THE FESTIVAL SERVICE As on Shabbat, the Yom Tov Amida consists of seven blessings, of which the central one speaks of the holiness of the day.

אַתָּה בְחַרְתָּֽנוּ You have chosen us: Unlike Shabbat, which recalls pre-history (creation) and the end of history (ultimate redemption), the festivals recall specific moments within history: on Pesaḥ, the exodus from Egypt; on Shavuot, the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai; and on Sukkot, the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Hence the reference to the divine choice of Israel as the people who, through their singular history, bear witness to the role of God in history.

THE NAMES OF THE FESTIVALS As on Shabbat, the Yom Tov Amida consists of seven blessings, of which the central one speaks of the holiness of the day. The connection between Pesaḥ, “the festival of Matzot (unleavened bread)” and “the time of our freedom” is self-evident. It recalls liberation from Egypt and slavery. The connection between Shavuot and the giving of the Torah is not explicit in the Torah but is part of the Oral Tradition as well as calculation of dates by the sages (Shabbat 86b–88a). Because of this, the date of Shavuot became a subject of controversy in the Second Temple period and immediately thereafter among sects such as the Sadducees, who did not accept the authority of the Oral Tradition. Sukkot is called “our time of rejoicing” because the word “rejoice” is mentioned three times in the Torah in connection with Sukkot (Lev. 23:40, Deut. 16:14, 15) – more than any other festival. Shemini Atzeret, while it shares in the joy of Sukkot, is, in some respects, a festival in its own right and is therefore referred to as such.

מְקַדֵּשׁ (הַשַּׁבָּת וְ)יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהַזְּמַנִּים Who sanctifies (the Sabbath and) Israel and the festive seasons: The precise order of the words is significant. It was the Israelites who were charged with determining the monthly and yearly calendar on which the festivals depend: hence the sanctity of the people of Israel is prior to that of the festivals. Shabbat, however, was determined by God on the seventh day of creation: hence its sanctity precedes the other two.