Midras Bilangan 28:11: Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar Rabbah & Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer

R. Simeon ben Johay said:¹⁶See Gen. R. 1:13. Woe to blasphemers who take the name of the Holy One lightly, for one should not say: To the LORD an offering, to the LORD a burnt offering. Rather, < use the biblical wording > (as in Lev. 1:2): WHEN ONE OF YOU PRESENTS AN OFFERING TO THE LORD; (or as in Numb. 8:12): A SIN OFFERING < … > TO THE LORD; (or as in Lev. 23:18; Numb. 8:12; 28:11, 19; 29:8; Jud. 13:16; etc.): A BURNT OFFERING TO THE LORD; (or as in Gen. 4:3; Is. 66:20; Ezek. 46:14; Mal. 2:12; II Chron. 33:23): A MEAL OFFERING TO THE LORD. Learn (from the Hebrew word order in Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING CREATED, and after that, GOD. When he mentions his creation,¹⁷Gk.: ktisma. < it is only > afterwards < that > he mentions his name.

(Numb. 29:35:) “On the eighth day [you shall have] a solemn assembly.” This text is related (to Is. 26:16), “You have added to the nation O Lord, You have added to the nation and been honored; You have pushed away all the ends of the earth." The Community of Israel said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, You added [years of] tranquility to the generation of the flood, did they maybe ever offer a single ram or a single bull in front of You? It is not enough that they did not offer, but they even (in Job 21:14) ‘said, “Go away from us.”’ You added [years of] tranquility to the generation of the [Tower of Babel]. Did any of them maybe honor You? It is not enough that they did not honor You, but they said (in Gen. 11:4), ‘Let us build for ourselves a city.’ And so too with the Sodomites, and so too with Pharaoh, and so too with Sennacherib and so too with Nebuchadnezzar. Did they maybe ever offer a single bull? It is not enough that they did not offer [anything] in front of You, but they even angered You. And to whom is it fitting for You to add tranquility and glory? To Israel, as stated (in Is. 26:16), ‘You have added to the nation.’” And a nation is only referring to Israel, as stated (in I Chron. 17:21), “And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth.” The community of Israel said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “You should add festivals for us, and we shall offer sacrifices in front of You as is fitting.” (Is. 26:16, cont.:) “You have been honored,” “You have given us new moons, and we sacrifice in front of You [then], as is stated (in Numb. 28:11), ‘And on new moons.’ You have given us Passover, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us Pentecost, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us the New Year, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us the Day of Atonement, we have sacrificed to You. And so too on the Festival [of Tabernacles]. We have not ignored the sacrifices for even one festival.” The Community of Israel said, “You should add festivals for us, and we shall offer sacrifices in front of You and honor You.” (Is. 26:16, cont.:) “You have added to the nation and been honored.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “By your lives, I will not take away holidays [from you], but I will add festivals for you to rejoice in them, as stated (in Numb. 29:35), ‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly.’” (Numb. 29:35:) “On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly.” This text is related (to Ps. 109:4), “In return for my love they denounce me, but I am a prayer.” You find that on the Festival (of Tabernacles) Israel would offer seventy bulls for the seventy nations.⁴¹Numb. R. 21:24; M. Pss. 109:4; PRK 28:9. Israel said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “See, we are offering seventy bulls for the seventy nations. Therefore, they should love us. It is not enough that they do not love us, but they also hate us, as stated (in Ps. 109:4), ‘In return for my love they denounce me.’” Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, “For seven days of the festival you have offered sacrifices to Me for the nations of the world. Now, however, you are to offer [sacrifices] for yourselves, as (according to Numb. 29:35-36), ‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly…. Then you shall offer a whole burnt offering, a fire offering, a sweet smell to the Lord: one bull, one ram.’” [The situation] is comparable to a king who made a seven-day banquet and invited all the people of the province for the seven days of the feast. When the seven days of the feast had passed, he said to his friend, “We have already fulfilled our obligation to all the people of the province. Let us, you and me, make do with whatever you find, a pound⁴²Gk.: litra. of meat, fish, or greens.” Similarly did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Israel, “All the sacrifices which you offered during the seven days of the feast you sacrificed for the nations of the world. However (according to Numb. 29:35), ‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly.’ We shall make do, you and I, with whatever you find (as in Numb. 29:36), ‘One bull, one ram.’”

“On the eighth day it shall be an assembly for you; you shall not perform any toilsome labor” (Numbers 29:35).
“On the eighth day it shall be an assembly for you” – this is what the verse said: “You added for the nation, Lord” (Isaiah 26:15).³⁴It says in the previous verse: “The dead, they will not live; spirits, they will not rise; therefore, You reckoned with them, and You destroyed them and eradicated all memory of them” (Isaiah 26:14). The congregation of Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: Master of the universe, have You added tranquility to the generation of the Flood? Did they, perhaps, sacrifice one bull or one ram? It is not enough for them that they did not respect You, but they said: “Come, let us build us a city” (Genesis 11:4); and likewise the people of Sodom, and likewise Pharaoh, and likewise Sennacherib, and likewise Nebuchadnezzar? Did any of them, perhaps, sacrifice one bull or one ram? It is not enough that they did not sacrifice, but they angered you. To whom is it appropriate for You to add tranquility and honor? It is to Israel, as it is stated: “You added for the nation [goy], Lord,” and goy is none other than Israel, as it is stated: “Who is like Your people, like Israel, one nation [goy] on earth?” (II Samuel 7:23).
The congregation of Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, it is incumbent upon You to give us the festivals, and it is incumbent upon us to sacrifice offerings before you as appropriate. “You are honored” (Isaiah 26:15) – You gave us New Moons, and we sacrifice before You, as it is stated: “And on your New Moons [you shall present a burnt offering to the Lord]” (Numbers 28:11). We sacrificed to You on Passover; we sacrificed to You on the New Year; we sacrificed to You on Yom Kippur, and likewise on the Festival.³⁵Sukkot We did not abolish even one festival.’ The congregation of Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘You should add festivals for us, and it is incumbent upon us to sacrifice before You and honor You’: “You added for the nation; You are honored; You distanced them to all ends of the earth” (Isaiah 26:15).³⁶The other nations, for whom the seventy bulls were sacrificed, were distanced, as opposed to Israel, who were honored and given an extra festival (Radal). The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘As you live, I will not retract holidays from you, but rather, I will add festivals for you during which you will rejoice, as it is stated: “On the eighth day…an assembly.”’