## Sifrei Devarim Paragraph 127

###### Sifrei Devarim 127:1
[Sifrei Devarim 127:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/127:1)

(דברים טז א) **שָׁמוֹר אֶת חֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב**, שָׁמוֹר אֶת הַחֹדֶשׁ סָמוּךְ לָאָבִיב, מִפְּנֵי אָבִיב שֶׁיְּהֵא בִּזְמַנּוֹ.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**Pisqa’ 127**³⁹⁸
1. **“Take care to observe the *month* of Aviv” (Dt. 16:1)—**
**observe [the moon] for a month prior to Aviv,**
**so that Aviv falls at its proper time [in the spring].** ³⁹⁹ 2.

footnotes:
³⁹⁸ H:172; JN1:313.
³⁹⁹ The biblical month of Aviv is “the first month” of the year (Ex. 12:2), and corresponds to the rabbinic month of Nisan, which in the rabbinic liturgical calendar constitutes the seventh month. Cf. Mechilta Ishmael, paskha’,


###### Sifrei Devarim 127:2
[Sifrei Devarim 127:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/127:2)

יָכוֹל אִם הָיְתָה שָׁנָה חֲסֵרָה אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם אוֹ חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם, אַתָּה נוֹתֵן לָהּ אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם אוֹ חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: **חֹדֶשׁ** – לֹא פָּחוֹת וְלֹא יָתֵר.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**Is it possible to say that**
**if a [lunar] year is short [of the solar year] by fourteen or fifteen days.**
**you may add [to the month preceding Aviv]**
**fourteen or fifteen days**
**[enabling calendrical calculation to match the season]?**
**The Teaching states:**
**“The *month*” (Dt. 16:1)—**
**not a day more or less [than a month].**


###### Sifrei Devarim 127:3
[Sifrei Devarim 127:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/127:3)

יָכוֹל אִם הָיְתָה שָׁנָה חֲסֵרָה אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם אוֹ חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם, אַתָּה נוֹתֵן לָהּ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם אוֹ חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: **חֹדֶשׁ** – לֹא פָחוֹת וְלֹא יָתֵר.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**Is it possible to say that**
**if a year is short by forty or fifty days,**
**you may add to the months preceding Aviv**
**forty or fifty days**
**[enabling the calendar to match the season]?**
**The Teaching states:**
**“The *month*” (Dt. 16:1)—**
**not a day more or less [than a month].** ⁴⁰⁰

footnotes:
⁴⁰⁰ //T. San. 2:7-8. Cf. Mechilta Shimon, ed. Nelson, p.37. For other parallels throughout the tannaitic corpus, see F:185, n. 8.


###### Sifrei Devarim 127:4
[Sifrei Devarim 127:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/127:4)

**שָׁמוֹר אֶת חֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב**, בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה מְקוֹמוֹת מַזְכִּיר פָּרָשַׁת מוֹעֲדוֹת: בְּתוֹרַת כֹּהֲנִים מִפְּנֵי סִדְרָן,

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
2. “Take care to *observe* the month of Aviv” (Dt. 16:1).
Scripture recalls the festival calendar in three contexts:
in the Priestly Guide⁴⁰¹ (Lv. 23:1-44),
for the sake of teaching their sequence;

footnotes:
⁴⁰¹ The Biblical book of Leviticus.


###### Sifrei Devarim 127:5
[Sifrei Devarim 127:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/127:5)

בְּחוּמַשׁ הַפְּקוּדִים מִפְּנֵי קָרְבָּן,

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
in the Book of Appointees⁴⁰² (Nu. 9:1-14),
for the sake of teaching sacrificial procedure;

footnotes:
⁴⁰² I.e., Numbers.


###### Sifrei Devarim 127:6
[Sifrei Devarim 127:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/127:6)

בְּמִשְׁנֵה תוֹרָה מִפְּנֵי הָעִבּוּר.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
in the Repetition of the Torah (Dt. 16:1-17),⁴⁰³
for the sake of teaching the rules of intercalation.

footnotes:
⁴⁰³ I.e., Deuteronomy.


###### Sifrei Devarim 127:7
[Sifrei Devarim 127:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/127:7)

לְלַמֶּדְךָ שֶׁשָּׁמַע מֹשֶׁה פָּרָשַׁת מוֹעֲדוֹת וַאֲמָרָהּ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, וְחָזַר וּשְׁנָאָהּ לָהֶם בִּשְׁעַת מַעֲשֶׂה.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**This teaches you that Moses heard the festival calendar**
**from Sinai, recited it to Israel,**
**and repeated it as needed**
**at a time appropriate to the celebration.**⁴⁰⁴

footnotes:
⁴⁰⁴ // Sifre Nu., 66.


###### Sifrei Devarim 127:8
[Sifrei Devarim 127:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/127:8)

דָּבָר אַחֵר: אָמַר לָהֶם הִלְכוֹת הַפֶּסַח בַּפֶּסַח, הִלְכוֹת עֲצֶרֶת בַּעֲצֶרֶת, הִלְכוֹת חַג בֶּחָג. מִכָּן אָמְרוּ: מֹשֶׁה הִזְהִיר אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל לִהְיוֹת שׁוֹנִים בָּעִנְיָן וְדוֹרְשִׁים בּוֹ.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
Another word:
**He recited the legal traditions of**
**Passover in time for Passover,**
**the legal traditions of**
**the Closure-festival**⁴⁰⁵ also known commonly as *Shavuot*, “the Feast of Weeks.” **in time for the Closure-festival,**
**And the legal traditions of**
**the Feast [of Huts] in time for the Feast.**⁴⁰⁶
On this basis they taught:
Moses warned Israel to repeat
the topic [of the upcoming festival],
and to expound upon it.⁴⁰⁷

footnotes:
⁴⁰⁵ That is, `Atzeret,
⁴⁰⁶ // T. Meg. 4:5.
⁴⁰⁷ F: 185, n.12, noting the absence of 126.3 from many parallels in mss, regards the text of 127.2 as a copyist’s addition.