Pt2 Public Reaping of the ‘Omer’, and Rabbinic Refutations of the Boethusian Interpretation of Leviticus 23:15–16 (Mishnah Menachot 10:3; Menachot 65a-66a)
This is the second and final part of a two part series. Part 1 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.
Reconciliation of “50 days” with “7 complete weeks”: if Yom Tov falls on Shabbat, there are 7 complete weeks; otherwise the count is simply 50 days - Deuteronomy 1:2; Leviticus 23:15–16
כתוב אחד אומר:
״תספרו חמשים יום״,
וכתוב אחד אומר:
״שבע שבתות תמימת תהיינה״.
R’ Yoḥanan ben Zakkai cites a proof that Shavuot does not need to occur specifically on a Sunday:
One verse states:
“Even to the morrow after the 7th week you shall number 50 days; and you shall present a new meal offering to YHWH” (Leviticus 23:16),
and one verse, the preceding one, apparently contradicts this when it states:
“And you shall count for you from the morrow after the day of rest, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the waving; 7 weeks shall there be complete.”
Is the festival of Shavuot 7 full weeks after Passover, i.e., counting from Sunday through Shabbat 7 times; or is it 50 days after Passover?
הא כיצד?
כאן –
ביום טוב שחל להיות בשבת,
כאן –
ביום טוב שחל להיות באמצע שבת.
[...]
How so, i.e., how can one reconcile these two verses?
Here, the verse that mentions 7 complete weeks,
is referring to a year when the festival of Passover occurs on Shabbat. In such a year, the 50-day period between Passover and Shavuot contains 7 complete weeks, from Sunday through Shabbat.
There, the verse that defines the period as 50 days,
is referring to a year when the festival of Passover occurs in the middle of the week.
[...]
R’ Eliezer - “Mi-maḥarat ha-shabbat” means after Yom Tov, not after weekly Shabbat, because the counting depends on court-fixed calendrical sanctification - Deuteronomy 16:9; Leviticus 23:15
רבי אליעזר אומר:
אינו צריך,
הרי הוא אומר:
״תספר לך״,
ספירה תלויה בבית דין,
שהם יודעים לחדש.
״ממחרת השבת״ –
מחרת יום טוב,
יצאת שבת בראשית
שספירתה בכל אדם.
R’ Eliezer says:
The previous proof is not necessary,
as the verse states:
“7 weeks you shall number for you; from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain you shall begin to number 7 weeks” (Deuteronomy 16:9).
The term “for you” indicates that the counting of the weeks is dependent upon the decision of the court,
as they know how to calculate the new months, upon which the date of the Festival depends.
Therefore, when the verse states: “The morrow after the day of rest [ha-shabbat]” (Leviticus 23:16),
it means: The morrow after the Festival, as the determination of Festivals is by the court.
This serves to exclude the interpretation that the counting starts after the Shabbat of Creation, i.e., a regular weekly Shabbat,
whose counting can be performed by every person, not exclusively by the court.
R’ Yehoshua - Shavuot counting must begin from a fixed, knowable date, analogous to counting toward the new month; therefore it cannot depend on Sunday - Numbers 11:20; Leviticus 23:16
רבי יהושע אומר:
אמרה תורה
מנה ימים
וקדש חדש,
מנה ימים
וקדש עצרת.
מה חדש
סמוך לביאתו ניכר,
אף עצרת
סמוך לביאתה ניכרת.
Citing a different proof, R’ Yehoshua says:
The Torah said to
count days, as it is stated: “A month of days” (Numbers 11:20),
and then sanctify the month with offerings.
And the Torah also said to count days from Passover
and then sanctify the festival of Shavuot with offerings, as it is stated: “You shall count 50 days” (Leviticus 23:16).
From this comparison, one can learn that
just as the start of the counting toward the new month
is known even before it comes, as one begins counting toward the following new month on the 1st day of a month,
so too the start of the counting toward the festival of Shavuot
is known even before it comes, as one begins counting toward Shavuot on a fixed day of the month.
ואם תאמר:
עצרת לעולם אחר השבת,
היאך תהא ניכרת משלפניה?!
The Talmud elaborates:
And if you say that the festival of Shavuot always occurs the day after Shabbat,
how is the counting toward Shavuot known based on what came before it?!
If the occurrence of Shavuot depends upon a Shabbat, there would be no specific date after Passover upon which the counting occurs yearly.
R’ Yishmael - The omer on Passover parallels the two loaves on Shavuot: just as the Shavuot offering is at the start of the festival, so the omer must be at the start of Passover
רבי ישמעאל אומר:
אמרה תורה
הבא עומר
בפסח,
ושתי הלחם
בעצרת.
מה להלן –
רגל ותחלת רגל,
אף כאן –
רגל ותחלת רגל.
R’ Yishmael says there is another refutation of the Boethusian interpretation.
The Torah said:
Bring the omer offering
on the festival on Passover
and the two loaves
on Shavuot.
Just as there, with regard to the offering on the festival of Shavuot,
the two loaves are brought at the beginning of the Festival,
as it lasts only one day, so too here, with regard to the festival of Passover,
the omer must be brought at the beginning of the Festival.
If the omer were to always be brought on a Sunday, this might occur at the end of the festival of Passover. For example, if Passover started on a Monday, the omer would be brought only on the next Sunday, at the end of the Festival.
R’ Yehuda ben Beteira - “Shabbat” earlier and later both mean festival, not weekly Shabbat; thus the omer follows immediately after the start of Passover - Leviticus 23:15–16
רבי יהודה בן בתירא אומר:
נאמר ״שבת״
למעלה,
ונאמר ״שבת״
למטה.
מה להלן –
רגל, ותחלת רגל סמוך לה,
אף כאן –
רגל, ותחלת רגל סמוך לה.
R’ Yehuda ben Beteira says a different refutation:
It is stated “shabbat”
above (Leviticus 23:15), with regard to starting the counting of the omer,
and it is also stated “shabbat”
below (Leviticus 23:16), with regard to the commencement of the festival of Shavuot.
Just as there, with regard to the festival of Shavuot,
it is stated: “Even until the morrow after the 7th week [hashabbat] you shall number 50 days,” and the word shabbat is referring to the beginning of the Festival and it immediately follows the end of the 7th week;
so too here, with regard to the bringing of the omer,
the word shabbat means Festival, so that the omer offering immediately follows the beginning of the Festival, on the 2nd day of Passover.
According to the Boethusians, the commencement of the counting could start well after the beginning of Passover. For example, if Passover occurs on a Sunday, the counting of the omer would start only the following Sunday.
Baraita - “U-sefartem lakhem” teaches that counting the omer is incumbent on each individual - Leviticus 23:15
תנו רבנן:
״וספרתם לכם״,
שתהא ספירה לכל אחד ואחד.
A baraita states:
The verse states: “And you shall count for you from the morrow after the day of rest [ha-shabbat], from the day that you brought the sheaf of the waving; 7 weeks there shall be complete” (Leviticus 23:15).
The phrase: “And you shall count for you,”
teaches that the mitzva of counting is not a communal obligation. Rather, there should be a counting by each and every person.
״ממחרת השבת״ –
ממחרת יום טוב,
The baraita continues:
“From the morrow after the day of rest [ha-shabbat],”
this means from the morrow after the festival of Passover.
R’ Yosei b. Yehuda - “Mi-maḥarat ha-shabbat” cannot mean Sunday, because then Shavuot would sometimes fall 51–56 days after the start point rather than always 50 - Leviticus 23:16
או אינו אלא למחרת שבת בראשית?
רבי יוסי בר יהודה אומר:
הרי הוא אומר:
״תספרו חמשים יום״,
כל ספירות שאתה סופר לא יהו אלא חמשים יום.
Or perhaps this is not the meaning of the verse, but rather it means after the Shabbat of Creation, i.e., Sunday?
R’ Yosei bar Yehuda says:
This cannot be correct, as the verse states:
“Even until the morrow after the 7th week you shall number 50 days” (Leviticus 23:16).
This teaches that all the countings that you count shall be only 50 days.
ואם תאמר “ממחרת” --
שבת בראשית,
פעמים שאתה מוצא חמשים ואחד,
ופעמים שאתה מוצא חמשים ושנים,
חמשים ושלשה,
חמשים וארבעה,
חמשים וחמשה,
חמשים וששה.
R’ Yosei bar Yehuda elaborates:
And if you say that the clause: “From the morrow after the day of rest [ha-shabbat],”
is referring to the Shabbat of Creation,
sometimes you will find a count of 51 days from the 1st day of Passover, which is the date that the count began the previous year, until Shavuot;
and sometimes you will find 52,
or 53,
or 54,
or 55,
or 56.
For example, in one year, Passover occurs on Shabbat, and the counting of the omer would start on Sunday, the 16th of Nisan, and Shavuot would occur 50 days later.
Another year, Passover occurs on a Friday, and the counting starts on Sunday, then the date that Shavuot will occur this year is 51 days from the 16th of Nisan.
If Passover occurs on a Thursday, and the counting begins on the following Sunday, Shavuot will occur 52 days from the 16th of Nisan.
R’ Yehuda ben Beteira - (Same court-based argument as above:) the count depends on beit din, excluding weekly Shabbat as the starting point - Deuteronomy 16:9
רבי יהודה בן בתירא אומר:
אינו צריך,
הרי הוא אומר:
״תספר לך״,
ספירה תלויה בבית דין,
יצתה שבת בראשית
שספירתה בכל אדם.
R’ Yehuda ben Beteira says:
That proof is not necessary,
as the verse states:
“7 weeks you shall number for you; from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain you shall begin to number 7 weeks” (Deuteronomy 16:9).
By using the term “for you,” the verse indicates that the counting of the weeks is dependent upon the decision of the court, as they know how to calculate the new months.
This serves to exclude the possibility that the counting starts after the Shabbat of Creation,
whose counting can be performed by every person, not only the court.
R’ Yosei - “Mi-maḥarat ha-shabbat” means after Yom Tov, since the verse does not specify which Shabbat; also “shabbat” above and below both refer to festival - Leviticus 23:15–16
רבי יוסי אומר:
״ממחרת השבת״ –
ממחרת יום טוב.
R’ Yosei says that the verse:
“And you shall count for you from the morrow after the day of rest [ha-shabbat]” (Leviticus 23:15),
means from the morrow after the festival of Passover.
אתה אומר ממחרת יום טוב,
או אינו אלא ממחרת שבת בראשית?
אמרת:
וכי נאמר ״ממחרת השבת שבתוך הפסח״?
והלא לא נאמר אלא ״ממחרת השבת״,
דכל השנה כולה מלאה שבתות,
צא ובדוק איזו שבת.
Do you say it means from the morrow after the festival of Passover,
or is it only referring to from the morrow after Shabbat of Creation, i.e., Sunday?
You can say in response:
Is it stated: “From the morrow after the day of rest [ha-shabbat] that is during Passover”?
No, it is stated only: “From the morrow after the day of rest [ha-shabbat].”
Considering that the entire year is full of Shabbatot,
go and try to examine to which Shabbat the verse is referring.
How does one know which Shabbat this means? Clearly, then, this “day of rest” is the Festival, not Shabbat.
:ועוד,
נאמרה ״שבת״
למטה,
ונאמרה ״שבת״
למעלה.
מה להלן –
רגל ותחילת רגל,
אף כאן –
רגל ותחילת רגל.
R’ Yosei cites another proof:
And furthermore:
it is stated “shabbat”
Below, with regard to the festival of Shavuot (Leviticus 23:16),
and it is also stated “shabbat”
above (Leviticus 23:15), with regard to starting the counting of the omer.
Just as below, with regard to the festival of Shavuot,
it is stated: “Even until the morrow after the 7th week [shabbat] you shall number 50 days,” and the word shabbat is referring to a time at the beginning of the Festival;
so too here, with regard to the bringing of omer,
the word shabbat means Festival, and the counting starts near the beginning of the Festival, on the 2nd day of Passover.
According to the Boethusians, sometimes the commencement of the counting is well after the start of Passover.
R’ Shimon ben Elazar - The new grain becomes permitted on the 2nd day of Passover, explaining the contrast between eating matza 6 vs 7 days; this proves the omer is brought on 16 Nisan - Deuteronomy 16:8; Exodus 12:15
רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר:
כתוב אחד אומר:
״ששת ימים תאכל מצות״,
וכתוב אחד אומר:
״שבעת ימים מצות תאכלו״.
הא כיצד?
מצה שאי אתה יכול לאוכלה שבעה מן החדש –
אתה יכול לאוכלה ששה מן החדש.
The baraita continues:
R’ Shimon ben Elazar says there is yet another proof:
One verse states:
“6 days you shall eat unleavened bread” (Deuteronomy 16:8),
and one verse states:
“7 days you shall eat unleavened bread” (Exodus 12:15).
How can these texts be reconciled?
R’ Shimon ben Elazar explains that there is matza that you are unable to eat for all 7 days of Passover, due to the prohibition of harvesting and eating from the new crop of grain that ripened before Passover until after the omer offering.
But you are able to eat that same matza for 6 days, although it is from the new crop, as it is permitted after the bringing of the omer offering on the 2nd day of Passover.
This resolution of the verses is possible only if the omer offering is brought on the 16th of Nisan, not on any other date.
Counting begins when the grain is reaped; bringing and counting are linked to the day of the omer - Deuteronomy 16:9; Leviticus 23:15–16
״מיום הביאכם ...
תספרו״ –
יכול יקצור ויביא,
ואימתי שירצה יספור?
תלמוד לומר:
״מהחל חרמש בקמה תחל לספר״.
R’ Shimon ben Elazar clarifies another two verses that deal with the counting of the omer: “And you shall count for you from the morrow after the day of rest, from the day that you brought the sheaf [omer] of the waving; 7 weeks there shall be complete;
even until the morrow after the 7th week you shall number 50 days; and you shall present a new meal offering to YHWH” (Leviticus 23:15–16).
One might have thought that although one must harvest and bring the omer meal offering on the 2nd day of Passover, the 16th of Nisan,
he may start to count the omer from whenever he wishes after that day.
Therefore, the verse states:
“7 weeks you shall number for you; from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain you shall begin to number 7 weeks” (Deuteronomy 16:9).
This verse indicates that the counting should commence upon the reaping of the grain for the omer offering.
אי ״מהחל חרמש תחל לספור״ –
יכול יקצור ויספור,
ואימתי שירצה יביא?
תלמוד לומר:
״מיום הביאכם״.
If one would read just this verse: “From the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain you shall begin to number,”
one might have thought that one can harvest and count
and then bring the omer offering whenever he wishes.
Therefore, the other verse states:
“From the day that you brought the sheaf of the waving…you shall number 50 days,”
indicating that the counting should start on the day the omer offering is brought.
To achieve “7 complete weeks,” counting must begin in the evening - Leviticus 23:15
אי ״מיום הביאכם״ –
יכול יקצור ויספור ויביא ביום?
תלמוד לומר:
״שבע שבתות תמימת תהיינה״.
אימתי אתה מוצא שבע שבתות תמימות?
בזמן שאתה מתחיל לימנות מבערב.
If one would derive the halakha from this verse: “From the day that you brought the sheaf of the waving,”
one might have thought that he should harvest and count and bring the omer offering during the day, not on the night of the 16th of Nisan.
Therefore, the verse states:
“From the day that you brought the sheaf of the waving; 7 weeks there shall be complete.”
When do you find that there are 7 complete weeks?
You find it at the time when you begin to count from the evening.
Only if the counting commences at night, at the start of the 16th of Nisan, will the 7 weeks of counting be complete, without missing that first evening.
Harvesting the omer and counting are at night; bringing is by day - Leviticus 23:15–16
יכול
יקצור
ויביא
ויספור
בלילה?
תלמוד לומר:
״מיום הביאכם״,
הא כיצד?
קצירה וספירה
בלילה,
והבאה
ביום.
If so, one might have thought that all of the rites of the omer should be at night, and therefore one should
harvest
and bring the omer offering
and start to count
at night.
Therefore the verse states:
“From the day that you brought the sheaf of the waving.”
How can these texts be reconciled? Does one start at night or in the day?
Harvesting and counting
should be performed at night,
and the bringing of the omer offering
is during the day.