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Posts: 7963
Sun, 17-Jun-12 18:00:57
The word shabbat is derived from the root שבת and essentially signifies a day on which we pause from our regular daily working; it is therefore equally as applicable to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the first and last days of Pĕsaḥ and Sukkot, and to Shavu'ot as it is to the regular weekly holiday that occurs every Saturday.Moreover, as the Talmud points out (Treatise M'naḥot, folio 66a), Vayikra 23:15 doesn’t tell us which “Saturday” to start counting from—all it says is “start counting from the day after the shabbat”. If the word shabbat in that verse were intended to mean a Saturday, which one should we choose? The one before the first day of Pĕsaḥ or the one after it (i.e. the one during the festival)? Or maybe the Saturday after Pĕsaḥ has ended? Or perhaps the Saturday closest to the first day of Pĕsaḥ? There are almost endless possibilities, and the Torah is never that vague and imprecise. Consequently that can’t possibly be the meaning.
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