LEVITICUS XXI:1-XXIV:23

HOLIDAYS AND SHABBAT

Our chapters describe the different Mo’adim, the festivals that should be celebrated in the course of the year. What is the definition of the word Moed, which we translate as “holiday”? We read in Beresheet, when God promised Avraham that his wife would have a son, the expression used is the Mo’ed ashuvelecha, “on this ‘specific date’ I will return to you.” On the other hand, the Tabernacle is called Ohel Moed, which implies a “specific place.” 

Mo’ed is an event that repeats according to the calendar and therefore the Shabbat day  should also be considered as Mo’ed. However, the Torah uses this term basically when referring to the holidays of Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom HaKippurim. Uniquely, in one of the chapters of this Parshah, the Torah does refer to Shabbat as part of the Moed set.

A distinction must be made between Mo’adim and Shabbat. Mo’adim celebrate events and moments that are related to the history of the Jewish people. Passover commemorates the exodus from Egypt, Shavuot recalls the bestowal of the Torah, and Sukkot symbolizes the Divine protection of our ancestors during their journey through the desert. Rosh Hashanah and Yom HaKippurim 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 man recognizes his mistakes.

It can be argued that both Rosh Hashanah and Yom HaKippurim have universal meaning, because the idea of Judgment and Forgiveness is applicable to humanity in general. That will be the case when the teachings of Judaism are universalized, when at the end of days humanity recognizes the sovereignty of the one God.

Based on the biblical text, Jewish tradition teaches that the forbidden work in the Mo’adim does not include the preparation of food: fire can be used in the preparation of food on these days, which is forbidden on Shabbat. In such a way that 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: nature cannot be modified, nor can the elements be put to a different use by means of their preparation thanks to the use of fire, for example.

Moreover, Shabbat is an integral part of creation that was accomplished 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, only mention Shabbat. So, Humanity could perhaps do without the Mo’adim, but never 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 serve as a conduit for reflecting on the epic of the Jewish people and Divine protection at crucial moments, beginning with the exodus from Egypt, Shabbat suggests that one take a step back to observe society and nature. 

Perhaps the fundamental purpose of Shabbat, which is a kind of boundary for all the Mo’adim, is the reflection that man must make about himself, the activities he carried out in the week that ended, and what the priorities should be for the following days. The commemoration of Shabbat in the heart of 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 factor of the greatest validity, which determines the identity of the Jew and his constant relationship with that one God, who also rested as part of the process of the creation of the universe.

MITZVAH: ORDINANCE OF THE TORAH IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 24  POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 39 PROHIBITIONS

263. Leviticus 21:1-3 The Kohen must refrain from acquiring ritual impurity by contact with a human corpse, unless it is that of a close relative

264. Leviticus 21:3:6 The ritual impurity that the Kohen acquires from his close relatives, the obligation of every Jew to mourn the death of the 6 close relatives mentioned in the Torah: mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter

265. Leviticus 21:7 The Kohen ritually unclean for one day and one who has already immersed himself in a mikveh should not serve in the Temple until after sunset

266. Leviticus 21:7 The Kohen must not marry a woman who previously had forbidden relations

267. Leviticus 21:7 The Kohen must not marry a divorced woman

268. Leviticus 21:8 Laws on the Consecration of Aaron’s Descendants 

269. Leviticus 21:11 The Kohen Gadol must not enter a tent where a deceased person lies

270. Leviticus 21:11 The Kohen Gadol should not concern himself (with burial) a corpse lest he acquire ritual impurity 

271. (of the burial) of a corpse

272. Leviticus 21:13 The Kohen Gadol must marry a virgin

273. Leviticus 21:14 The Kohen Gadol must not marry a widow

274. Leviticus 21:15 The Kohen Gadol must not have relations with a widow

275. Leviticus 21:17 The Kohen who has a disqualifying defect should not serve in the Temple

276. Leviticus 21:21 Kohen who has a temporary disqualifying defect should not serve in the Temple

277. Leviticus 21:23 The Kohen who has a disqualifying defect should not enter the Temple

278. Leviticus 22:2 The ritually unclean Kohen should not serve in the Temple

279. Leviticus 22:2 The ritually unclean Kohen should not eat terumahah 

280. Leviticus 22:10 Whoever is not Kohen should not eat terumah

281. Leviticus 22:10 Both he who works continually, and he who works for the Kohen by the day,  may not eat terumah.

282. Leviticus 22:4 The individual who is not circumcised should not eat terumah.

283. Leviticus 22:12 A woman who was born of a union that violated the sanctity of the Priesthood should not eat terumah.

284. Leviticus 22:15 Do not eat tevel

285. Leviticus 22:20 Do not consecrate defective animals that would be offered upon the Altar

286. Leviticus 22:21 The animal offering must be of a perfect specimen without blemish

287. Leviticus 22:21 Do not create a defect in an animal consecrated for an offering

288. Leviticus 22:22 Do not sprinkle the blood of a defective animal on the Altar

289. Leviticus 22:22 Do not ritually sacrifice defective animals for the offering

290. Leviticus 22:22 Do not burn parts of a defective animal on the Altar

291. Leviticus 22:24 Do not castrate any animal

292. Leviticus 22:25 Do not offer a defective offering received from a non-Jew

293. Leviticus 22:27 The animal to be offered must be 8 days old

294. Leviticus 22:28 Do not ritually offer an animal and its cub (male or female) on the same day

295. Leviticus 22:32 Do nothing that leads to profaning the Name of God among the people

296. Leviticus 22:32 Sanctify the Name of God

297. Leviticus 23:7 Rest from work on the first day of Passover

298. Leviticus 23:7 Do no work on the first day of Passover

299. Leviticus 23:8 The Additional Offering on the 7 of Passover

300. Leviticus 23:8 Rest from work on the seventh day of Passover

301. Leviticus 23:8 Do no work on the seventh day of Passover

302. Leviticus 23:10, 11 The Offering of the Omer on the Second Day of Passover

303. Leviticus 23:14 Do not eat (bread) of the new grain harvest before the 16th of Nisan

304. Leviticus 23:14 Do not eat roasted grains of the new harvest before the end of the 16th of Nisan

305. Leviticus 23:14 Do not eat roasted ears of grain of the new harvest before the end of the 16th of Nisan

306. Leviticus 23:15 Count 49 days from the offering of the Omer

307. Leviticus 23:16 The Offering of the New Wheat on Shavuot

308. Leviticus 23:21 Rest from Work on Shavuot

309. Leviticus 23:21 Do no work on Shavuot

310. Leviticus 23:24 Rest from Work on Rosh Hashanah

311. Leviticus 23:24, 25 Do no work on Rosh Hashanah

312. Leviticus 23:24, 25 The Additional Offering of Rosh Hashanah

313. Leviticus 23:28 The Fast of the 10th of Tishrei

314. Leviticus 23:27 The Additional Offering of the 10th of Tishrei (Yom Kippur)

315. Leviticus 23:27 Do no work on the 10th of Tishrei

316. Leviticus 23:29 Neither eat nor drink on Yom Kippur

317. Leviticus 23:32 Rest from Work on Yom Kippur

318. Leviticus 23:35 Rest from work on the first day of Sukkot

319. Leviticus 23:34, 35 To do no labor on the first day of Sukkot

320. Leviticus 23:36 The Additional Offering of the 7 Days of Sukkot

321. Leviticus 23:36 Rest from work on the eighth day of Sukkot

322. Leviticus 23:36 The Additional Offering in Shemini Atseret

323. Leviticus 23:36 Do no work in Shemini Atseret

324. Leviticus 23:40 Grab the Lulav

325. Leviticus 23:42 Reside in the Sukkah for 7 days