(טז) שָׁל֣וֹשׁ פְּעָמִ֣ים ׀ בַּשָּׁנָ֡ה יֵרָאֶ֨ה כָל־זְכוּרְךָ֜ אֶת־פְּנֵ֣י ׀ יי אֱלֹקֶ֗יךָ בַּמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִבְחָ֔ר בְּחַ֧ג הַמַּצּ֛וֹת וּבְחַ֥ג הַשָּׁבֻע֖וֹת וּבְחַ֣ג הַסֻּכּ֑וֹת וְלֹ֧א יֵרָאֶ֛ה אֶת־פְּנֵ֥י יי רֵיקָֽם׃
(16) Three times a year—on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, on the Feast of Weeks, and on the Feast of Booths—all your males shall appear before Adonai your God in the place that God will choose. They shall not appear before Adonai empty-handed . . .
The three pilgrimage festivals, described in the Torah as celebrating both agricultural festivals and historical events, were set aside in biblical times for people to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread: Passover
The Feast of Weeks: Shavuot
The Feast of Booths: Sukkot
Think about what you know about these three holidays.
Why might these be the three times when "all your males" are required to come to a central location where they will be together, and why not empty handed?
(א) שָׁמוֹר֙ אֶת־חֹ֣דֶשׁ הָאָבִ֔יב וְעָשִׂ֣יתָ פֶּ֔סַח לַיי אֱלֹקֶ֑יךָ כִּ֞י בְּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הָֽאָבִ֗יב הוֹצִ֨יאֲךָ֜ יי אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ מִמִּצְרַ֖יִם לָֽיְלָה׃ (ב) וְזָבַ֥חְתָּ פֶּ֛סַח לַיי אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ צֹ֣אן וּבָקָ֑ר בַּמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֣ר יי לְשַׁכֵּ֥ן שְׁמ֖וֹ שָֽׁם׃ (ג) לֹא־תֹאכַ֤ל עָלָיו֙ חָמֵ֔ץ שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֛ים תֹּֽאכַל־עָלָ֥יו מַצּ֖וֹת לֶ֣חֶם עֹ֑נִי כִּ֣י בְחִפָּז֗וֹן יָצָ֙אתָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לְמַ֣עַן תִּזְכֹּר֔ אֶת־י֤וֹם צֵֽאתְךָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֥י חַיֶּֽיךָ׃ (ד) וְלֹֽא־יֵרָאֶ֨ה לְךָ֥ שְׂאֹ֛ר בְּכָל־גְּבֻלְךָ֖ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים וְלֹא־יָלִ֣ין מִן־הַבָּשָׂ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר תִּזְבַּ֥ח בָּעֶ֛רֶב בַּיּ֥וֹם הָרִאשׁ֖וֹן לַבֹּֽקֶר׃ (ה) לֹ֥א תוּכַ֖ל לִזְבֹּ֣חַ אֶת־הַפָּ֑סַח בְּאַחַ֣ד שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁר־יי אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ׃ (ו) כִּ֠י אִֽם־אֶל־הַמָּק֞וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֨ר יי אֱלֹקֶ֙יךָ֙ לְשַׁכֵּ֣ן שְׁמ֔וֹ שָׁ֛ם תִּזְבַּ֥ח אֶת־הַפֶּ֖סַח בָּעָ֑רֶב כְּב֣וֹא הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ מוֹעֵ֖ד צֵֽאתְךָ֥ מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ (ז) וּבִשַּׁלְתָּ֙ וְאָ֣כַלְתָּ֔ בַּמָּק֕וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִבְחַ֛ר יי אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ בּ֑וֹ וּפָנִ֣יתָ בַבֹּ֔קֶר וְהָלַכְתָּ֖ לְאֹהָלֶֽיךָ׃
(1) Observe the month of Aviv and offer a passover sacrifice to Adonai your God, for it was in the month of Aviv, at night, that Adonai your God freed you from Egypt. (2) You shall slaughter the passover sacrifice for Adonai your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where Adonai will choose to establish God's name. (3) You shall not eat anything leavened with it; for seven days thereafter you shall eat unleavened bread, bread of distress—for you departed from the land of Egypt hurriedly—so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live. (4) For seven days no leaven shall be found with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh of what you slaughter on the evening of the first day shall be left until morning. (5) You are not permitted to slaughter the passover sacrifice in any of the settlements that Adonai your God is giving you; (6) but at the place where Adonai your God will choose to establish God's name, there alone shall you slaughter the passover sacrifice, in the evening, at sundown, the time of day when you departed from Egypt. (7) You shall cook and eat it at the place that Adonai your God will choose; and in the morning you may start back on your journey home.
מקום
makom/place
It is interesting to note that HaMakom is also a name for God.
What might that time have been like in the Biblical period?
What might it have looked like? Sounded like?
People from all over the Land, a people NOT in exile but spread over a land diverse in topography, in flora and fauna, in art and music, coming together and bringing with them edible offerings.
Even without studying the history - imagine what that might have been like.
What curiosity does that spark in you?
(8) After eating unleavened bread six days, you shall hold a solemn gathering for Adonai your God on the seventh day: you shall do no work. (9) You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. (10) Then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for Adonai your God, offering your freewill contribution according as Adonai your God has blessed you. (11) You shall rejoice before Adonai your God with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite in your communities, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your midst, at the place where Adonai your God will choose to establish God's name. (12) Bear in mind that you were slaves in Egypt, and take care to obey these laws. (13) After the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat, you shall hold the Feast of Booths for seven days. (14) You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your communities. (15) You shall hold a festival for Adonai your God seven days, in the place that Adonai will choose; for Adonai your God will bless all your crops and all your undertakings, and you shall have nothing but joy. (16) Three times a year—on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, on the Feast of Weeks, and on the Feast of Booths—all your males shall appear before Adonai your God in the place that God will choose. They shall not appear before Adonai empty-handed, (17) but each with his own gift, according to the blessing that Adonai your God has bestowed upon you.
Consider the goals of the rabbis of the Talmudic period after the destruction of the Temple and through about 500CE with the redaction of the Mishnah and Gemarrah - the two parts of the Talmud.
With no Temple in Jerusalem to pilgrimage toward, how might they have/did they continue to orient Judaism and Jews toward Jerusalem?
Why might they have done that?
What impact might that have on the Jewish people as a people?
(20) When you gaze upon Zion, our city of assembly, Your eyes shall behold Jerusalem As a secure homestead, A tent not to be transported, Whose pegs shall never be pulled up, And none of whose ropes shall break.
Isaiah, 8th century BCE. Born in Jerusalem. Descendent of Judah and Tamar.
How do we follow in the footsteps of our ancestors?
In the Biblical world, the pilgrimage festivals created an opportunity for the Jewish community to reaffirm their communal commitment to our covenant with God, self-identification as a nation/religious community, and served to solidify Jerusalem and the place where the Temple stood as a focal point in the consciousness of the people. In these ways, at their core, these festivals were community-building experiences.
The business community of Jerusalem also benefitted from the regular influx of people seeking food, lodging, and animals for sacrifice. Inns, taverns, and a complex banking community supported the pilgrims. Jews from all over the ancient world of the Mediterranean came to Jerusalem - thousands upon thousands every year - as shown by archeological evidence and Hellenistic and Roman text. Imagine the sharing of food, of music, of art, of stories. By the end of the 1st century BCE King Herod the Great - the Roman-appointed ruler of the vassal kingdom of Judea responded to the pilgrimage needs of the city by building a vast courtyard around the Temple. The Harem esh-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) in Jerusalem that the golden Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa mosque are built on the Herodian foundations for the Temple. The Western Wall - or Kotel - is one of the supporting walls of the vast courtyard.
After the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. the pilgrimage festivals continued as synagogue and home-based celebrations. Prayers replaced animal sacrifices, and the historical and agricultural themes have become the core story. In Israel, many people today pilgrimage to the Western Wall.
How does this study inform your understanding of what it means to be Jewish, what it means to be part of the Jewish people, and/or what it means to participate in these three particular holidays?
Remember to thank your chevruta partner!