The sedra of Emor gives us the main section in the Torah talking about the festivals. (23).A few questions can be asked about this section: First, the perek kicks off with the grand introduction (23;2) “these are my moadai (‘appointed festivals‘ – Artscroll)” and then starts off immediately with Shabbat (3), only then discussing the Yamim Tovim (4-44). Why is Shabbat called a moed?Next question; the main Shabbat sections in the Torah are Shemos 16, 31, and 35 (by the manna and mishkan parshiyos respectively). Why does it put the main Yom Tov section here in Emor whilst the Shabbat section is in previous sedras? Ok, that gives us enough of an excuse to talk a bit about the essential differences between Shabbat and Yom Tov, here goes…A moed means meeting (Ohel Moed = Tent of Meeting). Now there are simply 2 ways that 2 far away friends can meet (I am not talking about email, nor phone videos, nor video conferencing, nor even messenger pigeons – just the straight up boring archaic face-to-face meeting we all know and love). Either A can come to B, or B can come to A. That is exactly the difference between Shabbat and Yom Tov; on Yom Tov we go up to HaShem. And on Shabbat HaShem brings Himself down into our world. And this is why both are called moed because both are means of meetings between us and HaShem. Let’s have some illustration of the above principle distinguishing Shabbat and Yom Tov… Firstly, on Yom Tov we all (in times of beis hamikdash) go up to offer korbanos in HaShem’s home; aliyah leregel – we go up to Him, and even sleep overnight there one night. And there is no such mitzvah of this on Shabbat, because HaShem comes to us. So too, whilst there are many zemiros for Shabbat (because HaShem comes to our homes) there are none on yom tov – because it is not fit for us to spontaneously sing in His Home (R Sloveitchik). Moreover, whilst in Yom Tov davening we say ‘mekadesh yisrael vehazmanim’ (the beis din declare when the festival will be according to their forecast of the start of the month), on Shabbat we say ‘mekadesh hashabbat’ because HaShem fixes Shabbat alone, whilst our job is to do the moving in declaring yom tov (Pesachim 117b). We see the same crop up in the respective Kiddushes we do; Shabbat is ’a remembrance to Creation’ whilst yom tov is ’a remembrance to the Exodus from Egypt’ – again at yetzias mitzrayim we went up (the word used often in the Torah is maaleh – went up) like we do on Yom Tov, whilst the Creation marks the clear sign of HaShem ’coming down’ to this world – as He does on Shabbat. In fact, Tosfos (Yevamos 5b ‘kulcheim’) says that Kavod HaShem is greater when keeping Shabbat than the observance of any other mitzvah because one is testifying that HaShem created the world, and gemara Eiruvin (69b) says that the desecration of Sabbath is like denying Creation. But the idea goes a bit further… Rav Hutner said that the same principle applies to davening vs. learning Torah, ie Davening is based on us bringing ourselves up spiritually towards shamayim, whilst learning Torah focuses on bringing HaShem’s Presence down to this world. This is why Yom Tov is strongly connected to Tefillah; tefillah is in place of korbanos (mishna berurah 53;51), and the 3 regalim are named (regalim) after the fact that we go up to the Beis Hamikdash to offer up korbanos. Thus, tefillah is called ‘avodah She’belev’ (avodah of the heart – taanis 2a); Avodah literally means the service of Korbanos. And unsurprisingly, Shabbat is linked to learning Torah; The Torah was actually given on a Shabbat (Shabbes 86b), and Shabbat is described as a day of rest from work to allow us to devote time to Torah study (psikta rabbati). And Mattan Torah again was the ’descent of HaShem onto a mountain;’ into this world (shemos 19;18 & 20). In fact, there were 3 things that Bnei Yisrael did before Mattan Torah – mental preparation, putting on fresh clean clothes, and going out of one’s place to greet HaShem (Shemos 19; 7-17). These 3 things are mirrored in the Shabbat preparations too (Rambam hilchos shabbos 30;1, Brisker Rav Parashas Yisro). Maybe this is also why it says that one’s Yom Tov clothing should be more elegant than that of Shabbat (Shulchan oruch orach chaim 529;1), as reflective of the fact that one wears better clothing when going out to someone’s house than when in one’s own house – even if a guest comes. How much more so when we are supposed to be going up to HaShem’s House! With this great distinction we can go back and answer our original questions. Why is Shabbat called a moed too? Well, as we said, because Shabbat and Yom Tov embody the 2 different ways of meeting between us and HaShem (moed = meeting). And why is the main Yom Tov section of the Torah here whilst the Shabbat sections are placed by the manna and Miishkan building? Maybe we can suggest that this too is connected to the above concepts. The sections regarding Shabbat are thematically connected to their surrounding sections; just like Shabbat is when HaShem comes down as it were into the world, so to is manna the coming down of HaShem’s Providence from Heaven to this world. And is this not the entire point of the Mishkan too; “Make for Me a mishkan that I should be able to dwell amongst you” (Shemos 25;8) – so that HaShem comes down and dwells amongst us – just like Shabbat. (As an aside though Shabbat is in the dimension of time and the Mishkan in space, and time beats space in spirituality – no Mishkan work to be done on Shabbat; Rav Munk). Let’s also suggest that the main Yom Tov section was placed here in Vayikra because it is the chumash that deals with korbanos – when we elevate the physical is service of HaShem just like Yom Tov is the elevation of ourselves (which is possibly why Yom Tov is described together with its Korbanos, but Shabbat in its initial sections is not). And more closely the start of the parasha deals with the special halachos of the Kohannim in their sanctity; again the theme of bringing ourselves up. In fact this shabbes theme is present across the different parts of Shabbes. There are three parts of shabbes; Friday night, shabbes morning and shabbes afternoon – and they are reflected in the different shone esreis we say. The Fri night amidah is about the Creation (vayechulu), the shabbes morning one about giving of the Torah (ushnei luchos avanim…) and shabbes mincha about Moshiach (ata echod…). All these centre around HaShem showing His presence in this world. The point is that these 2 paths go together in the life of a Jew; bringing HaShem’s Presence into this world and elevating ourselves into more spiritual worlds. This might be the strong partnership of Yissachar and Zevulun; one learnt and the other supported him financially, I.e. one elevated the physical (money, possessions) and the other brought HaShem’s Presence down into this world via learning. And it hit me that this might also be present regarding the 2 paragraphs of Aleinu we say 3 times each day; the first paragraph centres around our elevation (’You did not make us like the other nations…our lot is not like theirs…’) and the second about HaShem’s Presence in this world (’to see speedily the glory of Your strength…to remove idols from the world’). Perhaps this is the meaning of that Rebbi Levi says at the end of moed katan (29a) that ‘one who goes straight from the shul to the beis hamedrash or vice versa will merit and receive the Shchinah’ – because the point is to combine the two world of tefillah and Talmud torah; of bringing oneself up and increasing HaShem’s Presence in this world. Please G-D the time should come soon where we can say the end of Aleinu as ‘this day…is’ as opposed to ‘on that day HaShem will be One…’
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