Thread by @ewzucker

Question: What's with the odd omissions in Deuteronomy 16's presentation of the the 3 pilgrimage holidays?

** A "Dvar Torah" thread in honor of my father Alan Zuckerman z'l's 12th yahrzeit (30th of Av) for Parashat Re'eh (Deut 11:27-16:17) &***

The holidays are v familiar by this point in the Torah.

Q: What's new here?

A: Pilgrimage is important!

So for each holiday (incl an extra one for Paschal lamb), Moses says celebration must be "at the place God will choose to establish His name there"

Moses even concludes with emphasizing this pilgrimage to this mysterious place (understood later to mean the Temple in Jerusalem) one more time.

OK we get the idea!

That this is the point of this presentation is reflected in the fact that the preceding chapters also present familiar laws (e.g., sacrifice, dietary laws) with this point of emphasis.

OK so when you get to the Land, the Central holy place will be key!

Here's the thing though. If all Moses was doing was emphasizing this aspect of the pilgrimage festivals, why does he also seem to be *subtracting* aspects of these holidays?

Each holiday is missing something important!

Check it out:sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.16…

Ok, here's what's missing:

1. Passover/Matzot holiday

The Torah has been consistent (cf Ex 13) that there is a special day ("shabbaton" or "mikra kodesh" or "atseret") on the 1st as well as the 7th days.

But here (Deut 16:8) only the 7th day is mentioned!

2. Shavuot/Pentecost

This one is subtle bc *each* presentation of this holiday is tantalizingly vague about *when* it occurs

But look closely & you'll see no holiday is in fact mentioned- just a sacrifice after the 7x7 day counting. Compare Deut 16:10 with Lev & Num!

3. Sukkot/Booths

Ok this one is the most obvious:

Whereas earlier presentations of this holiday mention an 8th day holiday as well as a first day (with the 8th day sort of being it's own holiday & sort of being a continuation), Deut 16 is silent on what we call Shmini Atseret!

So here's my theory about what's going on:

Moses is sending a subtle message about the importance of Shabbat!

He's saying:

Yes pilgrimage to these holy places is important. But but but but... make no mistake! Holiness of time (independent of place) is still paramount!

This message-- that Shabbat is the proverbial sun from which Israel's experience of holiness radiates-- is discernable in earlier places in the Torah as well.

E.g., Ex 31:13, when Moses instructs Israel that the construction of the tabernacle must stop every Shabbat.

And here in Deut 16, each of the odd omissions serves to accentuate the "Shabbatness" of the holiday:

a. Passover/Matzot now appears Shabbat-like in the emphasis on six days +1 special day (with language that in Hebrew sounds very Shabbat-like!)

b. Shavuot/Pentecost's "Shabbat-ness" is accentuated by omitting the holiday, i.e., day 50. What's left is 7x7. And did you notice that seven weeks (which in Hebrew reads 'seven seven-sets') is mentioned an extraneous time in the verse?

It's all about that 7!!

c. Sukkot/Booths

You can fill in this one. It's obvious why day 8 isn't mentioned. It would disrupt the seven/Shabbat-ness of the presentation!

Of course one can't know for sure that this is what's going on. But at least 3 additional pieces of evidence back it up:

A. The word sheva (seven) or shvi'i (seventh) occurs-- yep, you guessed it-- 7 times in Deut 16 (a very common biblical strategy to emphasize a theme)

B. Both Passover & Shavuot seem to be referencing Moses's earlier presentation of the Shabbat as recalling the Exodus.

C. Both Shavuot and Sukkot seem to be referencing Moses's earlier presentation of the Shabbat as about caring for the lowly/weak in society.

So the evidence seems strong I think, no?

The most obvious takeaway here is just to marvel at the beautiful way the Torah weaves themes such that potential tensions (holiness of place vs. time) emerge as resonant fusions.

The second obvious takeaway is that we should embrace Moses's invitation to enjoy our Shabbat/weekend!

(More reading on this here: blogs.timesofisrael.com/social-distanc…)

Shabbat Shalom!/Happy Weekend!

P.S. If you liked this thread, that's a credit to my dad who (together with my mom) built a household that revolved around the Shabbat & who inculcated in me a love of Torah (& of social science & the Yankees)

Here's more on what I've learned from him:

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