GOD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelite people and say to them:
When you enter the land that I am giving to you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest. He shall elevate the sheaf before GOD for acceptance in your behalf; the priest shall elevate it on the day after the sabbath. On the day that you elevate the sheaf, you shall offer as a burnt offering to GOD a lamb of the first year without blemish. The grain offering with it shall be two-tenths of a measure of choice flour with oil mixed in, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to GOD; and the libation with it shall be of wine, a quarter of a hin. Until that very day, until you have brought the offering of your God, you shall eat no bread or parched grain or fresh ears;^abread or parched grain or fresh ears Of the new crop. it is a law for all time throughout the ages in all your settlements. And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to GOD. You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering; each shall be made of two-tenths of a measure of choice flour, baked after leavening, as first fruits to GOD. With the bread you shall present, as burnt offerings to GOD, seven yearling lambs without blemish, one bull of the herd, and two rams, with their grain offerings and libations, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to GOD. You shall also offer one he-goat as a purgation offering and two yearling lambs as a sacrifice of well-being. The priest shall elevate these—the two lambs^b—the two lambs— Force of Heb. construction uncertain.—together with the bread of first fruits as an elevation offering before GOD; they shall be holy to GOD, for the priest. On that same day you shall hold a celebration; it shall be a sacred occasion for you; you shall not work at your occupations. This is a law for all time in all your settlements, throughout the ages. And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I the ETERNAL am your God.

You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for the ETERNAL your God, offering your freewill contribution according as the ETERNAL your God has blessed you. You^eYou See note at 12.5. shall rejoice before the ETERNAL your God with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite^fthe Levite See the second note at 12.12. in your communities, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your midst, at the place where the ETERNAL your God will choose to establish the divine name. Bear in mind that you were slaves in Egypt, and take care to obey these laws.

Seven days you shall make offerings by fire to GOD. The seventh day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations.

The commandment of the sacrifice of the omer of barley: That we offer on the second day of Pesach, beyond the additional offering of the rest of the days of Pesach, a one-year old sheep for a burnt-offering and one omer of barley, that is called the omer of waving — as it is stated (Leviticus 23:10-11), “When you come to the Land, etc., you shall bring the omer, the beginning of your harvest, etc. And he shall wave the omer in front of the Lord from the morrow of the Shabbat.” And Onkelos translates, “after the holiday” — meaning to say, on the second day of Pesach. As behold, it is referring to Pesach in the section before this. And it is stated there (Leviticus 23:12), “And you shall make on the day of your waving the omer an unblemished one-year-old sheep, etc.” And this sacrifice of the omer is called the offering of the first fruits. And it is a hint to this when He, may He be blessed, says (Leviticus 2:14), “And if you shall bring an offering of the first-fruits to the Lord, new roasted with fire, etc.” And the language of Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael 22:24 is “Each and every ‘if’ in the Torah is optional, etc. except for three that are obligatory and this is one of them.” And they said there, “You say it is an obligation or is it only optional? [Hence] we learn to say, “you shall offer the offering of your first fruits” — [it is] an obligation and not optional. And the matter of the offering is thus (Menachot 63b): That they would bring three seah of barley, and they would take out one issaron from all of it, which they would sift with thirteen sieves. And the rest would be redeemed and eaten by any person. And it is liable for the challah-tithe but exempted from the [other] tithes. And we take this issaron of fine barley flour and we mix it with a log of oil and place a handful of frankincense upon it — like the other meal-offerings. And the priest waves it in the East — he extends [it] and brings [it back], raises [it] and lowers [it] — and presents it across from the point of the southwest corner, like the other meal-offerings. And he takes a handful and incinerates [it], and the rest is eaten by the priests, like the remainders of all of the meal-offerings (Menachot 67b). It is from the roots of the commandment [that it is] in order that we contemplate, through [this] deed, the great kindness that God, blessed be He, does for His creatures, to renew the grain each year for [our] nourishment. Therefore it is fitting for us that we should sacrifice to Him, blessed be He, from it — so that we remember His kindness and His great goodness before we benefit from it. And from that which we become fitting for blessing by the refinement of our deeds in front of Him, our grain will be blessed, and God’s will for us will be fulfilled — as He desires blessing for His creatures, from His great goodness. And we were commanded about this on the second [day] of Pesach and not on the first, so that we not mix [one] joy with [another] joy — as the first is prepared to remember the great miracle that He, blessed be He, took us out from slavery to freedom and from anguish to joy. From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Menachot 68b) that the commandment of the omer is to bring it from barley — and not from wheat, nor spelt, oats or rye — and from what is close to Jerusalem that came out first. If the close ones did not come out, they would bring it from another place in the Land of Israel. And its commandment is to harvest it on the night of the sixteenth of Nissan — whether on [a weekday] or whether on Shabbat. And its commandment is from the [barley that is] damp (fresh) — its explanation [is that it] is in order that its being a first-fruit is more visible and recognizable to the eye. And all of the cities that are close to there gather, in order that it is harvested with a big deal. And all of this is from the root that we wrote — so that they can give their hearts to the word of God, may He be blessed, through the deed and the joy. And three men with three baskets and three sickles would harvest these three seah (Menachot 63b, 65a). And when it got dark, the harvester says to those standing there, “Did the sun set?” They say to him, “Yes,” three times. “This sickle?” They say, “Yes,” also three times. “This basket?” They say, “Yes” also three times. “Should I harvest?” They say to him, “Harvest,” three times. And why so much? Because of those in error, who left from [being in the people of] Israel at the [time of] the Second [Temple], and would say that that which it is stated in the Torah, “from the morrow of the Shabbat,” is the Shabbat of creation (the seventh day of the week). And the rest of its details are fully elucidated in Menachot. (See Mishneh Torah, Laws of Daily Offerings and Additional Offerings 7.) And this commandment is practiced at the time of the [Temple] with males. And even Israelites are obligated to make efforts with this commandment, as behold the messengers of the court go out and make bundles in the field from the eve of the holiday, and as is explained in Menachot 65a. But nonetheless, the main obligation is the offering, the waving, the presenting, the taking of a handful and the incineration — and all of this is with the priests. And nonetheless since there is a portion in it for all of Israel and the foundation of the commandment is because of the renewal of the grain — which is something that is a necessary thing for all — we should write it in the tally of the commandments that are incumbent upon all the Children of Israel.

The commandment of counting the omer: To count forty-nine days from the bringing of the omer which is on the sixteenth day of Nissan, as it is stated (Leviticus 23:15), “And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbat from the day of your bringing the omer of waving.” And this tallying is an obligation, and it is upon us to count the days on each day and, likewise, the weeks. As Scripture said to count fifty days and also said (Deuteronomy 16:9), “Seven weeks shall you count for yourself.” And in explanation, Abbaye said in the Gemara in Menachot 66a, “It is a commandment to tally the days and it is a commandment to tally the weeks.” (See Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandments 161.) And there are some of the commentators (see the end of Ran on Pesachim) who opine that the intention of the verse is to tally the weeks specifically when they are full, but there is no need to mention [them] every day and say that they are such-and-such days and such-and-such weeks. And there are some that say (Rosh in his Responsa 24:13) that the [proper] way is to mention the tally of weeks with the days always on every day. And one who fears the Heavens will choose their way to remove [himself] from any doubt, and not be concerned about the elegance of the words. And so have they practiced today in all places of which we have heard. And Rambam, may his memory be blessed, wrote (Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandments 161), “And do not be misled by their, may their memory be blessed, saying [that] it is a commandment to tally days and it is a commandment to tally weeks, and think that they are two commandments. As the intention of this is not to say that it be a commandment on its own, but [rather] it is a part of the [different] parts of the commandment. However, it would have been two commandments had they said, ‘The tally of the days is a commandment and the tally of the weeks is a commandment.’ And this is what will not be hidden from one who is exact in the thing and elucidates it — that when you say, ‘It is obligated that he do such and such,’ it is not obligatory from this statement that this matter be a commandment on its own. And the proof that elucidates this is our tallying the weeks as well on each night, in our saying that they are such-and-such weeks and such-and-such days. And if the weeks were a commandment on their own, their tally would have only been arranged on the nights of the [ends of] the weeks alone. And they would have had two blessings: ‘and commanded us about the counting of the days of the omer’; and ‘about the counting of the weeks of the omer’ — but the matter is not like this. [Rather] the commandment of the counting of the omer is its days and its weeks, as we have written.” To here [are his words]. It is from the roots of the commandment from the angle of the simple understanding [that it is] since the entire essence of Israel is only the Torah, and because of the Torah were the heavens and earth created, and as it is stated (Jeremiah 33:25), “Were it not for my covenant day and night, etc.” And it is the essence and the reason that they were redeemed and left from Egypt — in order that they receive the Torah at Sinai, and fulfill it. And [it is] like God said to Moshe (Exodus 3:12), “And this will be the sign for you that I have sent you; when you take out the people from Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.” And the understanding of the verse is [that] your taking them out from Egypt is a sign for you that you shall worship God on this mountain — meaning that you shall receive the Torah, which is the great principle for which they were redeemed and it is their ultimate good. And it is a great matter for them, more than freedom from slavery. And hence God made a sign of their leaving Egypt for the receiving of the Torah; as we always make what is secondary into a sign for what is the essence. And because of this — that it is [the] essence of Israel, and because of it were they redeemed and went up to all of the greatness to which they rose — we were commanded to tally from the morrow of the holiday of Pesach until the day of the giving of the Torah; to show about ourselves the great desire [we have] for the honored day, which our hearts yearn [for] like “a slave seeks shade” and always tallies when will come the yearned-for time that he goes out to freedom. As the tally shows about a man that all of his deliverance and all of his desire is to reach that time. And that which we count to the omer, meaning, “Such-and-such days have passed from the tally,” and we do not tally “Such-and-such days do we have to the time,” is because all of this shows us the great desire to reach the time [of Shavuot]. Therefore, we do not want to mention at the beginning of our counting the large number of days that we have to reach the offering of the two breads of [Shavuot]. And let it not be difficult for you, to say, “If so, after most of the days of these seven weeks have passed, why do we not mention the minority of the remaining days?” [It is] as one should not change the nature of the counting in the middle. And if you shall ask, “If so, why do we begin counting from the day after [Pesach] and not from the first day?” The answer [is that] it is because the first day is entirely dedicated to remembering the great miracle, which is the exodus from Egypt, that is a sign and a proof of the world having been created and of God’s — may He be blessed — providence over people. And we may not mix [something else into] its joy and mention anything else with it. And as such, the counting begins immediately from the second day. And we should not say, “Today is such-and-such days from the second day of Pesach” — as the count would not be fitting to say, “From the second day.” And therefore it was ordained to count the tally from that which is done on it — and this is the omer-offering, which is a significant sacrifice. As through it is the remembrance that we believe that God, blessed be He, wants — through His providence over people — to sustain them and [so] renews for them the seed of the grains in each and every year, to live through them. From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Menachot 66a) that it is a commandment to tally them from the evening so that they be complete. As the verse stated, “complete shall they be” — and they, may their memory be blessed, said, “From when are they complete? From when he begins from the evening.” And nonetheless, the commentators (Tosafot in the name of Behag on Menachot, s.v. zecher) explained that if he forgot and did not tally from the evening, he [may] tally on the morrow the whole day. And some say there that one who forgot and did not tally one day may not tally again that year, since they are all one commandment; and since he forgot one day from them, the entire count is negated for him. And our teacher in our generation did not concede to this reasoning. Rather, one who forgot a day should say, “Yesterday was such,” without a blessing; and tally the other [days] with all of Israel. And it is a choice [fulfillment] of the commandment to tally [while] standing (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Daily Offerings and Additional Offerings 7:23). And he recites the blessing, “Who has sanctified us, etc.” And one who has tallied without a blessing has fulfilled [the commandment], and [hence] he is not permitted to return and tally with a blessing (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Daily Offerings and Additional Offerings 7:25). And the rest of its details are in Tractate Menachot. (See Tur, Orach Chaim 479.) And this commandment of counting the omer is practiced from Torah writ in every place by males at the time of the [Temple], such that the omer is there; and rabbinically in all places, even when the omer is not offered. And one who transgresses it and does not count these days has violated a positive commandment.

The commandment of the sacrifice of the new meal-offering from wheat on the day of [Shavuot]: To sacrifice leavened bread from the new wheat on the day of the festival of Shavuot. And that is what is called in Scripture, “a new offering” (Leviticus 23:15). And they are two loaves, as it is written (Leviticus 23:16), “From your inhabitations you shall bring bread of waving, two of two issaron.” And the matter was such that they would bring three seah of new wheat and rub them and pound them in the way of all of the meal-offerings. And they would grind them and sift two issaron in twelve sieves. And they would take them and make two loaves from them and bring leavening (Menachot 52b) and put it into the issaron. And the length of each loaf was three handbreadths and its width was four, and its height was [the span of] four fingers (Menachot 96a). And they were square; and they were baked on the eve of the holiday. And on the morrow after their waving, they were eaten by the priests that whole day and half the night (Menachot 100b). And that meal-offering is the first of all of the meal-offerings [of that crop] of wheat. And with the bread, they would sacrifice seven unblemished sheep, one young bull and two rams for a burnt-offering, a goat for a sin-offering and two lambs for a peace-offering — and these are the sacrifices spoken about in [the Book of Numbers]. All of this was brought with the bread besides the additional offering of the day which was two bulls, one ram and seven lambs for a burnt-offering, and one goat for a sin-offering — and these are the sacrifices spoken about in the Book of Leviticus. And it was elucidated explicitly so in the fourth chapter of Menachot 45b that this sacrifice would come with the bread, separate from the additional sacrifice of the day. And after the waving of the bread, it was eaten by the priests with the lambs of the peace-offerings. I have written from that which also suffices for the roots of the commandment of the two breads in the commandment of the omer, from the angle of the simple understanding. And my heart also tells me about the matter that because of [the following] was the commandment of wheat to be an offering of loaves of bread, and in the offering of barley with flour. Since wheat is for the food of man — and so it is fitting to prepare it in a way that man would enjoy and be nourished from it. And all of this is from the root that we planted at the beginning of the matter of the sacrifice from the angle of the simple understanding — that through the deed is the thought of a man aroused to things (Sefer HaChinukh 95). And therefore, according to the importance of the sacrifice and its goodly preparation is the heart of a man more aroused to it. From the laws of the commandment is that which they said (Menachot 73b) that if they did not find new [wheat], they can bring it from the [storehouse]; and that one should not bring wheat that descended from the clouds at the outset, because there is a doubt if I call this, “from your inhabitations,” or not. But if he brought it, it is fit. The kneading of the two breads and their forming is outside [the courtyard] and its baking is inside, like all of the meal-offerings. And their baking does not push off [the prohibition of work on] the holiday, as it is stated (Exodus 12:16), “shall be done for you” — and not for the higher realm. The waving of the bread with the lambs of the peace-offerings was done while they were still alive. And the high priest takes one of the loaves, and the second is divided for all of the shifts. And the rest of its details are elucidated in Menachot, Chapters 4, 5, 8 and 11. (See Mishneh Torah, Laws of Daily Offerings and Additional Offerings 8.) And this commandment is practiced by the males, etc. like we have written in the commandment of the omer.

To not do work on the day of the holiday of Shavuot: To not do work on the day of [Shavuot] — which is the sixth day of Sivan, as it is stated (Leviticus 23:15-16), “And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbat, etc. you shall count fifty days, etc.” And the understanding of “from the morrow of the Shabbat,” is meaning to say, the morrow of the first holiday of Pesach, about which it was speaking first. As if it was the Shabbat of creation (the seventh day of the week) — if so, it will not have informed us which. And it comes out that the fifty days end on the sixth of Sivan. How is this? Fifteen days from Nissan, which is always full (consisting of thirty days); and twenty-nine days of Iyar, which is always lacking (consisting of twenty-nine days); and six days of Sivan — behold, [that is] fifty. And this fiftieth day — which was the day that the Torah was given — is the holiday of the Assembly (atseret), and it is also called the holiday of Shavuot (Weeks). And it is also written at the end of the section about this glorious day (Leviticus 23:21), “all work of labor shall you not do” — we have already written that any labor that is not for the needs of food for the soul is called, work of labor. The root of the commandment of this appointed time is hinted in the commandment of the counting of the omer (Sefer HaChinukh 306) — and take it from there. And I have written some of its laws — as is my custom — in the commandment of the resting from work on the first day of Pesach in this Order (Sefer HaChinukh 298). And there is no need to write at length about the rest of the appointed times of the year. As the six well-known days of the appointed times of the year — and they are the first and seventh [days] of Pesach, the first and eighth days of the Holiday [Sukkot], Atseret [Shavuot] and Rosh Hashanah — all have one law for all of their dispensations and all of their prohibitions. And the elucidation of all of its laws at length is in the tractate that is built on this, and that is Tractate Beitzah. (See Tur, Orach Chaim 496.)

There are ten grades of holiness: the land of Israel is holier than all other lands. And what is the nature of its holiness? That from it are brought the omer, the firstfruits and the two loaves, which cannot be brought from any of the other lands.

Some have the custom to cut their hair on Rosh Chodesh Iyyar, but this is a mistake. Rema: However, in many places, the custom is to cut their hair until Rosh Chodesh Iyyar, and they do not cut their hair from Lag BaOmer forward, even though it is permitted to cut one's hair on Lag BaOmer itself. But those places who have the custom to cut their hair from Lag BaOmer onwards, do not cut at all after Pesach until Lag BaOmer. And within one city, it should not be that some follow one custom, and some follow another, because of "lo titgodedu" ("do not cut yourselves" - Deut. 14:1, interpreted in Yevamot 13b as "lo te'asu agudot agudot," "Do not become seperate groups"); all the more so, one may not follow both leniencies.

And which is the fourth Shabbat? The Shabbat of whichever week during which the New Moon of Nisan occurs, and this is the case even if it occurs on Friday. § The mishna states: On the fifth Shabbat, we resume the regular weekly order. The Gemara clarifies the mishna’s intent: To the order of what does one resume? Rabbi Ami said: One resumes the regular weekly order of Torah portions. Rabbi Ami holds that on the weeks on which the special portions are read, the regular weekly Torah portion is not read at all, and therefore the cycle is resumed only on the fifth Shabbat. Rabbi Yirmeya said: One resumes the regular weekly order of the haftarot. Rabbi Yirmeya holds that even on the Shabbatot on which the special portions are read, the regular weekly portion is still read; the special portion is read by the last reader as the maftir. However, the haftara of the regular cycle is entirely replaced with a portion from the Prophets that parallels the special portion. As such, it is the cycle of haftarot that is resumed on the fifth Shabbat. Abaye said: It stands to reason that one should rule in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ami, as we learned in the mishna: For all special days, we interrupt the regular order of readings, and a special portion relating to the character of the day is read. This applies to the New Moons, to Hanukkah, and to Purim, to fast days, and to non-priestly watches, and to Yom Kippur. Abaye explains his proof: Granted, according to the one who said that one resumes the regular weekly order of Torah portions, this statement in the mishna is referring to the fact that there is a reading of the weekly Torah portion on weekdays. If one of the special days listed in the mishna occurs on Monday or Thursday, the weekly Torah reading is replaced by the special portion for that day. However, according to one who said that one resumes the regular weekly order of haftarot, what could the mishna mean when it says that the regular cycle is interrupted? Is there a haftara on weekdays? The mishna therefore supports Rabbi Ami’s opinion. And the other one, Rabbi Yirmeya, would counter: This case is as it is, and that case is as it is. On days when there is a haftara, the reference in the mishna is to the order of the haftarot. On weekdays, when there is no haftara, the reference is to the order of the Torah readings. Therefore, no proof can be deduced from the mishna. The Gemara asks: But on fast days, why do I need to have any interruption of the regular order of Torah readings? Let us read in the morning the regular weekly portion of the matter of the day, and in the afternoon service let us read the portion of a fast day. The Gemara comments: This supports the statement of Rav Huna, for Rav Huna said: From the morning of communal fasts, a gathering is held in the synagogue. The community leaders examine the conduct of the townspeople and admonish those whose behavior is found wanting. Therefore, there is no time in the morning to read the Torah portion for fast days. The Gemara asks: What does the community do on a public fast day? Abaye said: From the morning until the middle of the day, the community gathers in the synagogue, and the leaders examine the affairs of the town to determine whether and how the people’s conduct needs to be improved. From the middle of the day until the evening, a quarter of the day is spent reading from the Torah and reading the haftara, and a quarter of the day is spent praying, as it is stated: “And they read in the book of the Torah of the Lord their God one quarter of the day, and a quarter of the day they confessed, and they prostrated themselves before the Lord their God” (Nehemiah 9:3). The Gemara objects: But perhaps I should reverse the order, and the first half of the day should be spent reading from the Torah and praying, and the second half of the day should be spent examining the affairs of the townspeople. The Gemara answers: It should not enter your mind to say this, as it is written: “Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel due to the transgression of the exiles gathered around me, and I sat appalled until the evening offering” (Ezra 9:4), and it is written in the next verse: “And at the evening offering I arose from my fast, and having rent my garment and my mantle; I fell on my knees, and I spread out my hands to the Lord my God” (Ezra 9:5). This indicates that the first half of a public fast should be dedicated to an inspection of the community’s behavior, and the rest of the day should be devoted to prayer. 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). 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 Moon they 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,

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. 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. 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. GEMARA: The Sages taught in a baraita: On the first day of Passover, the congregation reads from the portion of the Festivals (Leviticus 22:26–23:44), and they read as the haftara the account of the Passover celebrated at Gilgal (Joshua 5:2–14). The Gemara comments: And nowadays, in the Diaspora, when there are two Festival days of Passover, on the first day they read as the haftara the account of the Passover celebrated at Gilgal, and on the next day they read from the account of the Passover observed by Josiah (II Kings 23). The baraita continues: And on the other days of Passover, one collects and reads from various Torah portions of matters relating to Passover. The Gemara asks: What are these portions? Rav Pappa said: A mnemonic for them is mem, alef, peh vav. Each letter stands for a different reading: Mem for the portion of: “Draw out [mishkhu] and take your lambs” (Exodus 12:21–51); alef for the portion of “If [im] you lend money to any of My people” (Exodus 22:24–23:19); peh for the portion of “Hew [pesol] for yourself” (Exodus 34:1–26); and vav for the portion “And the Lord spoke [vaydabber]” (Numbers 9:1–14). The baraita continues: On the last Festival day of Passover, they read the portion of “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh let the people go” (Exodus 13:17–15:26), because it includes the account of the splitting of the Red Sea, and they read as the haftara the portion “And David spoke” (II Samuel 22), which is the song of David. And in the Diaspora, on the next day, the eighth day of Passover, they read the portion “All the firstborns” (Deuteronomy 15:19–16:17), and they read as the haftara the portion of “This very day” (Isaiah 10:32–12:6), because it discusses the downfall of Sennacherib, which occurred on the night of Passover. Abaye said: And nowadays, on the eight days of Passover in the Diaspora, everyone is accustomed to read portions that are indicated by the mnemonic phrase: Draw the bull, sanctify with money, hew in the wilderness, send the firstborn. This alludes to the following portions: “Draw out and take your lambs” (Exodus 12:21–51) and “A bull or a sheep” (Leviticus 22:26–23:44); “Sanctify to Me all the firstborn” (Exodus 13:1–16) and “If you lend money to any of My people” (Exodus 22:24–23:19); “Hew for yourself” (Exodus 34:1–26) and “And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai” (Numbers 9:1–14); “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh let the people go” (Exodus 13:17–15:26) and “All the firstborns” (Deuteronomy 15:19–16:17). The baraita continues: On Shavuot they read the portion of “Seven weeks,” and they read as the haftara from Habakkuk, chapter 2, since it mentions the giving of the Torah at Sinai. Others say: They read the portion of “In the third month” (Exodus 19:1–20:23), which describes the giving of the Torah, and they read as the haftara from the account of the Divine Chariot (Ezekiel 1). The Gemara comments: And nowadays, in the Diaspora, when there are two days of Shavuot, we act in accordance with both opinions, but in the reverse order. On the first day they read the portion of “In the third month,” and on the second day they read the portion of “Seven weeks.” The baraita continues: On Rosh HaShana they read the portion of “On the seventh month on the first of the month” (Numbers 29:1–6) and they read as the haftara “Is Ephraim My dear son?” (Jeremiah 31:1–20), as it contains the verse: “I earnestly remember him still,” which recalls God’s love for His people. And some say that they read “And the Lord visited Sarah” (Genesis 21), which describes how God blessed her that she should have a child, and, according to tradition, God blessed her on Rosh HaShana. And they read as the haftara from the account of Hannah (I Samuel 1:1–2:10), who, according to tradition, was also blessed on Rosh HaShana that she should have a child. The Gemara comments: And nowadays, when there are two days of Rosh HaShana, on the first day they read Genesis 21 in accordance with the opinion cited as: Some say. And on the next day they read “And God tested Abraham” (Genesis 22), in order to mention the merit of the binding of Isaac on the day of God’s judgment, and they read as the haftara “Is Ephraim My dear son?” The baraita continues: On Yom Kippur they read the portion of “After the death” (Leviticus 16), and they read as the haftara the portion of “For thus says the High and Lofty One” (Isaiah 57:14–58:14), which deals with fasting and repentance. And during the afternoon service they read from the portion detailing forbidden sexual relations (Leviticus 18) to convey the severity of these transgressions, so that if anyone transgressed any of these prohibitions he will repent on Yom Kippur. And they read as the haftara the book of Jonah, which mentions the repentance of the people of Nineveh. Having mentioned the haftara read on Yom Kippur, the Gemara cites that which Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Wherever you find a reference in the Bible to the might of the Holy One, Blessed be He, you also find a reference to His humility adjacent to it. Evidence of this fact is written in the Torah, repeated in the Prophets, and stated a third time in the Writings. It is written in the Torah: “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords” (Deuteronomy 10:17), and it is written immediately afterward: “He executes the judgment of the fatherless and widow” (Deuteronomy 10:18), displaying his humility in caring for even the weakest parts of society. It is repeated in the Prophets: “For thus says the High and Lofty One that inhabits eternity, Whose name is sacred” (Isaiah 57:15), and it is written immediately afterward: “In the high and holy place I dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15). It is stated a third time in the Writings, as it is written: “Extol Him Who rides upon the clouds, Whose name is the Lord” (Psalms 68:5), and it is written immediately afterward: “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of widows” (Psalms 68:6). The baraita continues: On the first Festival day of Sukkot, they read from the portion of the Festivals found in Leviticus (Leviticus 22:26–23:44), and they read as the haftara the portion of “Behold the day of the Lord comes” (Zechariah 14), which mentions the festival of Sukkot. The Gemara comments: And nowadays, in the Diaspora, when there are two Festival days of Sukkot, on the next day, they read the same Torah portion. But what do they read as the haftara? They read the portion of “And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon” (I Kings 8:2–21), which describes events that took place on the festival of Sukkot. The baraita continues: And on all the other days of Sukkot, they read selections from the portion of the offerings of Sukkot found in the book of Numbers, chapter 29. On the last Festival day of Sukkot, i.e., the Eighth Day of Assembly, they read the portion of “All the firstborns,” starting with the portion of “You shall tithe,” since it includes many mitzvot and statutes relating to gifts for the poor, who should be helped during this period of rejoicing, and it concludes with the halakhot governing firstborns (Deuteronomy 14:22–16:17). And they read as the haftara the portion of “And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying” (I Kings 8:54–9:1), which occurred on that day. On the next day, the second day of the Eighth Day of Assembly in the Diaspora, they read the portion of “And this is the blessing” (Deuteronomy, chapters 33–34) until the end of the Torah, and they read as the haftara “And Solomon stood” (I Kings 8:22–53). Rav Huna said that Rav said: When Shabbat occurs on one of the intermediate days of a Festival, whether on Passover or on Sukkot, they read the Torah portion of “See, You say to me” (Exodus 33:12–34:26), as it includes the halakhot of the Festivals and the intermediate days. They read as the haftara, on Passover, from the portion of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1–14), which portrays redemption from servitude, and on Sukkot they read “And it shall come to pass on that day when Gog shall come” (Ezekiel 38:18–39:16), which speaks of the future redemption. The baraita continues: On each day of Hanukkah they read a selection from the portion of the dedication of the altar by the tribal princes (Numbers 7), and they read as the haftara from the portion of the lamps of Zechariah (Zechariah 2:14–4:7). The Gemara comments: And if it occurs that there are two Shabbatot during Hanukkah, on the first Shabbat they read from the portion of the lamps of Zechariah, and on the latter one they read from the portion of the lamps of Solomon (I Kings 7:40–50), which discusses the lamps in the Temple. The baraita continues: On Purim they read the portion of “And Amalek came” (Exodus 17:8–16). On the New Moon they read the portion of “And in the beginnings of your month” (Numbers 28:11–15). When the New Moon occurs on Shabbat, they read as the haftara the portion that concludes with “And it shall come to pass that every New Moon, and every Shabbat, shall all flesh come to bow down on the ground before Me” (Isaiah 66), as it mentions both Shabbat and the New Moon. When the New Moon occurs on Sunday, on the previous day, i.e., Shabbat, they read as the haftara the portion of “And Jonathan said to him: Tomorrow is the New Moon” (I Samuel 20:18–42), which describes events that took place on the eve of the New Moon. Rav Huna said: