Chumashחומש

ומנחתם ונסכיהם לפרים. פָּרֵי הֶחָג שִׁבְעִים הֵם כְּנֶגֶד שִׁבְעִים אֻמּוֹת, וּמִתְמַעֲטִים וְהוֹלְכִים, סִימָן כְּלָיָה הִיא לָהֶם, וּבִימֵי הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הָיוּ מְגִנִּים עֲלֵיהֶם מִן הַיִּסּוּרִין (סוכה נ"ה):

ומנחתם ונסכיהם לפרים AND THEIR MEAL OFFERING AND THEIR DRINK OFFERINGS FOR THE BULLOCKS — The bullocks offered on the Feast of Tabernacles are seventy in all, in allusion to the seventy nations of the world, and they gradually decrease in number each day, an omen to them of gradual annihilation, but during the period when the Temple existed and these sacrifices were offered they protected them against this misfortune (cf. Sukkah 55b).

ולכבשים. כְּנֶגֶד יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנִּקְרְאוּ "שֶׂה פְזוּרָה" (ירמיהו נ'), וְהֵם קְבוּעִים, וּמִנְיָנָם תִּשְׁעִים וּשְׁמוֹנָה, לְכַלּוֹת מֵהֶם תִּשְׁעִים וּשְׁמוֹנֶה קְלָלוֹת שֶׁבְּמִשְׁנֵה תוֹרָה; בַּשֵּׁנִי נֶאֱמַר וְנִסְכֵּיהֶם עַל שְׁנֵי תְמִידֵי הַיּוֹם, וְלֹא שִׁנָּה הַלָּשׁוֹן אֶלָּא לִדְרֹשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִ"לִ (ספרי; שבת ק"נ) בַּשֵּׁנִי וְנִסְכֵּיהֶם, בַּשִּׁשִּׁי וּנְסָכֶיהָ, בַּשְּׁבִיעִי כְּמִשְׁפָּטָם, מֵ"ם יוֹ"ד מֵ"ם הֲרֵי כָאן מַיִם, רֶמֶז לְנִסּוּךְ הַמַּיִם מִן הַתּוֹרָה בֶּחָג:

ולכבשים AND FOR THE LAMBS — in allusion to the Israelites who are called ( 50:17) “scattered lambs”. — They (the lambs) are of fixed number each day (a symbol that the Israelites are fixed, imperishable), and their total is ninety-eight, serving to avert from them the ninety-eight curses which are set forth in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 28:15 ff.) — In the paragraph dealing with the second day of the Festival, it is said, (v. 19) ונסכיהם, and this is in reference to the two daily continual offerings (while the usual term is ונסכה corresponding to ומנחתה that precedes it), and it sometimes uses a modification of the terms usually employed in those paragraphs only in order that some teaching may be deduced from it, as our Rabbis, may their memory be for a blessing, said: in the case of the second day we have ונסכיהם, of the sixth ונסכיה, of the seventh כמשפטם (instead of the usual כמשפטה): the additional letters are מ and י and מ — so you have here מים, “water”, — a suggestion that the libation of water on Tabernacles is of Biblical origin (מן התורה) (Sifrei Bamidbar 150; Shabbat 103b).

עצרת תהיה לכם. עֲצוּרִים בַּעֲשִׂיַּת מְלָאכָה; דָּ"אַ, עצרת — עִצְרוּ מִלָּצֵאת, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁטָּעוּן לִינָה; וּמִדְרָשׁוֹ בַאַגָּדָה לְפִי שֶׁכָּל יְמוֹת הָרֶגֶל הִקְרִיבוּ כְנֶגֶד שִׁבְעִים אֻמּוֹת, וּבָאִין לָלֶכֶת, אָמַר לָהֶם הַמָּקוֹם בְּבַקָּשָׁה מִכֶּם עֲשׂוּ לִי סְעוּדָה קְטַנָּה כְּדֵי שֶׁאֵהָנֶה מִכֶּם (סוכה נ"ה):

עצרת תהיה לכם ON THE EIGHTH DAY THERE SHALL BE A עצרת (RESTRICTION) FOR YOU — you are restricted in the doing of work. Another explanation of עצרת: Restrict yourselves from leaving Jerusalem: this teaches that this (the eighth day) requires that they should remain in Jerusalem overnight (that the pilgrims should not immediately at the termination of the seventh day begin their homeward journey) (Sifrei Bamidbar 151:1). And an explanation of it in the Agada is: because on all the seven days of the Festival they offered sacrifices corresponding in number to the seventy nations of the world, and they propose then to set forth on their way home, the Omnipresent says to them: ‘I beg of you make a small banquet for Me, so that I may have some pleasure from you exclusively” (Sukkah 55b).

פר אחד איל אחד. אֵלּוּ כְנֶגֶד יִשְׂרָאֵל, הִתְעַכְּבוּ לִי מְעַט עוֹד, וּלְשׁוֹן חִבָּה הוּא זֶה, כְּבָנִים הַנִּפְטָרִים מֵאֲבִיהֶם וְהוּא אוֹמֵר לָהֶם קָשָׁה עָלַי פְּרֵדַתְכֶם, עַכְּבוּ עוֹד יוֹם אֶחָד, מָשָׁל לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁעָשָׂה סְעוּדָה כוּ', כִּדְאִיתָא בְמַסֶּכֶת סֻכָּה (שם); וּבְמִדְרַשׁ רַבִּי תַנְחוּמָא: לִמְּדָה תוֹרָה דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ שֶׁמִּי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ אַכְסְנַאי יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן יַאֲכִילֶנּוּ פְּטוּמוֹת, לְמָחָר יַאֲכִילֶנּוּ דָּגִים, לְמָחָר בְּשַׂר בְּהֵמָה, לְמָחָר מַאֲכִילוֹ קִטְנִית, לְמָחָר מַאֲכִילוֹ יָרָק, פּוֹחֵת וְהוֹלֵךְ כְּפָרֵי הֶחָג:

פר אחד איל אחד ONE BULLOCK, ONE RAM — these are an allusion to Israel who form one nation: “Stay with me a little longer”. And this conveys the idea of God’s affection for Israel — just like children who think to take leave of their father to whom he says, “Parting from you is very hard to me; stay one day more”. — A parable! It may be compared to the case of a king who made a banquet etc., as it is related in Treatise Sukkah 55b. And in the Midrash of R. Tanchuma 4:8:17 it states: The Torah teaches you a rule of conduct — that he who has a stranger staying with him should give him on the first day fattened poultry to eat, on the morrow he should give him fish to eat, on the next day animal flesh; on the following day he should give him pulse to eat, and on the next day vegetables, diminishing gradually, just as was the case with the bullocks on the Feast of Tabernacles.

אלה תעשו לה' במועדיכם. דָּבָר הַקָּצוּב לְחוֹבָה:

אלה תעשו לה׳ במועדיכם THESE YE SHALL OFFER TO THE LORD ON YOUR APPOINTED FESTIVALS — as something that is laid down as a duty,

לבד מנדריכם. אִם בָּאתֶם לִדּוֹר קָרְבָּנוֹת בָּרֶגֶל, מִצְוָה הִיא בְּיֶדְכֶם, אוֹ נְדָרִים אוֹ נְדָבוֹת שֶׁנְּדַרְתֶּם כָּל הַשָּׁנָה, הַקְרִיבוּם בָּרֶגֶל, שֶׁמָּא יִקְשֶׁה לוֹ לַחֲזֹר וְלַעֲלוֹת לִירוּשָׁלַיִם וּלְהַקְרִיב נְדָרָיו וְנִמְצָא עוֹבֵר בְּבַל תְּאַחֵר:

לבד מנדריכם BESIDES YOUR VOWS [AND YOUR FREEWILL OFFERINGS] — If on the Festival you wish to make a vow to bring a sacrifice, you have a duty ready at hand to your credit and you should bring it on that Festival; or in the case of vow-offerings and freewill offerings which you have vowed all the year, bring them on the Festival. — Perhaps it will be difficult for one to go up again to Jerusalem to bring his vow-offerings, and consequently he will transgress the command, (Deuteronomy 23:22) “Thou shalt not delay to pay it (thy vow)”.

ויאמר משה אל בני ישראל. לְהַפְסִיק הָעִנְיָן, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל, לְפִי שֶׁעַד כָּאן דְּבָרָיו שֶׁל מָקוֹם וּפָרָשַׁת נְדָרִים מַתְחֶלֶת בְּדִבּוּרוֹ שֶׁל מֹשֶׁה, הֻצְרַךְ לְהַפְסִיק תְּחִלָּה וְלוֹמַר שֶׁחָזַר מֹשֶׁה וְאֲמָרָהּ פָרָשָׁה זוֹ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁאִם לֹא כֵן, יֵשׁ בְּמַשְׁמַע שֶׁלֹּא אָמַר לָהֶם זוֹ, אֶלָּא בְּפָרָשַׁת נְדָרִים הִתְחִיל דְּבָרָיו:

ויאמר משה אל בני ישראל AND MOSES TOLD THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — This is stated to separate this subject (of sacrifies) from the following (vows). Such is the opinion of R. Ishmael. What it means is: since up to now we have the words of the Omnipresent to Moses (Numbers 28:1—2: “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Command the children of Israel, etc.’ ”) and the chapter about vows that follows begins with an utterance of Moses (“And Moses spake”), it is necessary first to make a break by stating that Moses in turn told this section to Israel (“And Moses told etc.”), for if this were not done it would imply that he did not tell them this section about the sacrifices, but began his address with the chapter about vows (Sifrei Bamidbar 152).