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Parshat Emor enumerates the full range of moadim (Vayikra 23:1-44), beginning from Shabbat and Pesach and concluding with Sukkot. However, the presence of a large section (13 pesukim- Vayikra 23:9 -22 ) dedicated to the korbonot of the omer and shetei ha-lechem and the counting of the omer that connects the second day of Pesach with the subsequent holiday of Shavuot is somewhat puzzling.
The fact that this segment comprises roughly thirty percent of the entire parshat ha-moadim and that it dwarfs the treatments of any of the actual festivals (Yom Kippur commands six pesukim; Sukkot contains two different five-pesukim accounts) simply belies the conjecture that these themes - the korbonot and the sefirah count- merely establish the timing and framework for the Pesach and Shavuot holidays. This is particularly significant according to the perspective reflected in the views of the Vilna Gaon (Yoreh Deah, Hilchot Aveilut siman 399 ot 9) and the Netziv (Haamek Davar Vayikra 23:5) that the very inclusion of a single pasuk (23:5) dedicated to the korban Pesach in Parshat Emor establishes the fourteenth of Nissan as a quasi-independent moed.
It is noteworthy that the Torah actually interrupts the Chag ha-Mazot narrative (23:6-8) by independently introducing the omer-shetei-haLechem-Shavuot interval with the phrases (23:9-10) "vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor daber el Bnei Yisrael..." This parallels the distinctive presentations of Rosh haShanah (23:23,24) after Shavuot, of Yom Kippur after Rosh haShanah (23:26 - though significantly absent the otherwise ubiquitous addition of "daber el Bnei Yisrael"!), and of Sukkot after Yom Kippur (23:33). The affect of these apparently gratuitous introductory refrains is to underscore the independent character and significance of each holiday. By extension and implication, omer-sefirah-shetei-haLechem-Shavuot emerges as a distinctive moed motif.
While the Rambam associates the korban ha-omer with the musaf korbanot of Chag haMazot (Hilchot Temidim uMusafim 7:3) and integrates the laws not only of ketzirat and korban ha-omer(7:4-21) but also of sefirat ha-omer (7:22-25) within the framework of the Pesach holiday, the Torah itself delineates these themes independently and briefly identifies them with Shavuot (23:21). [It is noteworthy that the Rambam presents the shetei ha-lechem offering in the context of the musaf of Shavuot in a new chapter (8) of Hilchot Temidim, although he surely also connects it with the conclusion of the sefirah.]
Moreover, the triple usage of the ambiguous and challenging phrase "mimacharat ha-Shabbat" (23:11, 15, 16) to signify the timing of these korbanot and the duration of the count, further reinforces the impression that these subject matters are not simply signposts for other obligations, but constitute inherently consequential and yet interconnected institutions that also unquestionably facilitate and enhance Shavuot (and, according to the Rambam, and Ramban 23:36, perhaps also Pesach). The routine omission of the festival musafin from the Emor account (see Ramban's discussion of this point in the beginning of chapter 23 and at the conclusion of his remarks on 23:15) further accentuates the significance of the integration of the omer and shetei ha-lechem korbonot in unsparing detail in this parshah. Indeed, the Ramban explicates the singular role of these menachot as expressions of kedushat ha-zeman - "u-lekach hizkir ha-korbonot ha-eileh be-parshah ki heim biglal ha-menachot she-heim ha-ikar be-chag ha-zeh. Ve-lo hizkir ha-musafin bahen ka'asher lo hizkiram besha'ar ha-moadim."
A close reading of the parshah reveals that in some respects Shavuot does not trigger, but is itself a product of this combination of omer-sefirah and shetei ha-lechem. The Chizkuni (23:21) posits that the Torah omits a date for Shavuot because the process of counting the fifty days of the omer is indispensable to generating the kedusahat ha-yom of Shavuot. He adds that there would have been a requirement of reciting birchat ha-zeman in the bringing of these korbonot typical of the zeman requirement of any moed, but the link to Shavuot satisfies this demand (see, also Avudraham, Tefillat ha-Moadim and resp. of Radvaz). Because of the prominent role of these korbonot in the genesis of Shavuot, the Seforno suggests that the Torah deems it necessary to establish unequivocally that the absence of the korbonot of omer and shetei ha-lechem will not preclude the very kedushat ha-yom of Shavuot!
The Torah's presentation in Emor establishes that the korbonot of omer and shetei ha-lechem and the sefirat ha-omer that bridges them do not simply mark the time between moadim, but constitute a vital contribution to the concept of kedushat ha-zeman in their own right. Partly this is due to the very bridging of the Pesach and Shavuot themes. Indeed, the Ramban (23:36) depicts the sefirah period as a chol ha-moed between the two holidays that parallels the days between Sukkot and Shemini Azeret.
We have also emphasized that the parshah in Emor particularly underscores that these korbonot and the omer count define the character of Chag ha-Shavuot. Elsewhere, we have developed the idea that Shavuot celebrates not only Hashem's initiative of mattan Torah, but especially Klal Yisrael's preparation and worthiness for kabalat ha-Torah. The themes of these korbonot (which I hope to elaborate on another occasion) and the transition from one to the other reflected by the count between two "mimacharat ha-Shabbat"s highlights that process of preparation and transition. The fact that shetei ha-lechem is the rare chametz minchah (alongside the todah) dramatically captures the transition from Pesach's theme of physical cherut (freedom), in which chametz as a symbol of unrestricted and undirected growth is excluded from all use and benefit, to the Shavuot motif of a comprehensive halachic commitment that provides the framework for authentic freedom (ein ben chorin ela mi she-osek ba-Torah) in which chametz even in the context of korbonot where it typically disqualifies is a constructive catalyst. The fact that there is no need for a kemitzah in the korban shtei ha-lechem is consistent with this kedushat ha-zeman perspective, as well.
If this lengthy section in parshat ha-moadim reflects that the sefirah period and the menachot of omer and shetei ha-lechem constitute a dimension of kedushat ha-zeman, we may also clarify another difficulty in the Torah's presentation. The concluding pasuk in this section inexplicably repeats the general obligation to provide peah and leket to the poor. The mefarshim contend with the apparently gratuitous character, as well as the puzzling location of this law. They propose different explanations for the intriguing insertion of this law in this context. [See, for example, Rashi's citation of the Sifrei and the comments of Ibn Ezra and Ramban ad loc]. However, we note that the Rambam (Hilchot Yom Tov 6:18) rules that providing for the poor and vulnerable is an indispensable component in simchat and kedushat yom tov. The perspective that this entire transition period from Pesach to Shavuot is itself part of the moed cycle establishes this agricultural expression of tzedakah as a perfect coda to this challenging moadim section.