Talmud - Hagigah 18a חגיגה י״ח א׳

I would not know how many days of redress there are. The Gemara therefore teaches us, from the statement that Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Oshaya said, that there are seven days of redress.

And Reish Lakish said, providing a different proof: From the very name of the day: “And the Festival of harvest” (Exodus 23:16), we can learn the following: On which Festival do you celebrate and harvest? You must say it is Shavuot. When exactly does this apply? If we say that it is on the Festival day itself, is harvesting permitted on a Festival? Rather, is it not referring to the day of redress?

Rabbi Yoḥanan said to Reish Lakish: However, if that is so, you should likewise say with regard to “the Festival of gathering” (Exodus 23:16): On which Festival is there gathering? You must say it is the festival of Sukkot. When exactly? If we say it is on the Festival day itself, is labor permitted on a Festival? Rather, it is referring to the intermediate Festival days. But on the intermediate Festival days, too, is it permitted? One may perform only work that, if neglected, would result in irretrievable loss. Rather, you must explain that “the Festival of gathering” is referring to the season of the year, i.e., the Festival that occurs during the time of gathering. Here too: “The Festival of harvest” means a Festival that occurs during the time of harvest.

§ The Gemara comments: Since Reish Lakish does not dispute the accuracy of Rabbi Yoḥanan’s statement, it may be inferred from their statements that both of them hold that the performance of labor during the intermediate Festival days is prohibited by the Torah.

The Gemara proceeds to ask: From where are these matters derived; what is the biblical source for this prohibition? As the Sages taught: “You shall observe the festival of Passover seven days” (Exodus 23:15). This teaches that the performance of labor is prohibited during the intermediate Festival days, as “observe” denotes a negative commandment; this is the statement of Rabbi Yoshiyya. Rabbi Yonatan says: This proof is not necessary, as it does not accord with the straightforward meaning of the verse. Rather, it is learned from an a fortiori inference, as follows: If the performance of labor on the first and seventh days of Passover, which are not preceded and followed by sanctity as the days before the first day and after the seventh day are weekdays, is nevertheless prohibited, is it not right that on the days of the intermediate Festival days, which are preceded and followed by sanctity, i.e., the first and last days of the Festival, the performance of labor should be prohibited?

The Gemara questions this conclusion: The six days of Creation, i.e., the days of the week, shall prove this, since they are preceded and followed by the sanctity of Shabbat, and yet the performance of labor on them is permitted. The Gemara rejects this difficulty: What of the fact that the six days of Creation are regular weekdays on which there is no additional offering; can you say the same with regard to the intermediate Festival days, on which there is an additional offering, bestowing these days with a measure of sanctity? The Gemara counters this: The New Moon shall prove this, since it has an additional offering, and the performance of labor is nevertheless permitted on it. The Gemara refutes this argument: What of the fact that the New Moon is not called “a holy convocation”; can you say the same with regard to the intermediate Festival days, which are called “a holy convocation”? Since they are called “a holy convocation” it is logical that the performance of labor should be prohibited on them.

It is taught in another baraita concerning the same topic: With regard to the first day of Passover and Sukkot, the verse states: “You shall do no kind of laborious work” (Leviticus 23:35), followed by “seven days, you shall bring an offering made by fire to the Lord,” which teaches that the performance of labor is prohibited during the intermediate Festival days; this is the statement of Rabbi Yosei the Galilean. Rabbi Akiva says: This is not necessary, since it is stated earlier in that chapter: “These are the appointed Festivals of the Lord, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season” (Leviticus 23:4). With regard to what is the verse speaking? If it is referring to the first day of the Festival, it has already explicitly stated “a solemn rest” (Leviticus 23:39) with regard to that day; if it is referring to the seventh, it has already stated “a solemn rest” (Leviticus 23:39) with regard to that day as well. Therefore, the verse can be speaking only of the intermediate Festival days, teaching you that the performance of labor is prohibited on them.

It is taught in another baraita: The verse states: “Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly for the Lord your God; on it, you shall do no work” (Deuteronomy 16:8). If so, just as the seventh day of the Festival is precluded from the performance of labor, so are the six intermediate Festival days precluded, since the word “and” in the phrase “and on the seventh day” connects it to the previous days. If so, perhaps: Just as the seventh day is precluded from the performance of all labor, so too the six intermediate days are precluded from the performance of all labor, even those whose performance prevents irretrievable loss.

The verse therefore states: “And on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly,” literally, pause. This indicates that the seventh day alone is precluded from the performance of all labor, but the other six days are not precluded from the performance of all labor but only from certain forms of work. Since the Bible does not specify which types of work are prohibited, the verse has therefore entrusted the matter to the Sages exclusively, to tell you on which day work is prohibited and on which day it is permitted, and similarly which labor is prohibited and which labor is permitted.

§ The mishna taught: All were permitted to eulogize and fast on the days of slaughter, in order not to uphold the opinion of the Sadducees, who would say: Shavuot must always occur after Shabbat. The Gemara raises a difficulty: But wasn’t it stated: An incident occurred when Alexa died in Lod, and all of Israel gathered to eulogize him, but Rabbi Tarfon would not allow them do so because it was the Festival day of Shavuot?

The Gemara analyzes this passage: Can it enter your mind to say that it was a Festival day? If it had been a Festival day, would they have come? Certainly they would not have assembled to eulogize someone on the Festival itself. Rather, say that they were prohibited to eulogize because it was the Festival day of slaughter. The Gemara answers: This is not difficult, since here, the incident in Lod, is referring to a Festival that occurs after Shabbat, whose day of slaughter does not fall on a Sunday. The day of slaughter retains a measure of the sanctity of Shavuot through the offering of Festival offerings and should therefore be treated as a Festival. There, however, the mishna is referring to a Festival that occurs on Shabbat. Since in that case the day of slaughter occurs on a Sunday, it cannot be observed as a Festival, in order to counter the view of the Sadducees.
After discussing many issues unrelated to the main topic of the tractate, the Gemara now begins to discuss the topic of ritual purity and will do so for the remainder of the tractate. These halakhot are relevant to the pilgrim Festivals, as all are obligated to purify themselves in order to enter the Temple and sacrifice offerings.

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Chagiga 18a explores the seven days of redress for Shavuot offerings and debates whether Torah law forbids labor during intermediate festival days.