Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Exodus 23:16/רמב"ן על שמות כ״ג:ט״ז

אוְחַג הַקָּצִיר בִּכּוּרֵי מַעֲשֶׂיךָ לֹא יָדַעְתִּי לָמָּה יַזְכִּירֵם הַכָּתוּב בְּשֵׁם הַיְּדִיעָה, כִּי לֹא צִוָּה בָּהֶם וְלֹא הִזְכִּירָם עַד עַתָּה, וְרָאוּי הוּא שֶׁיֹּאמַר וְעָשִׂיתָ חַג קָצִיר בִּכּוּרֵי מַעֲשֶׂיךָ, כַּאֲשֶׁר אָמַר בְּמִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה (דברים טז י) "וְעָשִׂיתָ חַג שָׁבֻעוֹת לַה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ". וְאוּלַי בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁאָמַר (שמות כ"ג:י"ד) "שָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים תָּחֹג לִי בַּשָּׁנָה", וּפֵרֵשׁ "אֶת חַג הַמַּצּוֹת תִּשְׁמֹר בְּחֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב" (שמות כ"ג:ט"ו), שֶׁתִּשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת חַג בִּתְחִלַּת הָאָבִיב, חָזַר וְאָמַר וְהָאַחֵר תִּשְׁמֹר שֶׁיִּהְיֶה חַג הַקָּצִיר בִּכּוּרֵי מַעֲשֶׂיךָ, וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁי תִּשְׁמֹר שֶׁיִּהְיֶה חַג הָאָסִיף בְּצֵאת הַשָּׁנָה:
וְהִנֵּה כֻּלָּם בְּאָסְפוֹ כָּל מַעֲשָׂיו מִן הַשָּׂדֶה לָתֵת בָּהֶם הוֹדָאָה לֵאלֹהִים, שֶׁהוּא שׁוֹמֵר חֻקּוֹת שָׁמַיִם וּמוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ לְהַשְׂבִּיעַ נֶפֶשׁ שֹׁקֵקָה וְנֶפֶשׁ רְעֵבָה מִלֵּא טוֹב, וְזֶה טַעַם אֶל פְּנֵי הָאָדֹן ה', שֶׁהוּא הָאָדוֹן הַמְפַרְנֵס עֲבָדָיו, וּבְנָטְלָם פְּרָס מִלְּפָנָיו יָבֹאוּ אֵלָיו לִרְאוֹת מַה יְצַוֵּם. וְהִנֵּה "אֶל פָּנַי" כְּמוֹ לִפְנֵי: וְעַל דֶּרֶךְ הָאֱמֶת יִהְיֶה מִן פָּנִים, וּכְבָר רָמַזְתִּי לְךָ פֵּרוּשׁ הַפָּנִים בַּעֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת (רמב"ן על שמות כ':ג'), וְלָכֵן אָמַר "הָאָדוֹן ה'", כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר בַּפַּעַם הַשֵּׁנִית "הָאָדֹן ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" (שמות ל"ד:כ"ג), וְכֵן "הִנֵּה אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית אֲדוֹן כָּל הָאָרֶץ" (יהושע יג יא), "מִלִּפְנֵי אָדוֹן חוּלִי אָרֶץ" (תהלים צז ה):

1AND THE FEAST OF HARVEST, THE FIRST-FRUITS OF THY LABORS, AND THE FEAST OF INGATHERING AT THE END OF THE YEAR. I do not know why Scripture mentions the names of the festivals with the definite article since He has not yet commanded about or mentioned them at all till now, and it ought to have said first: “and you shall keep a feast of harvest, the first-fruits of your labors,” just as He said in the Book of Deuteronomy, And thou shalt keep a festival of weeks unto the Eternal thy G-d.³⁷⁵ But perhaps because He had already said, Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year,³⁷⁶ and further explained, The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep… in the mouth of Aviv,³⁷⁷ [literally: “maturity”] means the month when the grain becomes full in its ripe state (Rashi). It is the month of spring. meaning that you are to make sure that the Passover festival is observed at the beginning of the month of Aviv, He referred back [to these verses] and said, “And as for the other festival, make sure that it be the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labors, and as for the third one, make sure that it be the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year. Now all these festivals are thus named with reference to man’s activities in the field, in order that he give thanks for them to G-d who guards the ordinances of heaven,³⁷⁸ and brings forth bread out of the earth³⁷⁹ to satisfy the longing soul, and the hungry soul He hath filled with good.³⁸⁰, 107:9. This is Scripture’s intention in using here the expression: el pnei Ha’adon Hashem (three times in the year shall all thy males appear — ‘before the Master, the Eternal’),³⁸¹ for He is the Master who provides the needs of His servants, and when they take their part from before Him, they come to Him to see what He commands them to do. Thus the expression el pnei is like ‘liphnei’ (“before”) — before the Master. But by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the word pnei is derived from the term panim [literally: “face”], and I have already alluded to the explanation of panim in the Ten Commandments.³⁸² This is why He said Ha’adon Hashem (the Master, the Eternal), just as He said the second time, the Master, the Eternal, the G-d of Israel.³⁸³ here is not in the grammatical form of construct with the word Hashem; this is evident from the same expression which occurs a second time [in 34:23] where it is written Hashem Elokei Yisrael, thus indicating that here too the word Hashem is not in construct with Ha’adon (Abusaula). Similarly: Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Master of all the earth;³⁸⁴ Tremble, thou earth, ‘miliphnei’ (at the presence) of the Master.³⁸⁵ which is suggestive of panim, as mentioned above (Abusaula).