Comentário sobre Levítico 23:17

מושבתיכם [YE SHALL BRING] OUT OF YOUR HABITATIONS [TWO WAVE LOAVES] — but not from outside the Land of Canaan (Sifra, Emor, Chapter 13 1; Menachot 83b).

THEY SHALL BE BAKED WITH LEAVEN. Scripture commanded that these two loaves be leavened, because they are a thanks-offering to G-d for having kept for us the appointed time of the harvest,³⁰³See Jeremiah 5:24. and a thanks-offering comes with cakes of leavened bread.³⁰⁴Above, 7:13 — It is important to note that neither the two leavened loaves of the Festival of Weeks nor the leavened cakes of a thanks-offering were burnt on the altar, as leaven is forbidden to be burnt on the altar. They were merely brought into the Sanctuary Court as part of the offering, but they were eaten by the priests. Perhaps the [usual] prohibition of bringing leavened things as an offering³⁰⁵Ibid., 2:11. is because leaven alludes to the attribute of justice, for it is called chametz (leaven), just as wine which sours is called ‘chometz yayin v’chometz sheichar’ (vinegar of wine or vinegar of strong drink),³⁰⁶Numbers 6:3. the word [chametz] being derived from the expression: the unrighteous ‘v’chomeitz’ (and ruthless man),³⁰⁷Psalms 71:4. for [vinegar of wine and vinegar of strong drink] are drinks whose original taste has been “robbed” from them, and they are therefore not suitable for [normal] drinking. Similarly, for my heart yithchameitz’³⁰⁸Ibid., 73:21. means that it was “in a ferment, and it lost its composure.” Now since the offerings are brought to be acceptable before the Glorious Name,³⁰⁹Deuteronomy 28:58. See Ramban above, 1:9 (towards the end). they are therefore not to be brought from objects which possess a strong power³¹⁰Alluding to the attribute of stern justice (Tziyoni). to change natural properties of other things [such as leaven], and similarly they are not to be brought from things which are completely sweet³¹¹Alluding to everlasting mercy (ibid.). such as honey. [Instead, they are to come] only from things which are blended of different qualities, just as the Rabbis have said with reference to the creation of the world³¹²Bereshith Rabbah 12:15. The language here is that of Rashi on Genesis 1:1. “He combined the attribute of mercy with the attribute of justice, and created the world.” Now on the Festival of Weeks which is the day of the Giving of the Torah [on Mount Sinai], the offering [i.e., the two leavened loaves and the various burnt-offerings, together with their meal-offering which is of unleavened bread, as stated in Verse 18] comes in accordance with the law of the thanks-offering [which was brought with ten leavened cakes and thirty unleavened cakes],³¹³Above, 7:12-13. See Ramban there on Verse 12. for it is the day of the solemn assembly. The student learned in the mysteries of the Cabala will understand. And this is the secret of which our Rabbis have said:³¹⁴Vayikra Rabbah 9:3. “All offerings are destined to cease [in the World to Come],³¹⁵This is generally understood as meaning that since there will be no sin in the World to Come, there will not be an occasion to bring the sin-offering etc. See Ramban above, 1:4 that the burnt-offering, too, atones for sin. But for the thanks-offering there will always be an occasion. Ramban, however, alludes to a mystic interpretation, namely, that since the World to Come represents the life of perfect harmony, it is symbolized by the thanks-offering in which the leavened and the unleavened are combined, whereas in the present world justice and mercy are not always combined (see Ramban further, on Verse 24 towards the end, about the nature of the New Year and the Day of Atonement). but the thanks-offering will never cease etc.,” for in it are both unleavened and leavened [cakes], comparable to the World to Come [in which the Divine attributes of justice and mercy will forever be in perfect harmony].

חמץ תאפינה, בכורים, the Omer was the first ripened barley; the offering mentioned in our verse here represented the first ripened stalks of the wheat harvest. This is why the festival of weeks is also known as יום הבכורים, “the day of the firstlings offering.” (compare Numbers 28,26 where this מנחה חדשה, “new gift offering” is described). The more appropriate translation would be the “gift offering consisting of the new (grain) harvest.”
The reason that the Torah added the word לה', “for the Lord,” [after all, all offerings are exclusively for the Lord, so why single out this one by name? Ed.] is that after first presenting this offering to G’d, the whole people may now enjoy the new wheat harvest. The verse from Jeremiah 5,24 which we quoted earlier, referred to the סכנה, period of “danger” which this crop was exposed to while growing during which period so many things could have happened which would have ruined the eventual crop. Thanksgiving prayers are therefore called for, expressing our gratitude that nothing of what we worried about during those many weeks actually happened. [the word חקות in that verse may mean that the laws of nature according to which the crop would ripen was not upset by bad weather, and other climatic phenomena which would have ruined all of the farmer’s efforts during the season of ploughing and seeding. Ed.] The Torah, appropriately, legislated that in addition to the two loaves baked from the new wheat, which did not get on the altar, of course, also 2 sheep, etc., were offered as explained in connection with שלמי תודה, thanksgiving offerings in Leviticus 7,13.

For the Most High. Explanation: The word תנופה here does not have the same meaning as תנופה [of verse 10] where Rashi said it means [waving], “he moves [it] horizontally away from him and toward him.” Because over there, תנופה occurs after the bringing [of the offering and is part of the sacrificial ceremony]. But here, תנופה occurs before the bringing [of the offering, and simply means to separate it for Hashem]. This is implied by the [order of the] verse saying that you should bring of the bread of תנופה, i.e., first תנופה and then bringing. Perforce, תנופה here means raising and separating, that it is “raised for the most High.”

לחם תנופה WAVE LOAVES — i. e. heave loaves that have been heaved in honour of the Lord. It is these which constitute the “new meal-offering” mentioned above (v. 16).

May not be brought. Not that this [offering] is [merely of] the first harvested [wheat], but rather, that the offering itself is a first-fruit-offering, first of all the meal-offerings. Because if not so, why does the verse say “first-fruit-offering,” once it is already written, “You shall bring a new meal-offering to Hashem,” i.e., you shall bring the offering from the new [harvest]. Therefore [we say that] the Torah wrote בכורים, similar to the word בכור (firstborn), to indicate that it is the first of all the meal-offerings. I.e., even the jealousy offering [of the sotah] which is of barley, is only brought after this meal-offering, even though the jealousy offering is not of wheat.

בכורים [THEY ARE] THE FIRSTLINGS — the first of all meal-offerings offered, the first even in relation to the “meal-offering of jealousy” (cf. Numbers 5:15) which was brought of barley; even that must not be offered of the new crop previous to the two loaves, although a barley offering had already been brought, viz., the Omer which was offered on Passover (Menachot 84b).