Sifrei Devarim Paragraph 127
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(דברים טז א) שָׁמוֹר אֶת חֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב, שָׁמוֹר אֶת הַחֹדֶשׁ סָמוּךְ לָאָבִיב, מִפְּנֵי אָבִיב שֶׁיְּהֵא בִּזְמַנּוֹ.
Pisqa’ 127³⁹⁸
- “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’,
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.
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 month” (Dt. 16:1)— not a day more or less [than a month].
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.
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 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.
שָׁמוֹר אֶת חֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב, בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה מְקוֹמוֹת מַזְכִּיר פָּרָשַׁת מוֹעֲדוֹת: בְּתוֹרַת כֹּהֲנִים מִפְּנֵי סִדְרָן,
- “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.
בְּחוּמַשׁ הַפְּקוּדִים מִפְּנֵי קָרְבָּן,
in the Book of Appointees⁴⁰² (Nu. 9:1-14), for the sake of teaching sacrificial procedure;
footnotes: ⁴⁰² I.e., Numbers.
בְּמִשְׁנֵה תוֹרָה מִפְּנֵי הָעִבּוּר.
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.
לְלַמֶּדְךָ שֶׁשָּׁמַע מֹשֶׁה פָּרָשַׁת מוֹעֲדוֹת וַאֲמָרָהּ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, וְחָזַר וּשְׁנָאָהּ לָהֶם בִּשְׁעַת מַעֲשֶׂה.
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.
דָּבָר אַחֵר: אָמַר לָהֶם הִלְכוֹת הַפֶּסַח בַּפֶּסַח, הִלְכוֹת עֲצֶרֶת בַּעֲצֶרֶת, הִלְכוֹת חַג בֶּחָג. מִכָּן אָמְרוּ: מֹשֶׁה הִזְהִיר אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל לִהְיוֹת שׁוֹנִים בָּעִנְיָן וְדוֹרְשִׁים בּוֹ.
Another word: He recited the legal traditions of Passover in time for Passover, the legal traditions of the Closure-festival⁴⁰⁵ 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.