Our first Parashat Hashavua' (weekly Torah portion) Chat, despite the fact that it was advertised only minimally, turned out to be a lively, interesting discussion. So, why not do it again every week?
Where: The Judaism.SE chat room
When: Wednesdays at 17:30 UTC (19:30 in Israel; 12:30
in New Y...
Ok...How about: why are all the Moadim (holidays) mentioned here in Emor right among all the Temple oriented laws, especially if this listing omits the most Temple-oriented aspect of the holidays: the Korban Mussaf (which is found in Parshat Pinchas)?
@DoubleAA In a way, actually, I'd say they're sort of a new section of laws - ones that apply only in Eretz Yisrael (see Menachos 4:3) - and then it continues with Shemittah and Yovel. Except that wouldn't explain what ch. 24, about the menorah, lechem hapanim and the blasphemer is doing in between.
In (perhaps temporary) absence of further discussion on that topic, allow me to ask about 25:8: what's with the repetition? Count seven weeks of years: seven sevens of years. Those seven weeks of years will be forty-nine years for you.
Rashi explains the second half (presumably quoting some midrash halacha), but the first half is itself repetitive.
Again, Rashi explains why it can't say only "count seven weeks of years" (though I'm not sure I get his reasoning), but it presumably could say only "count seven sevens of years".
@DoubleAA Also, maybe without it saying שבע שבתות שנים (where שבתות has the dual meaning "weeks" and "Shabbasos") we'd think that shemittah isn't necessarily every seventh year, just that there's years 1-6, then shemittah, then 49 years (with no shemittos) and then yovel. Adding those words clarifies that each group of seven years has to have a Shabbos.
Returning to the discussion earlier about what Parshas Hamoados is doing here: I see where Sforno (to 23:2) says that Shabbos and the holidays, like the korbanos discussed in ch. 22 (and earlier chapters), are meant to cause the shechinah to rest among us. So it mainly focuses on them being מקראי קדש, "called times" for Torah study, and not so much on the korbanos (so that we don't get the mistaken impression that those are paramount).
In that case, then, maybe we can say that the entire section from chs. 18-23, at least, is on this topic: being holy so that the shechinah can rest on us. (Then follows the part about the menorah, which as Rashi to 24:3 says is "testimony to the world" that this is indeed the case.)
Our first Parashat Hashavua' (weekly Torah portion) Chat, despite the fact that it was advertised only minimally, turned out to be a lively, interesting discussion. So, why not do it again every week?
Where: The Judaism.SE chat room
When: Wednesdays at 17:30 UTC (19:30 in Israel; 12:30
in New Y...
