(Lev. 22:27, cont.:) IT SHALL REMAIN SEVEN DAYS WITH ITS MOTHER. R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi. The situation is similar to a king who entered a province,⁷¹., Lev. 8:12; Lev. R. 27:10; PRK 9:10. [where he issued a proclamation] and said: Let no strangers⁷². who are here see my face before they first see the face of my matron.⁷³ Similarly, the Holy One said to Israel: My children shall not approach me with an offering until the Sabbath Queen has passed over it; for there are no seven days without a Sabbath, and there is no circumcision without the passing of a Sabbath. R. Isaac said: An ordinance for humanity and an ordinance for cattle are on a par .⁷⁴ [An ordinance for] humanity is (Lev. 12:3): AND ON THE EIGHTH DAY THE FLESH OF HIS FORESKIN SHALL BE CIRCUMCISED. [And an ordinance for] cattle is (Lev. 22:27): IT SHALL REMAIN SEVEN DAYS WITH ITS MOTHER, AND FROM THE EIGHTH DAY ON IT SHALL BE ACCEPTABLE FOR AN OFFERING BY FIRE TO THE LORD .

footnotes: ⁷¹ Tanh ⁷² Gk.: xenoi ⁷³ Lat.: matrona. ⁷⁴ Above, 8:9.