פרשת אמור תשל"א - ספירת העומר וחג השבועות

והקרבתם אשה לה' שבעת ימים, the offering of the mussaph offering for seven consecutive days is to remind us that the intervening days of this festival are not totally secular in nature, although only the first and seventh day have been accorded the title מקרא קודש. The whole matter of the mussaph, additional communal offerings, has not been gone into in detail here as this is a subject treated in Numbers when this legislation appears in detail in chapters 28-29. The reason why in connection with the New Year’s day the Torah does mention the offering of an אשה לה', is that this day already qualified for a mussaph offering, it being not only the first day of the new year but also the first day of the month of Tishrey. In Numbers 29,6 the Torah once more draws our attention to this fact, [presumably to tell us that New Year’s day does not replace the significance of the date of the new moon. Ed.] If you were to counter that אשה ה' is also mentioned in this chapter in connection with the day of Atonement, remember that what is referred to there are burnt offerings and sin offerings, both on behalf of the High Priest and the people but not by each individual member of the people as are sin offerings generally, not mussaph offerings which are mandatory communal offerings.