The holidays play a significant role in our religious consciousness. Across the year, these appointed times draw our attention to different themes and include diverse mitzvot. In Parshat Emor, the Torah outlines and discusses the major holidays.

ויקרא כג (ב) דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם מוֹעֲדֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־תִּקְרְא֥וּ אֹתָ֖ם מִקְרָאֵ֣י קֹ֑דֶשׁ אֵ֥לֶּה הֵ֖ם מוֹעֲדָֽי׃

Vayikra 23 (2) Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The Lord's appointed [holy days] that you shall designate as holy occasions. These are My appointed [holy days].

The Rambam’s monumental Mishne Torah, his restatement of the Oral Torah oriented towards the performance of Mitzvot, is divided into 14 books.

רמב"ם חלוקת המצוות

ספר שלישי, אכלול בו המצוות שהם בזמנים ידועים, כגון שבת ומועדות. וקראתי שם ספר זה ספר זמנים.

Rambam - Division of Mitzvot

THIRD BOOK. I include therein all the precepts to be fulfilled at stated periods, such as Sabbaths and Festivals. I have called this book: The Book of Seasons.

The 3rd book focuses on the holidays. He introduces each of his 14 books with a verse. The verse he chose to introduce the 3rd book, is the following:

תהלים קי”ט (קיא) נָחַ֣לְתִּי עֵדְוֺתֶ֣יךָ לְעוֹלָ֑ם כִּֽי־שְׂשׂ֖וֹן לִבִּ֣י הֵֽמָּה׃

Tehilim 119(111) I inherited Your testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

This verse is interpreted in varied ways by the commentators, but the Ibn Ezra’s interpretation closely aligns with the Rambam:

אבן עזרא פירוש שני תהלים קי"ט:קי"א

נחלתי – הטעם היא נחלתי שאשמח בה. ועדותיך – הם הנפלאות שעשית שהעתיקו אבותי ואני אשמח כאילו אני עד הייתי בימים ההם.

English Ibn Ezra {book} Second Commentary Tehillim 119:111

The meaning of have I taken as a heritage [… forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart] is, “they are my heritage in which I will rejoice.” Thy testimonies refer to the wonders that God performed and that our fathers transmitted to us. [The psalmist says,] “I will rejoice in them as if I witnessed them in those days.”

Our verse describes an inheritance which we rejoice in. The Ibn Ezra explains that it refers to the awesome experiences performed by the Almighty, formulated and codified by our forefathers into a heritage which we re-experience. The term Moed is related to the Hebrew word Eid, meaning a witness. We engage with these inheritances as if we had seen them with our own eyes. An outstanding example is the formulation in the Hagadah based on the Talmud (Mishna Pesachim 10:5, Bavli Pesachim 116b):

רמב"ם חמץ ומצה ח – נוסח ההגדה

ובכל דור ודור חייב אדם להראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים, שלא את אבותינו בלבד גאל, אלא אותנו גאל, שנאמר "ואותנו הוציא משם למען הביא אותנו לתת לנו את הארץ אשר נשבע לאבותינו" (דברים ו’:כ”ג):

Rambam - Laws of Chametz and Matzah - Text of the Hagadah

In every generation, a person is obligated to regard himself as if he had left Egypt. It was not only our ancestors whom the Holy One, blessed be He, redeemed from Egypt; rather, He redeemed us, as it is stated:"He brought us out from there, so that He might bring us to the land He promised our fathers, and give it to us."

The Rambam codifies this explicitly:

רמב"ם חמץ ומצה ז

(ו) בכל דור ודור חייב אדם להראות את עצמו כאילו הוא בעצמו יצא עתה משיעבוד מצרים, שנאמר "ואותנו הוציא משם" (דברים ו':כ"ג). ועל דבר זה ציוה בתורה "וזכרת כי עבד היית" (דברים ה':י"ד), כלומר כאילו אתה בעצמך היית עבד ויצאת לחירות ונפדיתה:

Rambam - Laws of Chametz and Matzah 7

In each and every generation, a person must present himself as if he, himself, has now left the slavery of Egypt, as [Deuteronomy 6:23] states: "He took us out from there." Regarding this manner, God commanded in the Torah: "Remember that you were a slave [Deuteronomy 5:15]" - i.e., as if you, yourself, were a slave and went out to freedom and were redeemed.

According to the Talmud, Hagadah, and the Rambam, one is required to re-experience the events of the exodus from Egypt “as if he himself right now left the enslavement of Egypt”. The holidays are structured to bring to life the events of the past. This is expressed by the Rav as follows:

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik - “Counting Time”

We not only know our history, we also live it. The latter experience is, to us, not knowledge of the past, a mere narrative about events that took place once upon a time, but repetition: re-experiencing and reliving those events. Many halakhot are related to our experiential memory, to the unique phenomenon of emotional–not intellectual–recollection. We are close to the Biblical heroic-dramatic events in a manner unknown and incomprehensible to other nations. The Halakhah requires of us that we continue and sustain this intimacy with and closeness to people and mysterious, distant events by engaging in a series of deeds capable of keeping the memory alive. Passover, Tish’ah be-Av, and many other halakhic institutions rest upon this miraculous, uncanny memory, which shifts events from a dead past into a living present.

The Rav’s comments are consistent with the theme articulated by the Ibn Ezra and codified by the Talmud and the Rambam. Holidays are distinct periods of time set aside to re-experience aspects of our history. These experiences help us engage with fundamental themes. It is an ancient form of experiential education. Beyond learning about the exodus from Egypt, we re-enact and retell the story as if we were there, eat matzah, and see ourselves as participants. We not only learn about the giving of the Torah, we prepare ourselves to receive it again. We celebrate the holiday of Sukkot, but also leave our homes and live in temporary structures. The holidays help us see our history from an experiential vantage point, shifting our frame of reference, and hopefully bringing us to new ideas and perspectives which can inform our approach to our present and our future.

References

Ibn Ezra, E., Strickman, H. N., & Silver, A. M. (1996). Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pslams. New York: Menorah Publishing Company, Inc. Retrieved from: https://mg.alhatorah.org/Full/Tehillim/119.110#e0n6

Maimonides, M., Touger, E., Kaplan, B., Abramson, Z., & Silverstein, S. (2007). Mishneh Torah. New York: Moznaim Pub. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/682956/jewish/Mishneh-Torah.htm

Rosenberg, A. (1980). A new English translation of the Hebrew Bible text and Rashi, with a commentary digest. New York: Judaica Press. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/

Soloveitchik, J. D. (2006). Festival of freedom: Essays on Pesah and the Haggadah. New York: KTAV Publ. House.

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