THE FESTIVITIES AND SHABBAT

EMOR_LEVITICUS XXI:1-XXIV:23

Our chapters describe the different Mo’adim, and the festivities that must be celebrated in the course of the year. What is the definition of the word Mo’ed, which we translate as “festivity”? We read in Bereshit, that when God promised Avraham that his wife would have a child, the expression used is laMo’ed ashuv elecha, “on this ‘specific date’ I will return to you.” On the other hand, the Tabernacle is called Ohel Mo’ed, which implies a “specific place.” 

Mo’ed is an event that is repeated in the calendar and, therefore, Shabbat should also be considered as Mo’ed. However, the Torah uses this term basically when referring to the holidays of Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh HaShanah, and Yom HaKipurim. Exceptionally, in one of the chapters of this Parshah, the Torah does refer to Shabbat as part of the Mo’ed set.

A distinction must be made between the Mo’adim and Shabbat. The Mo’adim celebrate events and moments that are related to the history of the Jewish people.  Pesach commemorates the exodus from Egypt, Shavuot recalls the giving of the Torah, and Sukkot symbolizes the Divine protection of our ancestors during their journey through the wilderness.  Rosh Hashanah and Yom HaKipurim point to man’s relationship with God through Judgment and Forgiveness. The idea of Judgment implies responsibility for actions, while forgiveness teaches that man can always amend his behavior: God waits patiently until the man recognizes his mistakes.

It can be argued that both Rosh Hashanah and Yom HaKipurim have a universal meaning because the idea of Judgment and Forgiveness is applicable to Humanity in general. That will be so when the teachings of Judaism are universalized when at the end of the day Humanity recognizes the Sovereignty of the One and only God.

Based on the biblical text, Jewish tradition teaches that the work forbidden in the Mo’adim does not include the preparation of food: fire can be used in the preparation of food these days, a fact that is forbidden on Shabbat. Therefore, the laws of Shabbat have greater rigor. In this way, Shabbat is presented as the day on which there must be a total abstention from work and creation: one should not modify nature, nor give a different use to the elements through their preparation by the use of fire, for example.

Moreover, Shabbat is an integral part of Creation that was realized through 6 days of work and one day of rest, the Shabbat that God observed. We also note that the Ten Commandments, the fundamental universal code, among all festivities only mention Shabbat. So, humanity could perhaps do without the Mo’adim, but never relinquish the idea of weekly rest, Shabbat. 

Shabbat could be considered the goal of all Mo’adim because, by ceasing to work and create, man recognizes God as the true creator and maker of the universe. While the Mo’adim serves as a conduit for reflection on the epic of the Jewish people and Divine protection at crucial moments, beginning with the exodus from Egypt, Shabbat indicates to take a step back in order to observe and appreciate society and nature. 

Perhaps the fundamental purpose of Shabbat, which is a kind of limit for all Mo’adim, is the reflection that man must make about himself, the activities he carried out in the week that culminated, and what the priorities should be for the following days. The commemoration of Shabbat within the family allows us to highlight the values that give solidity and permanence to this essential nucleus of society. 

Unlike the Mo’adim, which are annual events, the weekly periodicity of Shabbat makes it a greater factor in determining the identity of the Jew and underlines his constant relationship with the One and only God, Who also rested on that day as part of the process of the creation of the universe.

MITSVAH: TORAH ORDINANCE IN THIS PARASHAH

CONTAINS 24 POSITIVE MITZVOT AND 39 BANS

  1. Leviticus 21:1-3 The Kohen must refrain from becoming ritually impure through contact with a human corpse unless it is of a close relative.
  2. Leviticus 21:3:6 The ritual impurity that a Kohen acquires for his close relatives is parallel to the obligation of every Jew to mourn the death of the 6 close relatives mentioned in the Torah: mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter
  3. Leviticus 21:7 The Kohen ritually impure for a day and who has already immersed himself in a Mikveh should not serve in the Temple until after sunset.
  4. Leviticus 21:7 The Kohen is not to marry a woman who previously had forbidden relations.
  5. Leviticus 21:7 The Kohen is not to marry a divorced woman
  6. Leviticus 21:8 Laws about the Consecration of the Descendants of Aharon
  7. Leviticus 21:11 The Kohen Gadol must not enter a tent where a deceased person lies
  8. Leviticus 21:11 The Kohen Gadol should not deal (with the burial) of a corpse so as not to acquire ritual impurity (of the burial) of a corpse.
  9. Leviticus 21:13 Kohrn Gadol must marry a virgin
  10. Leviticus 21:14 Kohén Gadol should not marry a widow
  11. Leviticus 21:15 The Kohrn Gadol must not have relations with a widow
  12. Leviticus 21:17 The Kohen who has a disqualifying defect should not serve in the Temple
  13. Leviticus 21:21 The Kohen who has a temporary disqualifying defect should not serve in the Temple
  14. Leviticus 21:23 The Kohen who has a disqualifying defect should not enter the Temple
  15. Leviticus 22:2 The ritually impure Kohen should not serve in the Temple
  16. Leviticus 22:2 The ritually impure Kohen should not eat Terumah
  17. Leviticus 22:10 Who is not a Kohen should not eat Terumah
  18. Leviticus 22:10 Both the one who works continuously and the one who works by the day for the Kohen cannot eat Terumah
  19. Leviticus 22:4 The uncircumcised individual should not eat Terumah
  20. Leviticus 22:12 A woman who was born of a union that violated the sanctity of the Priesthood should not eat Terumah.
  21. Leviticus 22:15 Do not eat Tevel
  22. Leviticus 22:20 Do not consecrate defective animals to be offered on the Altar
  23. Leviticus 22:21 The animal offering must be a perfect specimen without defects
  24. Leviticus 22:21 Do not create a defect in a consecrated animal for an offering
  25. Leviticus 22:22 Do not splash the blood of a defective animal on the Altar
  26. Leviticus 22:22 Do not ritually sacrifice defective animals for offering
  27. Leviticus 22:22 Do not burn parts of a defective animal on the Altar
  28. Leviticus 22:24 Do not castrate any animals
  29. Leviticus 22:25 Do not offer a defective offering received from a non-Jew
  30. Leviticus 22:27 The animal to be offered must be older than 8 days
  31. Leviticus 22:28 Do not ritually offer an animal and its cub (male or female) on the same day
  32. Leviticus 22:32 Do nothing that would lead to desecration of God’s Name among people
  33. Leviticus 22:32 Sanctify the Name of God
  34. Leviticus 23:7 Rest from work on the first day of Pesach
  35. Leviticus 23:7 Do not work on the first day of Pesach
  36. Leviticus 23:8 The Additional Offering on the seventh day of Pesach
  37. Leviticus 23:8 Rest from work on the seventh day of Pesach
  38. Leviticus 23:8 Do not work on the seventh day of Pesach
  39. Leviticus 23:10, 11 The Offering of the Omer on the Second Day of Pesach
  40. Leviticus 23:14 Do not eat (bread) from the new grain harvest before the 16th of Nisan
  41. Leviticus 23:14 Do not eat roasted grains from the new harvest before the end of the 16th of Nisan
  42. Leviticus 23:14 Do not eat roasted ears of the new harvest before the end of the 16th of Nisan
  43. Leviticus 23:15 Count 49 days from the Omer Offering
  44. Leviticus 23:16 The offering of the new wheat on Shavuot
  45. Leviticus 23:21 Rest from work on Shavuot
  46. Leviticus 23:21 Do no work on Shavuot
  47. Leviticus 23:24 Rest from work on Rosh Hashanah
  48. Leviticus 23:24, 25 Do no work on Rosh Hashanah
  49. Leviticus 23:24, 25 The Additional Offering of Rosh Hashanah
  50. Leviticus 23:28 The Fast of the 10th of Tishrei
  51. Leviticus 23:27 The Additional Offering of the 10th of Tishrei (Yom Kippur)
  52. Leviticus 23:27 Do no work on the 10th of Tishrei
  53. Leviticus 23:29 Neither eat nor drink on Yom Kippur
  54. Leviticus 23:32 Rest from work on Yom Kippur
  55. Leviticus 23:35 Rest from work on the First Day of Sukkot
  56. Leviticus 23:34, 35 Do not do any work the First Day of Sukkot
  57. Leviticus 23:36 The Additional Offering of the Seven Days of Sukkot
  58. Leviticus 23:36 Rest from work on the Eighth Day of Sukkot
  59. Leviticus 23:36 The Additional Offering at Shemini Atseret
  60. Leviticus 23:36 Do no work in Shemini Atseret
  61. Leviticus 23: 40 Hold the Lulav
  62. Leviticus 23:42 Reside in the Sukkah for 7 days
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