(6-7) A Yom Kippur Drash
Max Coon
The number seven commonly appears in Judaism. Seven is associated with holiness as the number of the days of creation, species indigenous to Israel (Shiv’at HaMinim), and years of Shmita, among other things. Additionally, there are only seven holidays mentioned in the Torah, and each of the holidays that are mentioned has some association with the number seven. For example, Pesach and Sukkot are seven days long in Israel, Shavuot is seven weeks after Pesach, Shabbat is the seventh day of the week, and Rosh Hashanah begins the seventh biblical month. Yom Kippur is an interesting case, however. The motif of seven does not appear in its Pasukim in Emor, the parsha which outlines the ideas of Yom Kippur.
In the Perek (chapter) where each of the holidays, except for Rosh Chodesh, is commanded, the pasuk (line) says, “you shall not work at your occupations” (Leviticus 23:7, 23:8, 23:21, 23:25, 23:35) on all of the holidays except for two, Shabbat and Yom Kippur. For Shabbat, it says that on “the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest” (Leviticus 23:3). Similarly, for Yom Kippur, it says that “It shall be a sabbath of complete rest” (Leviticus 23:32). In both instances, the Pasuk refers to the holiday as “שבת שבתון”, or “a shabbat of complete rest.” Why do Shabbat and Yom Kippur share the same wording? Oftentimes, when the Torah uses similar language it leaves it open to draw parallels between the two texts. The text seems to be comparing Shabbat to Yom Kippur, but the surrounding context makes it a parallel rather than an equivalent. When it refers to Shabbat it says, “it shall be a sabbath of Hashem” (Leviticus 23:3), but by Yom Kippur it says “you shall observe this your sabbath” (Leviticus 23:32). Based on this, the pasuk suggests that,
while Shabbat is the Sabbath of Hashem, Yom Kippur is the Sabbath of man, of the Jewish people.
The Torah commentator Chizkuni agrees with this interpretation of the text, saying that “the former is the Sabbath on which G-d had rested from the creation. The seventh day part of the Sabbath is never referred to as being Israel’s, it is always the Lord’s,” as well as Ibn Ezra, who says that the phrase “Keep your Sabbath” should be “compare[d] … to the Sabbath day, which is not called Israel’s Sabbath, but rather G-d’s Sabbath.” If Yom Kippur is the Shabbat of the holidays, that means that the other six holidays in Emor act as the other days of the week. For example, Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish Calendar, acts like Sunday, the first day of the Jewish work week.
However, Rosh Chodesh also does not have a direct connection to the number seven, ruining the distinction of Yom Kippur as the only holiday without this motif. The closest connection to seven is the seven-yearling lambs brought as a sacrifice, but in total, there are ten sacrifices made on Rosh Chodesh—not seven. A solution to this problem is that Rosh Chodesh isn’t included with the other holidays in Emor. Yom Kippur is the sole holiday in Emor specifically that seemingly lacked the connection to the number seven. This raises a new issue. Without Rosh Chodesh, the comparison between the days of the week and the Holidays commanded in the Torah is incomplete. Without Rosh Chodesh, there are six holidays, which creates an incomplete week. This too, however, has a solution in the text. Though not mentioned by name, Shemini Atzeret is another holiday commanded by Torah, included at the end of Sukkot. This brings the total number of holidays back to seven.
What can be learned from this? Sure, this gives an explanation for why Yom Kippur is so special, but what is the point of making this parallel if there is no deeper meaning? Just as the days of the week, which are not as holy as the Holidays, can be made analogous, so too, our own world, which is not as holy as the world to come, can reflect the holy as well. And just as the days of the week have Shabbat, the holiest day of the week, and the Holidays have Yom Kippur, the holiest of the holidays, so too, should Bnei Yisrael strive to be the holiest of this world, and be a “light unto the nations” (Isaiah 49:6).
Comments are closed.