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Sukah 55

1) THE "SONG OF THE DAY" ON SPECIAL DAYS

QUESTION: The Beraisa discusses the various Shirim that are recited on the different days of Chol ha'Mo'ed Sukos. Rashi explains that the Beraisa is referring to the Shir that is recited at the time of the Korban Musaf (as opposed to the Shir at the time of the Korban Tamid). Rashi's reasoning is that the Beraisa could not have been referring to the Shir of the Korban Tamid, because then the Gemara would have no proof from the Beraisa that on Shabbos Chol ha'Mo'ed only one Shir is recited during Musaf. When the Beraisa says that on Shabbos Chol ha'Mo'ed only one Shir is recited, it may be referring to the Shir of the Tamid, but at the time of the Musaf two Shirim are indeed sung. It must be that the Beraisa is referring to the Shir of Musaf, and even so only one Shir is sung for the two Musafim.

How, though, did the Gemara know that the Beraisa is talking about the Shir of Musaf? It seems that the Gemara took for granted that there is no special Shir for the Tamid on Chol ha'Mo'ed. The only unique Shir on Chol ha'Mo'ed is the one recited at the time of the Korban Musaf.

However, this contradicts the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (30b and 31a). The Gemara there states that it happened once, at the end of Elul, that witnesses who came to testify about the siting of the new moon arrived late in the day, after the afternoon Tamid had been brought. The Levi'im, unaware that that day was going to be declared Rosh ha'Shanah, mistakenly sang the weekday Shir at the time of the Tamid and not the Rosh ha'Shanah Shir that they were supposed to sing. The Gemara there goes on to list the unique Shirim of Rosh ha'Shanah and of Shabbos which are recited with *each of the three Korbanos* -- the two Temidim and the Musaf!

We see from the Gemara there that on festivals, the Shir of the Korban Tamid is also different! How are we to reconcile our Gemara, which says that the Shir of the Korban Tamid does not change on the festival, with the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah? (MINCHAS CHINUCH #312)

ANSWERS:

(a) The MINCHAS CHINUCH explains that the Shir of the Tamid is changed only on a day that is sanctified and on which Melachah is forbidden, such as Rosh ha'Shanah, Shabbos, and Yom Tov. However, Chol ha'Mo'ed and Rosh Chodesh -- days on which Melachah is permitted -- the normal Shir of the Tamid is recited. Since the Beraisa is discussing Chol ha'Mo'ed, the special Shir that it is discussing must be the one of the Korban Musaf. The TUREI EVEN (Rosh Hashanah 30b) says that on Rosh Chodesh there is no special Shir for the Tamid. He might have had in mind the same logic as the Minchas Chinuch.

(b) The Minchas Chinuch cites the RAMA MI'PANU (in Asarah Ma'amaros, Ma'amar "Em Kol Chai" 2:19), who says that the Shir of the Tamid changes only on Rosh Chodesh and Rosh ha'Shanah. The reason is the same reason that our Gemara (54b) gives to explain why the Shir of Musaf of Rosh Chodesh that falls on Shabbos is recited before the Shir of Shabbos. It is to publicize that Beis Din is certainly correct in their determination of the date of Rosh Chodesh. Likewise, on Rosh Chodesh the Shir of the Tamid is changed to show the people that the Beis Din is correct in their establishment of the day as Rosh Chodesh. On Rosh ha'Shanah, too, the Rabanan enacted that a special Shir be recited at the time of the Tamid, in order to publicize that Beis Din is correct in their establishment of the new month.

(This might be the intention of the RE'AH in Beitzah (4b) and the RAMBAM (Kidush ha'Chodesh 3:5) as well, who write that the same Kilkul described above (when the witnesses came late in the afternoon of Rosh ha'Shanah and the Levi'im said the wrong Shir) could occur on any Rosh Chodesh, "since every Rosh Chodesh has not only a Korban Musaf, but a special Shir," i.e., during the offering of the Tamid.)

(c) RAV Y. S. ELYASHEV says that perhaps Rosh ha'Shanah is unique out of all the festivals. Because of the day's special status as the Day of Judgement, the Rabanan established that a special Shir be recited at the time of the offering of the Tamid on Rosh ha'Shanah, a Shir which describes Matan Torah (Tehilim 29), in order to "mention the merit of the Shofar blasts of Matan Torah" (Rashi, Rosh ha'Shanah 30b, DH Kol). They did not establish a special Shir for the Korban Tamid of other festivals. (HE'AROS B'MASECHES SUKAH)

Although we find that Shabbos has a special Shir for the afternoon Tamid, as the Gemara says in Rosh Hashanah (30a), that Shir is recited because Shabbos is a separate day of the week, and in that capacity it deserves its own Shirim, for both the morning and the afternoon Tamid. True, a number of Rishonim write that no Shir at all was recited at the time of the afternoon Tamid, such as the TUR (OC 133) and ORCHOS CHAIM (cited by the BEIS YOSEF OC 133). However, this is clearly contradicted by the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah cited above, which states that on Shabbos and Rosh ha'Shanah a Shir *was* recited for the afternoon Tamid. The RAMBAM (Hilchos Temidim u'Musafim 6:9, 11) also writes that the same procedure was done for the afternoon Tamid as was done for the morning Tamid, implying that the same Shir was said for the afternoon Tamid. The SEDER OLAM (ch. 14), too, discusses a Shir that was said in the afternoon.

The DERISHAH and MAGEN AVRAHAM (OC 132:4) explain that the Tur agrees that there was a Shir in the afternoon; when the Tur says that there was no Shir, he means that it was not Me'akev, meaning that sometimes it would not be said -- such as when the Nesachim were brought after nightfall, because the Shir was said when the Nesachim were brought and the Shir could not be said at night, as TOSFOS (Rosh Hashanah 30b, DH v'Niskalkelu) says. (Alternatively the Tur may mean that a Shir is sung for the afternoon Tamid only on days during which Melachah is prohibited, but on Yom Tov or Shabbos a Shir is said.)

55b

AGADAH: The Mishnah discusses the number of Parim (cows) that were brought as Korbanos Olos each day of Sukos. The VILNA GA'ON (Kol Eliyahu #100) points out that the difference in the number of Parim brought each day sheds light on a strange change in the verses in the Torah (Bamidbar 29:16-34) that describe the Se'ir (goat) that was brought as a Chatas-offering each day of Sukos.

The verses which refer to the first, second, and fourth days of Sukos describe the goat as a "Se'ir *Izim*." In contrast, the verses which refer to the third, fifth, sixth, and seventh days call the goat a "Se'ir." What is the reason for this strange difference?

The Zohar (Tikunei Zohar) teaches that all of the 70 nations of the world are all under the authority of either Yishmael or Esav. There are 35 nations under the authority of Yishmael, and 35 nations under Esav.

In addition, the Zohar tells us that the term "Se'ir Izim" alludes to Yishmael, who was "Az" (brazen), whereas "Se'ir" alone alludes to Esav, who was an "Ish Sa'ir" (Bereishis 27:11). (We find, also, that reference is made in the Selichos of the Seventeenth of Tamuz to the "Tzefir" -- which is always used by the verse with the modifying word "Izim" as in "Tzefir *Izim*" -- and the "Se'ir," which refer to Yishmael and Esav, respectively).

As we have learned, the Korbanos we bring on Sukos atone for the 70 nations, 35 of which are under the dominion of Yishmael and 35 of which are under the dominion of Esav. The Korbanos of the first day are brought for the nations under the dominion of Yishmael, who was the older of the two. On the first and second days, when the cows that are offered atone for the nations under Yishmael's dominion, the Chatas-offering is also brought for those nations. Since the Chatas-offering of the first two days are brought for the nations under Yishmael, the verse which describes that offering calls it "Se'ir Izim," which refers to Yishmael!

However, the verse that describes the offerings of the third day does not say "Se'ir Izim." This is because that day's offerings are not brought for the nations under Yishmael, because if they were, there would be too many offerings for Yishmael's nations (13 are brought on the first day, 12 on the second day, and 11 on the third day, making a total of 36). Therefore, we wait until the fourth day to complete the Parim for the nations under Yishmael, coming to a total of 35 Parim for the 35 nations (13, 12, and 10).

The Korbanos of the other days -- the third, fifth, sixth, and seventh -- total 35 Parim (11, 9, 8, 7), which correspond to the 35 nations under Esav's dominion. For that reason, the verses which describe the Korbanos of those days say only "Se'ir," an allusion to Esav!

QUESTION: The Mishnah lists the Korbanos that are shared by all of the Mishmaros of Kohanim on the festival, and those which are offered and eaten only by the Mishmar of that week. The general rule is that any Korban that is brought because of the festival is shared by all of the Mishmaros, while any Korban that is not related to the festival is brought by the Kohanim of the Mishmar of that week. The only exception to this rule is the Lechem ha'Panim, which is not related to the Yom Tov, but is nevertheless eaten by all of the Mishmaros of Kohanim, as derived from a verse (Gemara 56a).

The Mishnah mentions an example of a situation in which two different flour- offerings are split among all of the Kohanim that are there on the Yom Tov. When Shavuos falls on Shabbos, the Shtei ha'Lechem (of Shavuos) and the Lechem ha'Panim (of Shabbos) are distributed among all of the Mishmaros. When giving out the loaves, it is pointed out to each Kohen that he is receiving a portion of the Shtei ha'Lechem (Chametz) and a portion of the Lechem ha'Panim (Matzah), to show that no Korban is being allocated in place of another Korban.

Why did the Mishnah choose the Shtei ha'Lechem as an example of a second flour-offering that is distributed to all of the Kohanim? It should have chosen the Korban ha'Omer as an example, which is brought 50 days before the Shtei ha'Lechem, on the 16th of Nisan, in a case when the 16th of Nisan falls on Shabbos! The Korban ha'Omer consists of barley flour, and the Lechem ha'Panim consists of wheat flour. The two have to be distributed equally (and one may not take the place of the other), and thus it would be pointed out to the recipient, "Here is your barley portion (the Korban ha'Omer), and here is your wheat portion (the Lechem ha'Panim)."

In addition, the RAMBAM (Hilchos Klei ha'Mikdash 4:5) lists all of the things that are distributed among all of the Kohanim on the Regel, but he does not mention the Korban ha'Omer. The MISHNAH LA'MELECH asks why the Rambam left out the Korban ha'Omer, and he leaves his question unanswered.

ANSWERS:

(a) The ARUCH LA'NER suggests that the verse cited by the Gemara (55b) teaches that the only Korbanos divided among all of the Mishmaros are the Korbanos that are brought primarily on the first day of the festival (that is, the main day of bringing the Korbanos is the first day). This is learned from the Derashah which teaches that all of the Kohanim share the Korbanos "when all of Israel enter through one gate [in order to be in one city, Yerushalayim, together]," and the only time that the enter the city is on the first day of Yom Tov. In contrast, the main day of bringing the Korban ha'Omer is the second day of the festival. Only the Korbanos for which one must come to Yerushalayim are the ones which are distributed to all of the Mishmaros. One does not come to Yerushalayim for the Omer -- in fact, the Torah permits one to return home on the morning of the first day of Chol ha'Mo'ed, as the Gemara says in Rosh Hashanah (5a). (Based on this, the Aruch la'Ner suggests that the Chazeh v'Shok of the Shalmei Simchah offered on the others days of the Chag might not be distributed to all the Mishmaros, because people do not have to stay in Yerushalayim for the end of the Chag.)

(b) RAV MORDECHAI RABIN (Rabinowitz) of Har Nof, Yerushalayim (formerly of London) explains that the Korban ha'Omer differs from the other Korbanos distributed on the festival. The Korban ha'Omer is not a Korban brought because of the *festival of Pesach*. It is brought because of the day of the 16th of Nisan. Although the day happens to be the second day of Pesach, the Korban itself is unrelated to Pesach. The Shtei ha'Lechem, on the other hand, and all the other Korbanos that are listed in the Mishnah, are brought because of the Yom Tov. The Shtei ha'Lechem is brought on the 50th day after the Omer, which is the way the Torah defines the festival of Shavuos. If so, the Shtei ha'Lechem is considered a Korban brought due to the festival. Since the Korban ha'Omer was not brought because of the festival, it was given only to the Mishmar of that week, and that is why the Mishnah does not mention it among the other Korbanos which are divided among all of the Kohanim.