Parshas Emor: Finding Meaning in the Holidays

Although we know that the names of parshios are based on the first significant word in the divided section, Emor – Say – is appropriate even for the second chapter, the section that discusses the Jewish festivals. In chapter 23, each of the holidays is introduced by the phrase: “Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe laymor, And God spoke to Moshe to say.” The phrase is used as follows: 23:1 - it leads to an announcement that the festivals designated as a holy convocation are about to be listed, Shabbas above all, and then Pesach (23:1-8). 23:9 – is a discussion and description of the bringing of the omer and the counting of the 50 days until the offering of the loaves on the 50th day, which is Shavuos. (23:9-21). 23:24 – introduces a short section only two verses long that tells the people of the holiday of the Shofar (23:24-25). 23:26 – is the description of Yom Kippur. (23:26-32). And 23:33 – instructs the Jewish people about Sukkos (23:33-36). After 23:33-26, the Torah states, “These are the appointed festivals of Hashem that you shall proclaim as holy convocations to offer”… and then lists the offerings.

It seems a neat and tidy package set off at the beginning and end by a firm declaration that these are the holidays. And yet, that it is not exactly neat and tidy because there are two strange discrepancies that completely ignore the “And God Spoke to Moshe to say” pattern. The first are verses 23:22-23, which is skipped in the above summary. The second are verses 23:39-43.

In the middle of the description of the holidays and at the conclusion of the instructions on the holiday of Shavuos, the Torah seems to interrupt itself to say: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not remove completely the corners of your field as you reap, and you shall not gather the gleanings of your harvest for the poor and the prostelyte shall you leave them. I am Hashem, your God.” As significant a mitzvah as this is, it is not a commandment specifically connected to either the seasonal mitzvah of counting the Omer (and the laws of what you can or cannot do with the Omer during that time) or the holiday of Shavuos. And with the addition of the last three words, Ani Hashem Ehlokeichem (“I am Hashem, your God”), it is almost as if these two verses were taken from parshas Kiddushim and dropped randomly into the description of the holy convocations during which special offerings were to be brought as part of the holiday celebrations.

The second incongruity is that the perek does not conclude with Verses 23:37-38 declaration that these are the appointed time. The perek continues on with a second description of the holiday of Sukkos, a description that includes the commandments of lulav and esrog and the dwelling in booths (sukkos) and is not introduced by “And God spoke to Moshe to say.” This subsection begins with a far more descriptive explanation of the time: “But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the crop of the Land, you shall celebrate Hashem’s festival…”

That these two sets of verses are the “exceptions to the rule” in Chapter 23 signifies, perhaps, that there is a connection. Both sections remind us that, ultimately, everything we have truly belongs to Hashem.

The mitzvah of leaving the corner of one’s fields for those in need to come and glean from is a mitzvah not only of tzedakah, but also a reminder of Hashem’s Dominion. That which we have is a blessing from Hashem, and we must share it with our brethren.

The holiday of Sukkos, particularly our dwelling in temporary huts, has a similar “theme” that is only established in this final subsection of the perek. When it is time to rejoice in the gathering in of the crops, leave your sturdy house and your fine possessions and come dwell under the sky so that you remember that the ultimate source of blessing is Hashem.

One can also see significance in the order of these two sections. Although Chapter 23 is primarily about days of not working and the sacrifices to be brought to the Mishkan or Temple, underlying it all is a hint toward the agricultural cycle of the year, and agriculture is a general reference to parnasa (income). We begin in the spring by celebrating ourselves as a nation, and, almost immediately, we are reminded of the importance of mitzvos bein adam l’chaveiro – of taking care of one another. We end the year reflecting on our relationship with Hashem, and are reminded that Hashem is the ultimate source. One might think that it should be the opposite. Indeed, because of the name Rosh Hashana, we often think of the holidays of the seventh month as the beginning of the year. So too, when we think about spirituality we often think that it starts with the mitzvos bein adam l’makom, the mitzvos between man and God. But in Judaism, the interpersonal mitzvos come first. We must recognize that Hashem gives us blessings so that we can emulate His care of others in order to be able to recognize our true relationship with Him.