Pemikiran Yahudi Imamat 23:16: Kuzari

41. The Rabbi: This was only said to the masses, that they should not conjecture and theorise, and contrive laws according to their own conception, as the Karaites do. They were recommended to listen to the post-Mosaic prophets, the priests and judges, as it is written: 'I will raise them up a prophet . . . and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him' (Deuteronomy 18:18). With regard to the priests and judges it is said that their decisions are binding. The words: 'You shall not add,' etc., refer to 'that which I commanded you through Moses' and any 'prophet from among thy brethren' who fulfils the conditions of a prophet. They further refer to regulations laid down in common by priests and judges 'from the place which thy Lord shall choose.' For they have divine assistance, and would never, on account of their large number, concur in anything which contradicts the Law. Much less likelihood was there of erroneous views, because they had inherited vast learning, for the reception of which they were naturally endowed. The members of the Synhedrion, as is known by tradition, had to possess a thorough acquaintance with all branches of science Prophecy had scarcely ceased, or rather the Bath Qōl, which took its place. Now, suppose we allow the Karaite interpretation of the sentence 'From the morrow of the Sabbath till the morrow of the Sabbath' (Leviticus 23:11, Leviticus 23:15, Leviticus 23:16) to refer to the Sunday. But we reply that one of the judges, priests, or pious kings, in agreement with the Synhedrion and all Sages, found that this period was fixed with the intention of creating an interval of fifty days between 'the first fruits of the harvest of barley and the harvest of wheat,' and to observe 'seven weeks,' which are 'seven complete Sabbaths.' The first day of the week is only mentioned for argument's sake in the following manner: should the day of 'putting the sickle to the corn' be a Sunday, you count till Sunday. From this we conclude that should the beginning be on a Monday, we count till Monday. The date of putting the sickle, from which we count, is left for us to fix. This was fixed for the second day of Passover, which does not contradict the Tōrāh, since it originated with 'the place which the Lord shall choose' on the conditions discussed before. Perhaps this was done under the influence of divine inspiration. It was quite possible, and it saves us from the confusion of those who endeavour to cause confusion.