שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תֹּאכַל מַצּוֹת וּבַיּוֹם הַשְ ּׁבִיעִי עֲצֶרֶת לַה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה מְלָאכָה
For six days you shall eat matzos, and on the seventh day, it shall be an assembly for Hashem, your G-d, you shall not perform any productive labor. (16:8)
A “Shabbos Prohibition” on Yom Tov?
The Meshech Chochmah’s comment on this pasuk opens with his trademark attention to detail and nuance. Generally, throughout Chumash, when dealing with Shabbos, the Torah forbids “melachah,” representing all thirty-nine forms of productive labor, while when referring to Yom Tov, it uses the term “meleches avodah,” which allows for melachos relating to direct preparation of food to be performed. In light of this, it is somewhat unusual that our pasuk, which is dealing with a Yom Tov (the seventh day of Pesach), nonetheless uses the term that relates to Shabbos (“melachah”)!
The Gemara’s Proof from Our Pasuk Regarding the Korban Omer
One of the major points of dispute between the Tziddukim (Sadducees) and the Chachamim related to the date of bringing the Korban Omer, a date which the Torah refers to as “ממחרת השבת – on the morrow of the Shabbos.” The Oral Tradition informs us that this refers to the second day of Pesach, with the term “Shabbos” referring to the Yom Tov of the first day. The Tziddukim, however, who reject the Oral Tradition, translate the word “Shabbos” as referring to the seventh day of the week, so that, according to them, the omer must always be brought on a Sunday.
Among the numerous refutations of this view recorded in the Gemara, one of them comes from our pasuk: Why does it begin by saying that we should eat chametz for six days? Do we not know that Pesach is a seven-day festival? Rather, the six days in question are the days one can eat from the new crop, after offering the Korban Omer on the morning of the second day of Pesach. According to the Tziddukim, however, who maintain that the Omer is offered on the Sunday following the first Shabbos of Pesach, this would rarely leave six days of the new crop within Pesach. Indeed, it could sometimes involve no such days, for example, if the first day of Pesach fell on Sunday.
Meshech Chochmah: Time-Stamping the Proof
The Meshech Chochmah notes that there is a potential response to this refutation, albeit somewhat forced, for perhaps the pasuk is referring specifically to a situation where the first day of Pesach is in fact a Shabbos, with the second day being a Sunday. This would leave the last six days as being able to eat from the new crop even according to the Tziddukim. It is for purposes of negating such a response that the pasuk concludes by forbidding “melachah” on the seventh day, a term that we noted applies to Shabbos. Through this, the pasuk is indicating that it is referring to a situation where the seventh day of Pesach is in fact a Shabbos, which means the first day was a Sunday! In such a situation, to nonetheless also specify that matzah from the new crop may be eaten on the last six days makes it clear that the day on which we are to bring the Omer is the second day of Pesach, even though it is not a Sunday!
Once again, having seen how the Gemara illuminates the pasuk, the Meshech Chochmah brings us back to the pasuk, showing how it illuminates the Gemara!
RABBI ELIMELECH BIDERMAN
RABBI IMMANUEL BERNSTEIN
