Ki ba moed - the time has come

(1) ה' spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: These are My fixed times, the fixed times of ה', which you shall proclaim as sacred occasions. (3) On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, a sacred occasion. You shall do no work; it shall be a sabbath of ה' throughout your settlements.

(4) These are the set times of ה', the sacred occasions, which you shall celebrate each at its appointed time: (5) In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, there shall be a passover offering to ה', (6) and on the fifteenth day of that month יהוה’s Feast of Unleavened Bread. You shall eat unleavened bread for seven days.

(7) On the first day you shall celebrate a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations. (8) Seven days you shall make offerings by fire to ה'. The seventh day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations. (9) ה' spoke to Moses, saying:

(10) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving to you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest. (11) He shall elevate the sheaf before ה' for acceptance in your behalf; the priest shall elevate it on the day after the sabbath.

(12) On the day that you elevate the sheaf, you shall offer as a burnt offering to ה' a lamb of the first year without blemish. (13) The meal offering with it shall be two-tenths of a measure of choice flour with oil mixed in, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to ה'; and the libation with it shall be of wine, a quarter of a hin.

(14) Until that very day, until you have brought the offering of your God, you shall eat no bread or parched grain or fresh ears;*bread or parched grain or fresh ears That is, of the new crop. it is a law for all time throughout the ages in all your settlements. (15) And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: (16) you must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to ה'. (17) You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering; each shall be made of two-tenths of a measure of choice flour, baked after leavening, as first fruits to ה'.

(18) With the bread you shall present, as burnt offerings to ה', seven yearling lambs without blemish, one bull of the herd, and two rams, with their meal offerings and libations, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to ה'. (19) You shall also offer one he-goat as a sin offering and two yearling lambs as a sacrifice of well-being. (20) The priest shall elevate these—the two lambs*—the two lambs— Force of Heb. construction uncertain. —together with the bread of first fruits as an elevation offering before ה'; they shall be holy to ה', for the priest.

(21) On that same day you shall hold a celebration; it shall be a sacred occasion for you; you shall not work at your occupations. This is a law for all time in all your settlements, throughout the ages.

(22) And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I ה' am your God.

(23) ה' spoke to Moses, saying: (24) Speak to the Israelite people thus: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts. (25) You shall not work at your occupations; and you shall bring an offering by fire to ה'. (26)

ה' spoke to Moses, saying: (27) Mark, the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a sacred occasion for you: you shall practice self-denial, and you shall bring an offering by fire to ה'; (28) you shall do no work throughout that day. For it is a Day of Atonement, on which expiation is made on your behalf before your God ה'. (29) Indeed, any person who does not practice self-denial throughout that day shall be cut off from kin; (30) and whoever does any work throughout that day, I will cause that person to perish from among the people. (31) Do no work whatever; it is a law for all time, throughout the ages in all your settlements. (32) It shall be a sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall practice self-denial; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall observe this your sabbath.

(33) ה' spoke to Moses, saying: (34) Say to the Israelite people: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month there shall be the Feast of Booths*Booths Others “Tabernacles.” to ה', [to last] seven days. (35) The first day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations; (36) seven days you shall bring offerings by fire to ה'. On the eighth day you shall observe a sacred occasion and bring an offering by fire to ה'; it is a solemn gathering:*solemn gathering Precise meaning of Heb. ‘aṣereth uncertain. Cf. Num. 29.35; Deut. 16.8. you shall not work at your occupations.

(37) Those are the set times of ה' that you shall celebrate as sacred occasions, bringing offerings by fire to ה' —burnt offerings, meal offerings, sacrifices, and libations, on each day what is proper to it— (38) apart from the sabbaths of ה', and apart from your gifts and from all your votive offerings and from all your freewill offerings that you give to ה'.

(39) Mark, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the yield of your land, you shall observe the festival of ה' [to last] seven days: a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day. (40) On the first day you shall take the product of hadar*hadar Others “goodly”; exact meaning of Heb. hadar uncertain. Traditionally the product is understood as “citron.” trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy*leafy Meaning of Heb. ‘aboth uncertain. trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before your God ה' seven days. (41) You shall observe it as a festival of ה' for seven days in the year; you shall observe it in the seventh month as a law for all time, throughout the ages. (42) You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, (43) in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt—I, your God ה'. (44) So Moses declared to the Israelites the set times of ה'.

(1) Yom Ha-atzma’ut, Yom Yerushalayim, Yom Ha-zikaron, and Yom Ha-Sho’ah / Establishing Yom Ha-atzma’ut as a Permanent Holiday

(2) There is a mitzva to establish a holiday of rejoicing and praising God on a day when the Jewish people were saved. It was on this basis that the Sages established Purim and Ḥanuka as permanent holidays. Even though one may not add mitzvot to the Torah, this mitzva is derived from a kal va-ḥomer (a fortiori argument): When we left Egypt and were delivered from slavery, God commanded us to celebrate Pesaḥ and sing praise to Him every year; all the more so must we celebrate Purim, when we were saved from death (Megilla 14a). This principle served as the Sages’ basis for establishing Ḥanuka as well (Ritva ad loc.). Ḥatam Sofer explains (end of YD 233, OḤ 208) that since this mitzva is derived from a kal va-ḥomer, it is considered a Torah commandment. However, the Torah does not prescribe exactly how to establish a holiday; therefore, one who does anything to commemorate the salvation fulfills his Torah obligation. It was the Sages who determined that we read the megilla, conduct a festive meal, send mishlo’aḥ manot (gifts of food) to others, and give charity to the poor on Purim, and light candles on Ḥanuka.

(3) Many Jewish communities throughout the ages kept this mitzva, instituting days of joy in commemoration of miracles that they experienced. Many of them included the word “Purim” when naming these days, like “Purim Frankfurt” and “Purim Tiberias.” Some communities had a custom to eat festive meals, send mishlo’aḥ manot to one another, and give charity to the poor on these days. ...

Therefore, establishing it was not a violation of bal tosif (adding to the laws of the Torah), since the prohibition against inventing a holiday refers only to holidays that do not commemorate a salvation. Based on this kal va-ḥomer, however, we are obligated to institute holidays that commemorate salvations. R. Roth adds that a prophet may not establish a new holiday based on prophecy. In the case of Purim was it necessary to produce a special scriptural exposition (Megilla 7a), only in order to canonize the book of Esther as part of Scripture.
It is worth noting R. Meshulam Rath’s reliable statement that Yom Ha-atzma’ut was instituted by the majority of the greatest rabbis. (Although they disputed whether one should recite Hallel with a berakha, most of the greatest rabbis agreed on the basic obligation to give thanks and rejoice.) And when Ḥatam Sofer, OḤ 191, s.v. “mihu,” writes that one might violate the prohibition of bal tosif by establishing a holiday for all of Israel, he merely means that one may not establish a national holiday to commemorate a miracle that happened to one Jewish community. However, when the entire Jewish people experienced a miracle, we are obligated to establish a holiday for all of Israel. See also R. Nahum Rackover’s Hilkhot Yom Ha-atzma’ut Ve-Yom Yerushalayim, which includes articles on the mitzva to establish a holiday on Yom Ha-atzma’ut written by the chief rabbis of Israel and other great Torah scholars.
Some have asked why Yehoshua neglected to establish a holiday to celebrate the conquest of Eretz Yisrael. The answer is that the festival of Pesaḥ commemorates both the redemption from Egypt and Israel’s subsequent entry into Eretz Yisrael. This corresponds to the fifth expression of redemption. Alternatively, R. Tzadok Ha-Kohen of Lublin (Pri Tzadik on Tu Be-Av) posits that the holiday of Tu Be-Av (the fifteenth of Av) was established to commemorate this event. Also, see below, n. 7.

(2) From a halakhic standpoint, there is no need to institute a general memorial day for the holy soldiers who were killed in battle. Rather, one should do what the Jewish people have always done for any Jew who dies: on the yahrzeit (anniversary of death), a memorial prayer is recited and the deceased’s son or relatives recite Kaddish, study Torah, and give charity to elevate their loved one’s soul. Those who go beyond this hold a full memorial service with Torah lectures to elevate the deceased’s soul.

(3) We have fought many wars throughout our long history, often losing more soldiers in one war than the IDF has lost in all of its battles combined. Nevertheless, the Sages never instituted a memorial day for those killed in battle. When we were victorious, we celebrated, and when we lost, we mourned individually.

The only tragedy for which the Sages instituted public mourning, in the form of fast days, is the destruction of the Temple, which was a spiritual and national destruction. Indeed, the destruction of the Temple is the source of all the troubles, evil decrees, and bloodshed that our nation has suffered throughout the long exile.

Even the Fast of Gedalia was instituted in commemoration of the Temple’s destruction, not because Gedalia’s righteousness warranted that all of Israel mourn his death each year. Rather, his assassination extinguished the last flicker of hope for the Jews who remained in Eretz Yisrael after the destruction of the First Temple.

(7) Sadly, people who lack faith, who do not understand the Jewish people’s past or its mission, have seized control of the Israel’s media and cultural life. In the beginning, the secularists still possessed an inkling of Judaism, based on what they heard in their parents’ home, but over time, alienation from Torah values took its toll and they turned Yom Ha-zikaron into a day of weakness and defeatism. Instead of honoring the memories of the fallen, trying to understand the essence of the nation of Israel, and investing meaning into the soldiers’ self-sacrifice, they emphasize the pain, despair, and destruction, portraying the deaths of these soldiers as meaningless. They appear to be honoring the fallen, but in reality, there is no greater affront to the honor of these martyrs than the inappropriate character that these people have attached to Yom Ha-zikaron. The fundamental flaw in their approach is their disregard for the Jewish national destiny for whose sake the soldiers sacrificed their lives.

(8) If we nonetheless observe Yom Ha-zikaron, we must underscore the soldiers’ self-sacrifice in sanctification of God’s name. We must emphasize how they demonstrated to us that the vision of the ingathering of the exiles and the rebirth of the nation of Israel in its ancient homeland is so great that it is worth giving up one’s life in this world for its sake. This will strengthen us and inspire us to follow their lead. The children we bear and raise exist in their merit; the settlements we establish flourish because of them; the Torah we learn is theirs; the ethical Jewish society we want to build here, as the prophets foretold, is theirs. If we remember this, and exert a great deal of effort, we will be able to continue in their path, the path of self-sacrifice for the Jewish people. Then we will truly honor them, as holy and pure souls, illuminating the world and shining like the glow of the heavens.

(9) This is also what we must say to the bereaved families, which produced these holy and courageous warriors: do not surrender to death; continue to live by their strength. Do not bow your heads; rather, stand up straight and tall in their honor. Lift your eyes beyond the ordinary horizon and look toward the vision of the redemption and the End of Days. And even if there are tears in your eyes, those are tears of grandeur.