IN THE PARSHA:
In פרשת אמור we learn about the ימים טובים. The תורה only refers to 2 of these ימים טובים with a specific name as a festival. The 15th of ניסן is called חג המצות, and the 15th of תשרי is called חג הסוכות. Although the תורה uses specific names for both these ימים טובים, we find that חג המצות is also commonly referred to as חג הפסח, while חג הסוכות is only known by that name.
QUESTION:
Why is חג המצות also called פסח, but חג הסוכות has no other name?
ANSWER:
The יום טוב on the 15th of ניסן isn’t only about מצה. The day is a special day because this is the day on which Hashem took us out from מצרים. Eating מצה is one of the things we do to commemorate that event. Therefore, we also call the יום טוב by the name of חג הפסח, because this name represents what makes this day special; Hashem passed over (פסח) the homes of בני ישראל.
On the other hand, the 15th of תשרי is not celebrated because of an event that occurred on that day. Rather, it is only a יום טוב because that is when we fulfill the מצוה of סוכה. Therefore, we only call it by the name חג הסוכות.
Further discussion:
How does this help us understand why it is best to do the מצוה of לולב in the סוכה? (See אותיות ז-ח in the שיחה)
ג האסיףח refers to the agricultural season in which it falls, not the theme of the יום טוב.
