Emor and the Calendar

(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 ה’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; 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—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'

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/ “Tabernacles.” / Sukkot 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: 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 Others “goodly”; exact meaning of Heb. hadar uncertain. Traditionally the product is understood as “citron.” trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy 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) Observe the month of Abib [spring] and offer a passover sacrifice to your God ה', for it was in the month of Abib, at night, that your God ה' freed you from Egypt. (2) You shall slaughter the passover sacrifice for your God ה', from the flock and the herd, in the place where ה' will choose to establish the divine name. (3) You shall not eat anything leavened with it; for seven days thereafter*thereafter Lit. “upon it.” you shall eat unleavened bread, bread of distress—for you departed from the land of Egypt hurriedly—so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live. (4) For seven days no leaven shall be found with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh of what you slaughter on the evening of the first day shall be left until morning. (5) You are not permitted to slaughter the passover sacrifice in any of the settlements that your God ה' is giving you; (6) but at the place where your God ה' will choose to establish the divine name, there alone shall you slaughter the passover sacrifice, in the evening, at sundown, the time of day when you departed from Egypt. (7) You shall cook and eat it at the place that your God ה' will choose; and in the morning you may start back on your journey home. (8) After eating unleavened bread six days, you shall hold a solemn gathering for your God ה' on the seventh day: you shall do no work.

(9) You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. (10) Then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for your God ה', offering your freewill contribution according as your God ה' has blessed you. (11) You shall rejoice before your God ה' with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the [family of the] Levite in your communities, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your midst, at the place where your God ה' will choose to establish the divine name. (12) Bear in mind that you were slaves in Egypt, and take care to obey these laws.

(13) After the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat, you shall hold the Feast of Booths / Sukkot for seven days. (14) You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the [family of the] Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your communities. (15) You shall hold a festival for your God ה' seven days, in the place that ה' will choose; for your God ה' will bless all your crops and all your undertakings, and you shall have nothing but joy.

(16) Three times a year—on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, on the Feast of Weeks, and on the Feast of Booths—all your males shall appear before your God ה' in the place that [God] will choose. They shall not appear before ה' empty-handed, (17) but each with his own gift, according to the blessing that your God ה' has bestowed upon you.

(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 omer 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 omer 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 omer ha’tnufa sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven complete shabbatot weeks: (16) you must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring a new offering [of 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 chametz 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 together with the lechem ha’bikurim 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 declare 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.

(8) After eating unleavened bread six days, you shall hold a solemn gathering for your God ה' on the seventh day: you shall do no work.

(9) You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. (10) Then you shall observe the Chag ha’Shavuot Feast of Weeks for your God ה', offering your freewill contribution according as your God ה' has blessed you.

(11) You shall rejoice before your God ה' with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the [family of the] Levite in your communities, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your midst, at the place where your God ה' will choose to establish the divine name. (12) Bear in mind that you were slaves in Egypt, and take care to obey these laws.

(19) When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf omer in the field, do not turn back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow—in order that your God ה' may bless you in all your undertakings.

(3) How would they do it [reap the omer]?The agents of the court used to go out on the day before the festival and tie the unreaped grain in bunches to make it the easier to reap. All the inhabitants of the towns near by assembled there, so that it might be reaped with a great demonstration. As soon as it became dark he says to them: “Has the sun set?” And they answer, “Yes.” “Has the sun set?” And they answer, “Yes.” “With this sickle?” And they answer, “Yes.” “With this sickle?” And they answer, “Yes.” “Into this basket?” And they answer, “Yes.” “Into this basket?” And they answer, “Yes.” On the Sabbath he says to them, “On this Sabbath?” And they answer, “Yes.” “On this Sabbath?” And they answer, “Yes.” “Shall I reap?” And they answer, “Reap.” “Shall I reap?” And they answer, “Reap.” He repeated every matter three times, and they answer, “yes, yes, yes.” And why all of this? Because of the Boethusians who held that the reaping of the omer was not to take place at the conclusion of the [first day of the] festival.

(11) No meal offering that you offer to ה' shall be made with leaven chametz, for no leaven or honey may be turned into smoke as an offering by fire to ה'.

(11) This is the ritual of the sacrifice of well-being that one may offer to ה': (12) One who offers it for thanksgiving shall offer, together with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes chalot matzot with oil mixed in—unleavened wafers rekikei matzot spread with oil—and cakes of choice flour with oil mixed in, well soaked.

(13) This offering, with cakes of leavened bread added al chalot lechem chametz, shall be offered along with one’s thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being.

(1) THEY SHALL BE BAKED WITH LEAVEN. Scripture commanded that these two loaves be leavened, because they are a thanks-offering to G-d for having kept for us the appointed time of the harvest (See Jeremiah 5:24) and a thanks-offering comes with cakes of leavened bread - lechem chametz).

It is important to note that neither the two leavened loaves of the Festival of Weeks nor the leavened cakes of a thanks-offering were burnt on the altar, as leaven is forbidden to be burnt on the altar. They were merely brought into the Sanctuary Court as part of the offering, but they were eaten by the priests.

Perhaps the [usual] prohibition of bringing leavened things as an offering is because leaven alludes to the attribute of justice, for it is called chametz (leaven), just as wine which sours is called ‘chometz yayin v’chometz sheichar’ (vinegar of wine or vinegar of strong drink - Numbers 6:3): the word [chametz] being derived from the expression: the unrighteous ‘v’chomeitz’ (and ruthless man, Psalms 71:4). for [vinegar of wine and vinegar of strong drink] are drinks whose original taste has been “robbed” from them, and they are therefore not suitable for [normal] drinking.

Similarly, for my heart has become leavened yithchameitz Psalms 73:21. means that it was “in a ferment, and it lost its composure.”

Now since the offerings are brought to be acceptable before the Glorious Name, they are therefore not to be brought from objects which possess a strong power - Alluding to the attribute of stern justice (Tziyoni) - to change natural properties of other things [such as leaven], and similarly they are not to be brought from things which are completely sweet -Alluding to everlasting mercy (ibid.) - such as honey.

[Instead, they are to come] only from things which are blended of different qualities, just as the Rabbis have said with reference to the creation of the world Genesis Rabbah 12:15. The language here is that of Rashi on Genesis 1:1. “He combined the attribute of mercy with the attribute of justice, and created the world.”

Now on the Festival of Weeks which is the day of the Giving of the Torah [on Mount Sinai], the offering [i.e., the two leavened loaves and the various burnt-offerings, together with their meal-offering which is of unleavened bread, as stated in Verse 18] comes in accordance with the law of the thanks-offering [which was brought with ten leavened cakes and thirty unleavened cakes]: for it is the day of the solemn assembly.

The student learned in the mysteries of the Cabala will understand.

And this is the secret of which our Rabbis have said in Leviticus Rabbah 9:3. “All offerings are destined to cease [in the World to Come.

This is generally understood as meaning that since there will be no sin in the World to Come, there will not be an occasion to bring the sin-offering etc. See Ramban above, 1:4 that the burnt-offering, too, atones for sin. But for the thanks-offering there will always be an occasion. Ramban, however, alludes to a mystic interpretation, namely, that since the World to Come represents the life of perfect harmony, it is symbolized by the thanks-offering in which the leavened and the unleavened are combined, whereas in the present world justice and mercy are not always combined but the thanks-offering will never cease etc.,” for in it are both unleavened and leavened [cakes], comparable to the World to Come [in which the Divine attributes of justice and mercy will forever be in perfect harmony].