Misva #301: The Prohibition Against Melacha on the Seventh Day of Pesach

After the Torah issued an affirmative command to observe the seventh day of Pesach as a sacred occasion, when we refrain from work (Vayikra 23:8), it then adds a Misvat Lo Ta’aseh – a prohibition – against performing Melacha (work) on this day: “Kol Melechet Aboda Lo Ta’asu.” Thus, performing Melacha on this day transgresses both an affirmative command and a prohibition. The Sefer Ha’hinuch in this context elaborates on the concept of “Yom Tob Sheni” – the additional day of Yom Tob observed in the Diaspora after the first and last days of Pesach, after Shabuot, after the first day of Sukkot, and after Shemini Aseret. In the Diaspora, an eighth day of Pesach is observed, even though the Torah speaks of Pesach as a seven-day festival. The background of this practice, as the Sefer Ha’hinuch explains, is the system used in ancient times for declaring new months. We follow a fixed-calendar system, but long ago, the new month was declared when the new moon was sighted. This would happen on either the night of the 30 th of the previous month – in which case the 30 th day would be the first day of the new month – or the night of the 31 st of the previous month – in which case the 31 st day would be the first day of the new month. Each month, the Bet Din would dispatch messengers to inform the Jewish communities which day was declared Rosh Hodesh. These messengers would not always reach the distant communities in the Diaspora before Yom Tob, and so these communities would have to observe two days as Yom Tob. Although we no longer have this Safek (uncertainty), nevertheless, it was established that we commemorate our ancestors’ practice and observe two days of Yom Tob in the Diaspora. The Sefer Ha’hinuch notes the debate among the Poskim as to whether these two days are treated the same nowadays as they were in yesteryear, when an extra day was necessary due to the uncertainty as to which day was Yom Tob. Back then, if an egg was laid on the first day of Yom Tob, it was permissible on the second day, even though normally an egg laid on Shabbat or Yom Tob may not be used on a different day of Yom Tob. The reason is that if the first day was Yom Tob, then the second day is not Yom Tob, so the egg is permissible, and if the second day is Yom Tob, then the egg was not actually laid on Yom Tob, and so it is not forbidden at all. Nowadays, however, there is no uncertainty; we observe both days as Yom Tob even though we know definitively which day is the actual day when Yom Tob is to be observed. Therefore, some authorities maintained that nowadays, an egg laid on the first day of Yom Tob is forbidden on the second day, as we observe both days definitively, and not due to an uncertainty. Others, however, disagreed, arguing that since our observance of the second day of Yom Tob is purely commemorative, it cannot be treated more stringently than the original practice which it commemorates. Therefore, according to this view, even nowadays, an egg laid on the first day of Yom Tob is permissible on the second day. Interestingly, this practice to observe an additional day of Yom Tob overrides a number of Biblical obligations. For example, we do not wear Tefillin on eighth day of Pesach, which the Torah requires – since, according to Torah law, this day is an ordinary weekday – because we observe this day as a Yom Tob. Likewise, if a baby was unable to undergo Berit Mila on his eighth day, but is able to be circumcised on the second day of Yom Tob, he is not circumcised on this day, because only circumcision on the child’s eighth day is permitted on Shabbat or Yom Tob. Torah law regards this day as a weekday, and thus requires circumcising the infant on this day, but the circumcision is nevertheless delayed because of the custom to observe this day as Yom Tob. Beyond the practical reason for the observance of a second day, as discussed, a deeper reason has also been proposed. This has been explained by way of an analogy to a young child who must be given medicine. In order for the child to receive the full dose that he needs, the parent must administer a slightly higher dose, because the child will spit out some of the medicine. By the same token, outside the Land of Israel, where we are exposed to impurities, we need a higher “dose” of Kedusha in order to receive the spiritual power that Yom Tob is meant to provide us with. Since some of the sanctity of Yom Tob will be lost due to the impurity of the Diaspora, we need an extra day of Yom Tob so we absorb the amount of Kedusha which we are meant to absorb.