레위기 23:39의 주석

אך בחמשה עשר יום... תחגו BUT ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY… YE SHALL OFFER A חג — i. e., a sacrifice of peace-offerings as a חגיגה (the pilgrims’ sacrifice on the Festivals) (Chagigah 9a). Since it states that this has to be brought on the fifteenth day of the month, one might think that it (the offering of קרבן חגיגה) shall set aside the Sabbath (supersede the Sabbath law, if that day be the fifteenth of the month)! Scripture, however, uses the word אך (the particle that implies a limitation; cf. Rashi on v. 27): suggesting that it must not be offered on Sabbath because it has a supplementary period consisting of all the seven days of the Festival.

WHEN YE HAVE GATHERED IN THE INCREASE OF THE LAND. “[This is to state] that this seventh month [in which the Festival of Tabernacles occurs] must be at the time of the harvest. From here we learn that they were commanded to intercalate the years [with an extra month], because if there would be no such intercalation, the seventh month [i.e., Tishri] would sometimes fall in the middle of the summer, or in the winter.” This is Rashi’s language. And the words of the Torath Kohanim are as follows:⁴⁴⁰Torath Kohanim, Emor 15:6-7. “Intercalate the years so that you make the Festival of Tabernacles at the time of the ingathering of the fruits. I might think that this refers to the ingathering of all the fruits; Scripture therefore says, Thou shalt keep the feast of Tabernacles … after thou hast gathered in from thy threshing-floor and from thy wine-press⁴⁴¹Deuteronomy 16:13. — ‘from’ thy threshing-floor but not all thy threshing-floor, and ‘from’ thy wine-press, but not all thy wine-press. Now if I am to follow the expression after thou hast gathered in ‘from’ thy threshing-floor, I might think that even if only a little [of it has been gathered in, the Festival of Tabernacles may already be observed in that part of the year, and there is no need then for intercalating an extra month at the end of the preceding winter]; Scripture therefore says [here], when ye have gathered in the produce of the land. How can these be reconciled? [In the following manner]: Try to intercalate the year so that the Festival of Tabernacles occurs when most of the fruits have already been gathered in.” Now the Sages have already derived [the need for] intercalating the year from the verse Observe the month of ‘aviv’ (spring).⁴⁴²Ibid., 16:1. This teaches that before it comes you are to watch whether that month will be capable of producing aviv (ripe ears), and if not, intercalate a year [by adding a month to the winter period] (Rashi ibid., on the basis of Sanhedrin 11 a). But there Scripture taught about [the intercalation of the year because of] the spring [i.e., so that the celebration of the exodus occurs in the month when there are ripe ears already, so that the sheaf of waving can be brought on the sixteenth of Nisan from the new barley], and here it teaches concerning the fruits of the trees [that most of them must be ripened at the time of the Festival of Weeks, so that they are ready to be brought as first-fruits to the Sanctuary, and that most of them are to be gathered in before the Festival of Tabernacles]. For so did the Sages teach us:⁴⁴³Ibid., 11 b. “The year is intercalated on account of three things: on account of ripe ears [that they be available at the time of Passover], fruits of the trees [at the time of the Festival of Weeks], and on account of the solstice [that the summer solstice should not occur after the passing of Tabernacles].⁴⁴⁴Rashi, ibid. Thus the need for intercalation is deduced automatically [from the statement] that this festival [of Tabernacles] is at the time of the ingathering [and if an extra month is not added at the end of the winter season, the festival might sometimes occur in the middle of the summer or winter].
The meaning, however, of the Scriptural verse here is as follows: It states, These are the appointed seasons of the Eternal all of which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to bring on all of them an offering made by fire unto the Eternal.⁴⁴⁵Verse 37. However, on the fifteenth day of this seventh month, because it is the time when you have gathered in the increase of the land, ye shall keep the feast of the Eternal seven days. He said here in addition, on the first day shall be ‘shabbathon’ and on the eighth day shall be ‘shabbathon,’ meaning that you are to desist from work, and to rest on them, as I have explained.⁴⁴⁶Above, Verse 24. And He further said that they should rejoice even more before G-d with the lulav and ethrog⁴⁴⁷Further, Verse 40. for seven days, for it is a time of rejoicing because G-d has blessed you in all thine increase, and in all the work of thy hands, and thou shalt be altogether joyful⁴⁴⁸Deuteronomy 16:15. before Him. The meaning of the phrase [in the verse before us] ye shall keep the feast of the Eternal, is that you are to celebrate it before Him by giving thanks to His Name for your gathering of the harvest which came [in time]. Then He went back and stated again [further on in Verse 41], And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Eternal, in order to place next to it [the commandment], Ye shall dwell in booths,⁴⁴⁹Verse 42. the meaning thereof being as follows: and ye shall keep it a feast seven days in the year by dwelling in booths, and all that are home-born shall dwell in them, thus stating that they shall make a festival of seven days by taking the lulav, and rejoicing before G-d, and dwelling in booths. And the interpretation thereof in the Torath Kohanim is as follows:⁴⁵⁰Torath Kohanim, Emor 17:1. “And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Eternal.⁴⁵¹Verse 41. Why is this stated? Since it is said, Seven days shalt thou keep a feast unto the Eternal thy G-d,⁴⁴⁸Deuteronomy 16:15. I might think that the Festival-offering³⁸⁰This is the Festival peace-offering which one is obliged to bring when making the pilgrimage to the Sanctuary three times in the year (see “The Commandments,” Vol. I, pp. 60-61). must be brought on all seven days; Scripture therefore says here ‘it’” [And ye shall keep ‘it’ a feast, thus stating that this offering need only be brought once], etc.⁴⁵²“And why does Scripture (in Deuteronomy 16:15) state seven? It is with reference to the supplementary period — that if he has not brought the Festival-offering on one day, he may bring it on another of the seven days” (Torath Kohanim, Emor 17:2); and on the Festival of Tabernacles, he may bring it even on the eighth day (ibid., 3). See above, Note 436.

אך בחמשה עשר יום, after the Torah had discussed the subject of the festivals in general terms, i.e. their common denominator being that these days are called מקראי קודש on which fire offerings on the altar are being offered on the altar in the presence of the Lord, the Torah continues 'אך בחמשה עשר יום וגו, by showing that the festival of Sukkot is different from all the other festivals: 1) the eighth day of that festival is called as we know from וביום השמיני שבתון, that the eighth day of that sequence of days is to be regarded as a kind of Sabbath. Such a concept does not exist as a special, day in the “week,” nor on the festival of matzot, neither in connection with months or years. In respect of all of these only the number seven has a connotation of holiness, not the number eight.
2) This is the only festival in which the Jew is required to change his home, move out of his regular home, as stated clearly in verse 42.
3) it requires that every Jew take four plants of specific categories and wave them in the 6 directions on earth. (compare verse 40)

אך בחמשה עשר יום לחודש השביעי, even though both New Year and the Day of Atonement are primarily designed to help the people achieve atonement for their sins and their being remembered favourably by G’d, Sukkot is for enjoyment and giving thanks to the Lord for having enabled them to fill their barns with good produce at the end of the harvest season.

באספכם את תבואת הארץ, “when you gather in the yield of the land.” Rashi says that the purpose of the verse is to warn us that the seventh month of the year should coincide with the period when the last of the harvest is brought into the barns. This forms the basis of the sages on occasion, in tandem with the solar year’s requirements, inserting an extra month into our lunar calendar. Nachmanides argues that we already learned this from when the Torah instructed that Passover must occur during the period of the spring equinox, בחודש האביב, (Exodus 34,18) Actually, there it concerned the commemoration of the Exodus on the anniversary of when it had occurred, whereas here the concern of the Torah is that the Sukkot festival coincide with the last fruit of the orchards being harvested. The Torah here elaborates on the nature of true joy being that after a successful harvest we thank Hashem with visible symbols expressing our joy, the four species of plants being one such example. The 15th day of that month, being still part of the ingathering season we observe a festival, interrupting our work in the field, just as we do on the eighth day of the festival. We take time out to rejoice in the presence of the Lord, in Jerusalem. On the last day, a separate festival in many respects, we no longer sit in the Sukkah, nor use the four species of plants.

אך בחמשה עשר יום לחודש השביעי באספכם, “however, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month when you gather in, etc.” We are entitled to ask at this point that seeing the Torah told us already earlier in verse 34 that the Sukkot festival commences on that date, why repeat the date? However, it is the style of the written Torah when lengthy matters are discussed to re-insert the date after an interruption so that we should not forget that we still speak of the same date mentioned earlier in the same paragraph. I would add here that earlier in the paragraph the date seemed to relate to the offering of certain sacrifices, i.e. a procedure directed at G’d, stressing the element of “a holy convocation,” whereas what is discussed here are procedures aimed at our terrestrial universe and our gratitude for the harvest. Seeing that the taking of the palm frond is also an act of rehabilitation on behalf of our ancestor Adam who had sinned by abusing a plant G’d had had planted in Gan Eden, by reiterating the date mentioned in connection with the sacrifices offered on this festival being the same as that on which we take the palm frond, this shows that the taking of the lulav has a two-tiered significance. Apart from symbolising gratitude for the harvest being gathered in it also has an independent spiritual significance. This is further reinforced (verse 40) by the formula ולקחתם לכם, “take for you (spiritual rehabilitation).”

אך בחמשה עשר יום, “but on the fifteenth day, etc.; the introductory word אך here is justified, as on Sukko,t when the harvests have all been brought in and stored, the degree of joy is much greater than on Pessach and Shavuot, the former being a festival when the word שמחה, joy, is not even mentioned, as no part of the year’s crops have as yet been harvested. On Sukkot we celebrate not only the material blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us but also the spiritual blessings, seeing that only four days before its beginning we have become relieved of the burdens of our sins. On this festival the expression שמחה is associated with these days no fewer than three times (including Deuteronomy 15,14). This joy is due to the harvests of our fields, orchards, and the forgiveness of our sins. This is why the Torah is able to urge us: והיית אך שמח, “you shall be joyous without any reservations.”

אך בחמשה עשר יום, “but on the fifteenth day, etc.” the word אך, as usual, is meant to exclude something;” in this instance it refers to the fact that the Passover which must be eaten on the night of the 14th to the fifteenth of Nissan does not require the owners of these animals to spend an additional night in Jerusalem, seeing that the whole offering had already been consumed. The reason for this relaxation of the Torah’s standards is that the farmers are preoccupied with harvesting the barley in their fields at that time. The same is true on the festival of Shavuot. which occurs during the period of the wheat harvest. However on the fifteenth day of Tishrey, when all the harvests of the fields had already been brought into the barns, the pilgrims are required to rejoice for eight days in Jerusalem. (B’chor shor)

באספכם את תבואת הארץ [ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH] WHEN YE GATHER IN THE INCREASE OF THE LAND — This tells us that this seventh month (in which סכות occurs) must be at the time of the ingathering. Hence we learn that they are enjoined to intercalate the years if necessary (Sifra, Emor, Chapter 15 6), because if there be no such intercalation it (the seventh month) would sometimes fall in the middle of the summer or of the winter.

תחוגו את חג ה', “you will celebrate Hashem’s festival.” The meaning of the somewhat strange sounding “Hashem’s festival,” is that we are to rejoice in the location where His presence manifests itself, in the Temple; we do not celebrate our success, but we proffer our thanks to Him, Who alone has made all this possible. The reason why the Torah repeats once more in verse 41 וחגותם אותו שבעת ימים חג לה', “you will celebrate it for seven days as a festival for Hashem,” is to link it to the commandment (verse 42) to dwell in the huts for seven days. Dwelling in the huts, waving the four species, etc., are all part of the manner in which we rejoice; they are all rated as the performance of a Divine commandment. [In other words, the joy is not the reward, but the Torah by making it mandatory, promises reward for our being joyful. Ed.]

תחגו YE SHALL CELEBRATE (OFFER) the peace-offerings of the חגיגה.

שבעת ימים SEVEN DAYS (during seven days), meaning that if one has not brought them on one he may bring them on another of the seven days. But I might think that the meaning is that one has to offer them on each of the seven days! Scripture, however, states (v. 41): וחגתם אתו, “and ye shall make it the day of the חגיגה” — this implies one day and no more. Why, then, does Scripture say “seven”? In reference to the supplementary period (Chagigah 9a).