Sunday, April 21, 2019

The Readings On The Holidays

The Mishna says in the last perek of Megilla [30b]:

בפסח קורין בפרשת מועדות של תורת כהנים בעצרת (דברים טז, ט) שבעה שבועות בראש השנה (ויקרא כג, כד) בחדש השביעי באחד לחדש ביוה"כ (ויקרא טז, א) אחרי מות ביו"ט הראשון של חג קורין בפרשת מועדות שבתורת כהנים ובשאר כל ימות החג בקרבנות החג

MISHNA: On the first day of Passover, the congregation reads from the portion of the Festivals of Leviticus (Leviticus 22:26–23:44). On Shavuot they read the portion of “Seven weeks” (Deuteronomy 16:9–12). On Rosh HaShana they read the portion of “And on the seventh month on the first of the month” (Leviticus 23:23–25). On Yom Kippur they read the portion of “After the death” (Leviticus 16). On the first Festival day of Sukkot they read from the portion of the Festivals of Leviticus (Leviticus 22:26–23:44), and on the other days of Sukkot they read selections from the portion of the offerings of Sukkot (Numbers 29:12–39).



בחנוכה (במדבר ז, ב) בנשיאים בפורים (שמות יז, ח) ויבא עמלק בראשי חדשים (במדבר כח, יא) ובראשי חדשיכם במעמדות במעשה בראשית בתעניות

On each day of Hanukkah they read selections from the portion of the dedication of the altar by the tribal princes (Numbers 7). On Purim they read the portion of “And Amalek came” (Exodus 17:8–16). On the New Moonthey read the portion of “And in the beginnings of your months” (Numbers 28:11–15). And in the non-priestly watches they read the act of Creation(Genesis 1:1–2:3). The Jewish people were divided into twenty-four watches. Each week, it would be the turn of a different watch to send representatives to Jerusalem to be present in the Temple to witness the sacrificial service. Those remaining behind would fast during the week, from Monday to Thursday, offer special prayers, and read the account of Creation from the Torah. On fast days,

ברכות וקללות אין מפסיקין בקללות אלא אחד קורא את כולן

they read the portion of blessings and curses (Leviticus, chapter 26). One should not interrupt the reading of the curses by having two different people read them. Rather, one person reads all of them.



בשני ובחמישי בשבת במנחה קורין כסדרן ואין עולים להם מן החשבון

On Mondays, and on Thursdays, and on Shabbat during the afternoon service, they read in accordance with the regular weekly order, i.e., they proceed to read the first section of the Torah portion that follows the portion that was read on the previous Shabbat morning. However, these readings are not counted as a progression in the reckoning of reading the Torah portions, i.e., they do not proceed on Monday to read the section that immediately follows the section read on Shabbat during the afternoon, and then the following section on Thursday. Rather, until the reading on the following Shabbat morning, they return to and read the same first section of the Torah portion that follows the portion that was read on the previous Shabbat morning.



שנאמר (ויקרא כג, מד) וידבר משה את מועדי ה' אל בני ישראל מצותן שיהו קורין כל אחד ואחד בזמנו:

On Festivals and holidays, they read a portion relating to the character of the day, as it is stated: “And Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the Lord” (Leviticus 23:44), which indicates that part of the mitzva of the Festivals is that the people should read the portion relating to them, each one in its appointed time.

Apparently, the pasuk quoted doesn't pertain to the latter halachos in the Mishna which are not about Moadim [Chanuka, Rosh Chodesh etc.] and should have been quoted immediately after the halachos of the readings on the Moadim. Why is it at the end?