Comentário sobre Levítico 23:39

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)