Shevi'i shel Pesach is the seventh and last day of the Passover holiday, which falls on the 21st of Nisan. On this day, according to the jewish tradition the splitting of the Red Sea occurred. Beyond the commandments that exist on each of the seven days of Passover, this is a full holiday, in which work is forbidden, except for work related to preparing food.[1][2]
Name
editA common name today is "Second Holiday (of Passover)". A similar name appears in the Cairo Genizah calendar for the year 482 - "Second of Passover".[3]
The Origin of the Holiday
editThe first source in the Torah for the seventh holiday of Passover appears even before the event of Mount Sinai where the people of Israel received the commandments of the Torah upon them, and even before the exodus from Egypt.[4]
This holiday is also mentioned in the portion of the festivals in the portion of Emor in the book of Leviticus.[5] In the book of Deuteronomy, Israel was also commanded to celebrate the seventh day of Passover as a festival day.[6] And it also appears in the portion of Pinchas in the mentioning of the additional sacrifices of the holidays.
Therefore, on the seventh day of Passover, there is a Torah commandment to rest from work, however, work related to food preparation is permitted on it – as on every festival day.
Prayer
editHallel
editOn the seventh day of Passover, the Hallel is only a custom, therefore, the short version of the Hallel is recited, as on Rosh Chodesh.[7]
Torah Reading
editThe Torah reading for this day deals with the miracle of the splitting of the Red Sea, which according to the tradition of our Sages occurred on the night of the seventh day of Passover.
And also in the Song of the Sea that was said following it.[8]
In the Haftarah, "David's Song" is read, which is also a song like the Song of the Sea, and the miracle of the splitting of the Red Sea is alluded to in it.[9][10]
On the second festival day in the Diaspora, "All the Firstborn" is read,[11] and if it falls on Shabbat (when there are not enough verses to divide the aforementioned reading into seven aliyot), most communities start with "Asser Te'Asser"[12]
Yizkor
editIn synagogues following the Eastern Ashkenazi custom, Yizkor is recited on the seventh day of Passover (in the Diaspora, on the last day of Passover), before placing the Torah scroll back in the Ark.[13]
Shehecheyanu
editThe seventh day of Passover is the only festival from the Torah on which the blessing "Shehecheyanu" (the blessing of time) is not recited, because it is not a festival in its own right but part of the Passover festival.
End of the Holiday
editThe night after the seventh day of Passover (or the eighth outside of Israel) is called Rompelnacht (Night of Chaos) by some Ashkenazi Jews. Among some of the Eastern communities, especially among Moroccan Jews, it is customary to celebrate Mimouna on the night after the holiday, where they tend to eat Mufleta.
References
edit- ^ "01. The Idea of the Holidays – Peninei Halakha". Retrieved 2024-03-31.
- ^ "The Mitzvot of Ĥol HaMo'ed - Jewish Tradition". yahadut.org. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
- ^ May, Steven W. (2019-06-04), "The Text of Cambridge University Library Manuscript Dd.5.75", Henry Stanford’s Anthology, Routledge, pp. 220–222, doi:10.4324/9780429243929-1, ISBN 978-0-429-24392-9, retrieved 2024-03-31
- ^ "Chapter 2. The Exodus Story Outside the Book of Exodus", The Book of Exodus, Princeton University Press, pp. 31–60, 2019-12-31, doi:10.1515/9780691189277-004, ISBN 978-0-691-18927-7, retrieved 2024-03-31
- ^ "Chapter 2 - The Tabernacle in Leviticus -23", Leviticus in Hebrews, Peter Lang, 2011, doi:10.3726/978-3-0353-0114-4/4, ISBN 978-3-0343-0257-9, retrieved 2024-03-31
- ^ "Covenant Responsibilities ( Deuteronomy 29:16–28 )". Word and Presence: 259–262. 1992. doi:10.5040/bci-0094.0016. ISBN 978-0-8028-0160-9.
- ^ "07. Hallel – Peninei Halakha". Retrieved 2024-03-31.
- ^ "Chapter 2. The Exodus Story Outside the Book of Exodus", The Book of Exodus, Princeton University Press, pp. 31–60, 2019-12-31, doi:10.1515/9780691189277-004, ISBN 978-0-691-18927-7, retrieved 2024-03-31
- ^ Book of Samuel 2, chapter 22, verses 1-91
- ^ The Connection between David's Song and the Splitting of the Red Sea, by Rabbi Yair Weitz, on the website of Yeshivat Har Bracha
- ^ "Chapter 15", Notes on the Greek Text of Deuteronomy, SBL Press, pp. 254–265, 2019-04-04, doi:10.2307/j.ctvfrxqp9.19, retrieved 2024-03-31
- ^ Machzor Shadal, part I, page Kakhah AA.
- ^ "Day of Shevi'i Shel Pesach-Order and Davening – Shulchanaruchharav.com". shulchanaruchharav.com. Retrieved 2024-03-31.