מועדי ה' אשר תקראו אותם מקראי קודש, after the Torah had spoken on the subject of the animal offerings and the people offering them whose purpose it is to ensure that the Shechinah rests in/over the people of Israel. Compare Exodus 29,42 עולת תמיד לדורותיכם, פתח אהל מועד לפני ה' אשר אועד לכם שמה; “a regular burnt offering throughout the generations, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord.” The Torah spoke of the festivals, days on which one abstains from the pursuit of secular matters. On some of these days one has to abstain from such activities completely, on others only partially. For instance, on the Sabbath as well as on the Day of Atonement there is a total cessation of everything which is called מלאכה, work, in the sense of a productive activity. These days are meant for us to occupy ourselves exclusively with Torah and other sacred tasks. To this effect the Torah wrote (Exodus 20,9-10) “you shall labour for six days and conduct all your activities, whereas the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your G’d.” On that day your activities should concern spiritual matters. On some of the days described as holy convocations there is a partial prohibition of work, desisting basically from the kind of activity related to the kind of labour involved in earning one’s livelihood. One is to enjoy these days. Concerning such days, our sages coined the phrase חציה לה' וחציה לכם, “half for G’d and half for you.” (Pessachim 68) There is no doubt that when the Jewish people conduct themselves in this fashion that the Divine Presence will be at home among them. Assaph expressed this thought in Psalms 82,1 which commences with the words אלוקים נצב בעדת א-ל וגו', “G’d stands in the divine assembly. Among the divine beings He pronounces judgment.” The meaning of the word מקראי קודש when applied to the days the Torah calls מועדי ה' אשר תקראו אותם מקראי קודש is: “days of assembles of the people for sacred undertakings.” The word מקרא refers to an assembly, just as the words שבת and חודש are understood as meaning assemblies both in Isaiah 1,13 and Isaiah 4,5

אלה הם מועדי, “these are the appointed dates on which I will demonstrate My pleasure in your company.” If you were to treat these dates as ordinary days, week days, they would turn from being מקראי קודש to מקראי חול assemblies devoted exclusively to the transient life on earth and the physical pleasures people want to experience in this life. They would then not be מועדי, “My appointed times,” but would turn into מועדיכם שנאה נפשי, “your appointed times, the ones My soul detests.” (same chapter in Isaiah 1,14)

'שבת היא לה, He, the creator of light and darkness assigns these days in all your dwellings, wherever on earth. The reason this is spelled out is that we might have thought that just as days and nights are not constant, being longer in the summer than in the winter respectively, so that the hours of the first Sabbath in history might serve as the model for all future Sabbaths, and Jews over the world ought to observe the 24 hours which Jews in the land of Israel observe as their Sabbath. The Torah, by writing בכל מושבותיכם, indicates that the commencement and conclusion of the Sabbath depends on the local times of day and night, not on a central location. [as opposed to the determination of the monthly time when the new moon , i.e. the new month begins, which is related to its astronomical constellation in the sky over Jerusalem, which serves as the ”dateline” for the Jewish people.Ed.]

'בין הערבים פסח לה; although the day on which the Passover is being slaughtered is the 14th of Nissan, not one of the days listed as מקרא קודש, the Torah relates to it as if it were, seeing that this sacrifice, signifying the Exodus from Egypt, the redemption of the Jewish people from slavery, is at the root of the whole legislation governing the Jewish calendar. The sages are empowered to see to it that the annual calendar date which the Torah legislated for this sacrifice to be offered coincides with the month in which the spring equinox occurs, so as to ensure that we do not violate the concept of היום אתם יוצאים בחודש האביב, “on this day you left (Egypt) it was during the month of spring.” The concept of “spring” and its message of resurrection of nature which had hibernated during the winter is so strong that it is part of the אלה מועדי ה' concept. (compare Deuteronomy 16,1)

והקרבתם אשה לה' שבעת ימים, the offering of the mussaph offering for seven consecutive days is to remind us that the intervening days of this festival are not totally secular in nature, although only the first and seventh day have been accorded the title מקרא קודש. The whole matter of the mussaph, additional communal offerings, has not been gone into in detail here as this is a subject treated in Numbers when this legislation appears in detail in chapters 28-29. The reason why in connection with the New Year’s day the Torah does mention the offering of an אשה לה', is that this day already qualified for a mussaph offering, it being not only the first day of the new year but also the first day of the month of Tishrey. In Numbers 29,6 the Torah once more draws our attention to this fact, [presumably to tell us that New Year’s day does not replace the significance of the date of the new moon. Ed.] If you were to counter that אשה ה' is also mentioned in this chapter in connection with the day of Atonement, remember that what is referred to there are burnt offerings and sin offerings, both on behalf of the High Priest and the people but not by each individual member of the people as are sin offerings generally, not mussaph offerings which are mandatory communal offerings. The reason why the Torah listed the Sabbath and the festival of matzot in a single paragraph is that both were legislated prior to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Each of the other festivals has been accorded a paragraph of its own. The Torah commences its reference to the festival of weeks by speaking of the Omer, and the counting of the seven weeks from the Passover until that festival, seeing that the festival of weeks is also known as the harvest festival,חג הקציר and we thank the Lord for the שבועות חקות קציד, “who keeps for our benefit the weeks appointed for harvest” (Jeremiah 5,24). The principal reason for the festivals is to afford us an opportunity to express our gratitude in prayer and in deed. For instance, an example is the appointed time for the festival during spring when we pray to G’d giving thanks for His having given us our freedom at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. The Omer was an expression of gratitude for the barley harvest, the earliest opportunity to fulfill part of the bikkurim legislation, presenting the first of the ripened crop to G’d. This prayer also contains a request concerning the future. The counting of the 49 days between Passover and the festival of weeks reminds us of the need to offer such prayers on a daily basis. On the festival of Sukkot, the festival of ingathering, we thank the Lord for having enabled us to bring the year’s major harvest under our roofs.

בכל מושבותיכם, the prohibition to eat from the new barley harvest before the 16th of Nissan applies even when there is no Temple and no Omer offering can be brought to G’d.

חמץ תאפינה, בכורים, the Omer was the first ripened barley; the offering mentioned in our verse here represented the first ripened stalks of the wheat harvest. This is why the festival of weeks is also known as יום הבכורים, “the day of the firstlings offering.” (compare Numbers 28,26 where this מנחה חדשה, “new gift offering” is described). The more appropriate translation would be the “gift offering consisting of the new (grain) harvest.” The reason that the Torah added the word לה', “for the Lord,” [after all, all offerings are exclusively for the Lord, so why single out this one by name? Ed.] is that after first presenting this offering to G’d, the whole people may now enjoy the new wheat harvest. The verse from Jeremiah 5,24 which we quoted earlier, referred to the סכנה, period of “danger” which this crop was exposed to while growing during which period so many things could have happened which would have ruined the eventual crop. Thanksgiving prayers are therefore called for, expressing our gratitude that nothing of what we worried about during those many weeks actually happened. [the word חקות in that verse may mean that the laws of nature according to which the crop would ripen was not upset by bad weather, and other climatic phenomena which would have ruined all of the farmer’s efforts during the season of ploughing and seeding. Ed.] The Torah, appropriately, legislated that in addition to the two loaves baked from the new wheat, which did not get on the altar, of course, also 2 sheep, etc., were offered as explained in connection with שלמי תודה, thanksgiving offerings in Leviticus 7,13.

חקת עולם לכל מושבותיכם, even though no manner of sacrificial offering could be offered in any of the countries to which Jews were eventually exiled, the “counting” part of this legislation would not be abandoned on account of this.

ובקצרכם , after giving thanks for the harvest and its successful storing of it in the barns, the Torah warns of what has to be done to ensure that the financial success which this harvest represents not be ruined. This is why the farmer is commanded to set aside, or simply not harvest, such incidentals as are referred to as לקט, שכחה, פאה, which in the words of our sages in Ketuvot 66 are viewed as מלח ממון חסר, ואמרי לה חסד. “money cannot be salted away (for safekeeping.)” Some people, in a play on words, change the word חסר for חסד, loving kindness, a kind of charity,” suggesting that the only way to ensure that one does not lose one’s own money is by engaging liberally in handing out charity to the deserving. The legislation in our verse then is this insurance for the farmer not to lose his crop even after he has already brought it into the barn.

אני ה' אלוקיכם, the many faceted functions of G’d are alluded to here, i.e. that G’d’s supervision is needed at all stages of the growing of the crop,; He is the G’d of the reapers, the G’d of the collectors. G’d says that “My regulations are designed to be beneficial for you the grower, for the poor who collects the gleanings. I will deal beneficially with those who have already demonstrated their concern for others by complying with the legislation set forth here.”

זכרון תרועה, a remembrance of the Royal t’ruah. When jubilating toward one’s king, one employs these blasts on the trumpets or shofars to demonstrate such regard for one’s king. Compare Psalms 81,2 הרניני לאלוקים עוזנו, הרנינו!, “stir up jubilation to G’d, our strength, raise a shout!” The expression זכרון, is an allusion to the fact that on this date G’d sits on the throne of Justice remembering the deeds of each one of His subjects and evaluating them as a judge. This is why the Talmud in Rosh Hashanah 8 calls on us to recite verse 4 in the above mentioned chapter of Psalms which reads תקעו בחודש שפר בכסא ליום חגנו, כי חוק לישראל הוא משפט לאלוקי יעקב, “blow the horn on the new moon on the day the moon is veiled, on our feast day, for it is a statute for Israel a ruling of the G’d of Yaakov.” On such days we have additional reason to rejoice in the fact that He is our King, who inclines toward leniency, and is likely to find us as possessing sufficient merit to pass this examination of the way we led our lives in the year just concluded. Isaiah expresses these sentiments in referring to G’d as כי ה' שופטנו, ה' מחוקקנו, ה' מלכנו, “for the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our King” (Isaiah 33,22)

אך בעשור לחודש השביעי, even though on all the other days described in this chapter as מקראי קודש it is proper to express our joy on these days by means of food and drink, as we know from Nechemyah 8,10 where Ezra asks the people on New Year’s day אכלו משמנים ושתו ממתקים, “eat choice foods and drink sweet drinks,” the tenth of this month the day known as Yom Hakippurim, Day of Atonement, is a day devoted to confession of our sins and a day when a person comes to grips with the sins he has been guilty of. On this day it is not in order to preoccupy oneself with anything other than the quest to obtain G’d’s forgiveness and to achieve expiation of one’s sins. Instead of eating and drinking, the order of the day has been best expressed by Isaiah 58,3 הן ביום צומכם תמצאו חפץ וכל עצביכם תנגושו, “because on your fast day you see to your business and you oppress your labourers!” [the prophet sarcastically chastises the people who, while technically fasting, expect G’d to listen to their requests while they continue in their wicked ways, going only through the motions in their religious observance. Ed.]

seeing that most of the people guilty of not practicing self denial do not do so to annoy G’d, but because they cannot resist the allure of the gratification beckoning to them, whereas most of the people violating the commandment not to work on the day do so because they want to indicate their independence of G’d’s dictates, the penalty of karet is in store for eating or drinking on the day of Atonement, whereas destruction of one’s soul is in store for people deliberately violating the work prohibition applicable on this day.

בכל מושבותיכם, even though nowadays there is no way of obtaining atonement by means of the altar which is part of commandments applicable to this day.

עצרת היא. The concept of עצירה is something apart from the concept of שביתות. The latter pertains to abstaining from ordinary secular activities, whereas the former entails spending a certain amount of time performing holy tasks, studying Torah, engaging in communal prayer, etc. The expression נעצר occurs in this context in Samuel I 21,8 ושם איש מעבדי שאול ביום ההוא נעצר לפני ה', “and there was a man, one of Saul’s officials detained before the Lord, etc.” In Yoel 1,14 we find the line קדשו יום, עצרו עצרה, “solemnize a fast, proclaim an assembly!” In Kings II 10,20 we find that Yehu proclaimed an assembly in honour of the Baal, [he meant to make sure that he could kill all those who would worship the Baal, which he succeeded in doing, eradicating this cult from Israel. Ed.] The invitation read: קדשו עצרה לבעל, “proclaim a holy assembly for the Baal.” It is in this sense that the Torah refers to the day following the seventh day of the Sukkot festival as Atzeret, an assembly for G’d, the pilgrims for the Sukkot festival to Jerusalem being detained there for an additional day. The joy on that day was to be a Torah inspired and oriented joy, akin to when David says in Psalms 149,2 ישמח ישראל בעושיו, “Israel rejoices in its Maker.” We find that the description of the family dinners held in the home of Job’s children, his seven sons and three daughters, at set intervals such festive get togethers were held. On the day after the completion of these festivities their father would send word to them to sanctify themselves and rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings to atone for the possibility that they might have been remiss and committed some misdemeanour which would have displeased their G’d. (Job 1,4-5) On the seventh day after the Exodus from Egypt the Israelites took time out to sing a song of thanksgiving to G’d for their final delivery from the pursuing Egyptians. Subsequently, in commemoration of that occasion, the Torah decreed that this day become an עצרת, a day devoted to contemplation of the great miracle on that first occasion. (Compare Exodus 15,1 and Deuteronomy 16,8). Again, on the fiftieth day after the Exodus when the Israelites in a great assembly at Mount Sinai spent the day contemplating their elevation to an almost supernatural people, this day was also subsequently observed as an עצרת, although in the Torah this day is never referred to as such. The reason why the Torah itself does not refer to this day as an עצרת may be the fact that shortly thereafter all the accomplishments of this day were lost and the Jewish people were even commanded to divest themselves of the “jewelry” they had worn in commemoration of that wonderful day. (Exodus 33,6)

אך בחמשה עשר יום, after the Torah had discussed the subject of the festivals in general terms, i.e. their common denominator being that these days are called מקראי קודש on which fire offerings on the altar are being offered on the altar in the presence of the Lord, the Torah continues 'אך בחמשה עשר יום וגו, by showing that the festival of Sukkot is different from all the other festivals: 1) the eighth day of that festival is called as we know from וביום השמיני שבתון, that the eighth day of that sequence of days is to be regarded as a kind of Sabbath. Such a concept does not exist as a special, day in the “week,” nor on the festival of matzot, neither in connection with months or years. In respect of all of these only the number seven has a connotation of holiness, not the number eight. 2) This is the only festival in which the Jew is required to change his home, move out of his regular home, as stated clearly in verse 42. 3) it requires that every Jew take four plants of specific categories and wave them in the 6 directions on earth. (compare verse 40)

אני ה' אלוקיכם, the meaning of the statement, repeated again and again, is that the reason that G’d requests these symbolic deeds from us is that by performing them we insure that He will not ever turn His benevolent eyes away from us.