators³⁸⁹R’dak in his Sefer Hashorashim, (Book or Roots), root etzem. have said that the meaning of this phrase is “in this selfsame day.” Similarly, and ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor fresh ears until ‘etzem’ this day³⁹⁰Above, Verse 14. means “until this selfsame day.” So also, ‘uch’etzem’ the heaven for clearness³⁹¹Exodus 24:10. means “the very” heaven. But we cannot interpret that the word b’etzem here alludes to the essence and power of this day³⁹²And in that case the verse would be stating: “You shall do no manner of work in the essence of the day, meaning at daytime.” That interpretation would be incorrect, as the text continues. [which is at daytime], just as our Rabbis have said with reference to the verses: ‘b’etzem’ of this day entered Noah … into the ark³⁹³Genesis 7:13. [which the Rabbis interpreted to mean³⁹⁴Sifre, Ha’azinu 332. that because the neighbors threatened to kill him and destroy the ark should they see him entering it, therefore G-d told him to enter it ‘b’etzem’ of this day — in broad daylight]; ‘b’etzem’ of this day the Eternal did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt³⁹⁵Exodus 12:51. [which the Rabbis similarly interpreted³⁹⁴Sifre, Ha’azinu 332. “in broad daylight,” because of the previous threats of the Egyptians not to let them go — such an interpretation we cannot assume here], for it is written, and ye shall afflict your souls, in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even.³⁹⁶Further, Verse 32. Thus it is clear that the prohibitions affecting the Day of Atonement commence on the evening before the actual day. Similarly, And ye shall make proclamation ‘b’etzem’ of this day a holy assembly³⁹⁷Above, Verse 21. [stated with reference to the Festival of Weeks] includes the night as well. Now He did not mention this phrase ‘b’etzem’ of this day with reference to the Sabbath nor the festivals, except for the Festival of Weeks and the Day of Atonement, and so also in the prohibition of chadash (the new produce)²⁸⁵When the Sanctuary stood, the offering of the omer at any time on the sixteenth day of Nisan at once rendered chadash (the new crop) permissible food. Since the destruction of the Sanctuary, the prohibition extends to the whole day of the sixteenth of Nisan (Rosh Hashanah 30 a-b; see also “The Commandments,” Vol. II, pp. 186-188). He said until ‘etzem’ of this day.³⁹⁰Above, Verse 14. The reason for this appears to be that since He had said of the Festival of Weeks, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the waving … ye shall number fifty days,³⁹⁸Ibid., Verses 15-16. Thus one might think that the observance of the festival depends on the doing of the acts prescribed for it, whereas the real meaning is: “from the day that you are to bring” etc. irrespective of whether they can be brought or not, as when the Temple is destroyed. and then He stated, and ye shall present a new meal-offering … Ye shall bring out of your dwellings,³⁹⁹Ibid., Verses 16-17. etc., and dealt at length with the commandments of the offerings [in Verses 17-20], therefore it was necessary to state, And ye shall make proclamation ‘b’etzem’ of this day a solemn assembly;³⁹⁷Above, Verse 21. meaning that the very day is holy and the doing of work is forbidden on it, and it is not dependent upon the sheaf [of the waving brought on the second day of Passover], nor on the offerings. Similarly in the case of the Day of Atonement, since He had said, and ye shall afflict your souls, and ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the Eternal,⁴⁰⁰Ibid., Verse 27. and in the section of Acharei Moth⁴⁰¹Above, Chapter 16. He made the [complete] expiation dependent upon the offerings and on the goat sent [to Azazel],⁴⁰²Ibid., Verse 22. therefore it was necessary to state here, And ye shall do no manner of work on that very day, for it is a day of atonement in itself to make atonement for you, besides the expiation effected by the offerings. Similarly, until ‘etzem’ of this day³⁹⁰Above, Verse 14. said in connection with the new produce [means that the prohibition of eating from the new produce continues] up to that very day, which is the day ye have brought the offering of your G-d,³⁹⁰Above, Verse 14. thus stating that even if the [meal-] offering [of the new barley] has not been brought, the commandment applies to that very day — so that the new produce²⁸⁵When the Sanctuary stood, the offering of the omer at any time on the sixteenth day of Nisan at once rendered chadash (the new crop) permissible food. Since the destruction of the Sanctuary, the prohibition extends to the whole day of the sixteenth of Nisan (Rosh Hashanah 30 a-b; see also “The Commandments,” Vol. II, pp. 186-188). is forbidden before that day and is permissible afterwards. This is the sense of His saying, it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings,³⁹⁰Above, Verse 14. as I have explained.⁴⁰³Above, Verse 16.
We further find that Scripture mentions this phrase ‘b’etzem’ of this day in the case of events which have been decreed to come at certain set times. Thus it says of Noah, ‘b’etzem’ of this day entered Noah etc.;³⁹³Genesis 7:13. [and in case of the exodus it says,] And it came to pass ‘b’etzem’ of this day that all the hosts of the Eternal went out from the land of Egypt;⁴⁰⁴Exodus 12:41. [and when Moses was ordered to ascend Mount Nebo it says,] And the Eternal spoke unto Moses ‘b’etzem’ of that day, saying: ‘Get thee up into this mountain of Abarim, unto Mount Nebo.’⁴⁰⁵Deuteronomy 32:48. The reason for this expression in these [three] cases is that it is possible to think that Noah had brought into the ark beforehand many of the beasts and fowls [and on the selfsame day that he finished bringing them into the ark, he himself came in]; likewise it is possible [to think] that some Israelites had left Egypt before that time and on that day the exodus was completed, and so also that the command for Moses our teacher’s ascension was given before that day, and on that day he actually went up. Therefore Scripture explained in all these [three] cases that [the particular events referred to in the verses] all took place on these selfsame days, not that they were started before and finished on those days, but they all happened [completely] on these very days. Similarly, ‘b’etzem’ of this day was Abraham circumcised,⁴⁰⁶Genesis 17:26. means that many people were circumcised in one day, the verse thus stating Abraham’s zeal in observing the commandments.
It further appears to me that the expression “the etzem” of any thing means “its power and strength,” the term being derived from the verses: my power ‘v’otzem’ (and the might) of my hand;⁴⁰⁷Deuteronomy 8:17. strength ‘v’tha’atzumoth’ (and power).⁴⁰⁸Psalms 68:36. So also, One dieth ‘b’etzem tumo’⁴⁰⁹Job 21:23. means “in the fulness of his strength.” And since the bones form the structure of the body and its strength, they are so called [atzamoth — from the word otzem, strength]. Thus ‘k’etzem’ the heaven for clearness³⁹¹Exodus 24:10. means that the purity of that which they saw [at Mount Sinai] was clear and strong, even as is a pure clear heaven. It is for this reason that He mentions about those specific days [of festivals referred to above] the expression etzem hayom, in order to indicate that these matters specified are of the very essence of the days, not because of other things added to them, namely the offerings brought on those days.
And so also did Onkelos translate [the word etzem as] “bikran of that day,” which [literally] means “‘in the horn’ of that day,” [i.e.,] in its essence and in its strength, the word bikran being related to these expressions: and all ‘karnei’ (the horns) of the wicked will I cut off;⁴¹⁰Psalms 75:11. my shield ‘v’keren’ (and the horn of) my salvation;⁴¹¹II Samuel 22:3. for since the strength [of the animal] is in its horns, therefore the substance of a thing is called karno [“its horn” — its strength or essence]. In the language of the Sages we find:⁴¹²Terumoth 7:1. “He pays the keren (the principal value) but he does not pay the [added] fifth.” And some texts of Onkelos have bichran [with a chaph instead of bikran with a kuph], but it is all one, for in Scripture kova and chova both mean hat,⁴¹³I Samuel 17:38 (kova); 17:5 (chova). See Vol. I, p. 506, where Ramban mentions this princuple briefly, that the kuph and the kaph (or chaph) are often interchangeable. and the Sages always make use of the term akava written with a kaph [meaning “staying”], which is derived from the expression, ‘v’lo y’akveim’ [written with a kuph, and meaning: and He stayeth them not] when His voice is heard.⁴¹⁴Job 37:4. The Rabbis also say mithkasheit [with a kuph]⁴¹⁵Tosephta, Kethuboth 7:3. See my Hebrew commentary p. 156, Note 73. from the word tachshitin [with a chaph, meaning “ornaments”]. They further say: “If ants kors’muha” [with a kuph, meaning “nibbled” the crop],⁴¹⁶Peah 2:7. of the root: the boar out of the wood ‘y’chars’menah’ [with a chaph, meaning: doth ravage it].⁴¹⁷Psalms 80:14. And those other places where the expression ‘b’etzem’ of this day is mentioned also mean: “in the strength of that day,” for they were matters which in the normal course of events could not happen in one day. Therefore Scripture stated that all the beasts and all the cattle and all the fowl and all creeping things upon the earth were gathered by “the power” of that day, by the decree of G-d upon them, for it was His mouth that commanded and the breath thereof it hath gathered them.⁴¹⁸Isaiah 34:16. Similarly, six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children⁴¹⁹Exodus 12:37. cannot be gathered together and go out as one man from the land of Egypt [all in one day], only by the strength of the day which was so decreed upon it by word of the Supreme One. And so also in the case of Moses our teacher, this expression [‘b’etzem’ of this day] is intended to teach that on the day he was commanded to write this song, and teach it the children of Israel, put it in their mouths,⁴²⁰Deuteronomy 31:19. and he finished speaking all these words,⁴²¹Ibid., 32:45. it was decreed upon him that he go up by the power of that day in which the Divine decree was given, to Mount Abarim, and then he said the section of ‘V’zoth Habrachah’ (And this is the blessing)⁴²²Ibid., Chapter 33. and afterwards he went up to the mountain — all these activities being matters which would usually take many days, but they were all done by the power and strength of the day. Similarly, that three hundred and twenty men⁴²³Three hundred and eighteen were the trained men in the house of Abraham (Genesis 14:14). Together with Abraham and Ishmael there are three hundred and twenty. should be circumcised in one day in the house of Abraham was a thing that proceeded from G-d. Now the prophet Ezekiel said, they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, to ‘etzem’ this day,⁴²⁴Ezekiel 2:3. in order to include that very day in this group. So also the expression until ‘etzem’ of this day³⁹⁰Above, Verse 14. of the prohibition of the new produce, means “until and inclusive of this day” [i.e., on the sixteenth of Nisan it is also forbidden to eat of the new produce, before the bringing of the meal-offering of the new barley], for the essence of a thing is its power and strength.
And our Rabbis have interpreted the expression ‘b’etzem’ of this day used in connection with the festivals, to mean⁴²⁵Torath Kohanim, Emor 14:7. “on the day itself,” that is to say, from the time the stars appear until they come out on the following night, thus excluding the additional time which the Sages have deduced must be added from profane unto holy [i.e., before the actual beginning of the festival, and after its actual end]. And in the cases of Noah, and the exodus from Egypt, and Moses’ [death], they interpreted that phrase to mean “in the strength of the day,” [that is] mid-day, as is stated in the Sifre,³⁹⁴Sifre, Ha’azinu 332. and Rashi wrote it in the section of Ha’azinu.⁴⁰⁵Deuteronomy 32:48.

seeing that most of the people guilty of not practicing self denial do not do so to annoy G’d, but because they cannot resist the allure of the gratification beckoning to them, whereas most of the people violating the commandment not to work on the day do so because they want to indicate their independence of G’d’s dictates, the penalty of karet is in store for eating or drinking on the day of Atonement, whereas destruction of one’s soul is in store for people deliberately violating the work prohibition applicable on this day.

וכל מלאכה לא תעשו, "and you must not perform any work." The unusual way the Torah explains the reason for the work prohibition may be understood in light of something we have been taught in Sotah 40. The Talmud there states that the congregation is not to recite verses from scripture while the priests are pronouncing the blessing, as it would be equivalent to a slave receiving a blessing from his master while not even bothering to listen. We may understand the legislation here in a similar manner. Seeing that the Day of Atonement itself confers a blessing, i.e. forgiveness, it would be most inappropriate to observe "business as usual" on such a day. It is more appropriate to spend one's time contemplating the grandeur of the Lord of the universe who has set aside a day on which His creatures are rehabilitated.

כי יום כפורים הוא לכפר עליכם, “for it is the Day of Atonement to provide atonement for you, etc.” The instruments that lead to your receiving atonement are the afflictions you have submitted to, the abstaining from pursuing any of your normal and considered important activities. It is important to realise that the absence of the requisite offerings in no way impedes the process of your being forgiven for your sins.

וכל מלאכה לא תעשו בעצם היום הזה כי יום כפורים הוא, “and you must not perform any work on this day for it is a Day of Atonement.” The reason the Torah speaks of atonement and of עצם היום “the essence of this day,” is that without these words we could have thought that when no Temple is standing and the sacrifices appropriate for that day cannot be offered that we also forfeit its benefits, i.e. forgiveness. Therefore the Torah added these words to reassure us.

וכל מלאכה לא תעשו, “and you must not perform any manner of constructive work on that day.” This day is equal to an ordinary Sabbath, when all manner of constructive work is also prohibited. Careful examination of the text will show that on all other festivals the work prohibition is termed מלאכת עבודה, i.e. the kind of work reflecting our dependence on physical, demeaning labour, in order to earn our livelihood. On those days we are allowed to perform most of the kind of work necessary to prepare our food. (verse 7 here and Exodus 12,16). The penalty for violating the work prohibition on the Day of Atonement is spelled out in verse 30, והאבדתי את הנפש ההיא מקרב עמה, “I will destroy that soul from membership among its people.”