SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. The priests have no greater duties with regard to the festivals than the Israelites, therefore He did not admonish Aaron and his sons in this section, but the children of Israel, a term which includes all of them together, since He did not explain the Additional Offerings [for the festivals] in this section.⁠¹ However, He mentioned the festivals here in Torath Kohanim (i.e. Book of Leviticus) because they are days of offerings, and He alludes to them, just as He said, And ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the Eternal,⁠² and at the end of this section He states, These are the appointed seasons of the Eternal, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to bring an offering made by fire unto the Eternal, a burnt-offering, and a meal-offering, a peace-offering, and drink-offerings.⁠³ He did not, however, prolong the subject by explaining the Additional Offerings, since He did not want them to be binding upon the children of Israel when in the desert, and after He had counted [at the end of the desert period] those who were to come into the Land, as narrated in the Book of Numbers,⁠⁴ and He commanded, Unto these the Land shall be divided,⁠⁵ He then explained all the Additional Offerings in the section of Pinchas, which they were to offer in the Land immediately and throughout the generations. Therefore He said [here in this Book of Leviticus] with reference to [the Service on] the Day of Atonement, And he [i.e., Aaron] did as the Eternal commanded Moses,⁠⁶ meaning that he did so in the desert [but the Additional Offerings for the other festivals were not binding in the desert].
Now He mentioned in this section the "he-lamb of the sheaf"⁷ and the two lambs of the Festival of Shevuoth,⁠⁸ because it is well-known that they were binding only in the Land, since they are brought on account of the bread [of the first-fruits]⁠⁹ concerning which He said, When ye are come into the Land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof,⁠¹⁰ but the observance of the days themselves [as festivals] was binding immediately.
He mentioned the Sabbath¹¹ among the appointed seasons which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations,⁠¹² [although the Sabbath is not proclaimed by the children of Israel, since its sanctity has been affirmed by G-d and is fixed throughout the generations], because it is also "an appointed day" [invariably fixed by G-d as the holy day] and we may thus refer to it as "a holy convocation.⁠" Afterwards, He separated the rest of the festivals from the Sabbath, saying of them which ye shall proclaim in their appointed season,⁠¹³ meaning on whatever day of the week they happen to fall, but the Sabbath is fixed and occurs [always] on the same day, hence it is not necessary that we proclaim it in its season.⁠¹⁴ And in the opinion of our Rabbis,⁠¹⁵ which ye shall proclaim in their appointed season alludes to the intercalations [of an extra month in a leap year] so that you proclaim them as festivals.⁠¹⁶
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the meaning of the verse The appointed seasons of the Eternal, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My appointed seasons,⁠¹⁷ is that it refers [only] to the festivals mentioned further on in the sections: In the first month etc.⁠¹⁸ [but it does not refer to the Sabbath]. It is for this reason that He states there once again, These are the appointed seasons of the Eternal,⁠¹⁹ because He had interrupted with the subject of the Sabbath. Thus He states, The appointed seasons of the Eternal, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My appointed seasons,⁠²⁰ meaning that no manner of servile work [be done on them], but the Sabbath you are to keep, making it a Sabbath of solemn rest²¹ from all manner of work²² whatsoever, for He admonishes concerning the Sabbath many times. He further alludes here [to the law that even] when the Sabbath falls on one of [the days of] the festivals, we must not suspend [the law of the Sabbath] so that the preparation of food be permitted on it [as it is on a festival day when it falls on a weekday, but instead it is prohibited]. A similar case [where the phrase these are refers to the continuation of a subject which had previously been mentioned, because in the middle Scripture interrupts with another subject], is the verse, These are the words which the Eternal hath commanded, that ye should do them,⁠²³ which refers to the Tabernacle and its vessels which he [Moses] will mention in the second section, and [in the next verses] he interrupts with the Sabbath: Six days shall work be done, and on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day etc.;⁠²⁴ and then he again says, This is the thing which the Eternal commanded … Take ye from among you an offering,⁠²⁵ this being the [same] command that Scripture had mentioned at the beginning, but because it was interrupted with another subject, Scripture had to start from the beginning again.
Proof for this interpretation is that He does not mention [here] in the case of the Sabbath, and ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the Eternal as He mentions at each and every festival,⁠²⁶ and at the end of the section He states, These are the appointed seasons of the Eternal, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to bring an offering made by fire unto the Eternal … beside the Sabbaths of the Eternal.⁠²⁷ [This shows] that the Sabbaths are not included within the terms of the appointed seasons of the Eternal. A further proof is that in the second section [i.e., in (4) where He reverts to the festivals after having mentioned the Sabbath], He does not say, And the Eternal spoke unto Moses, saying, as He says in the case of each and every festival;⁠²⁸ for the first communication [to Moses] was indeed concerning the commandments of the festivals, but He mentioned the Sabbath in order to exclude from it the law of the festivals [i.e., that when the Sabbath coincides with a festival, the preparation of food which is permitted on a festival day, is forbidden since it is also a Sabbath, as explained above], but not in order to explain its commandments and laws [and therefore there was no need to repeat the verse, And the Eternal spoke unto Moses, saying]. This is the reason why He does not state [here] about the Sabbath And ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the Eternal, as He states concerning the festivals,⁠²⁹ and He mentions it at the end together with the vow-offerings and the freewill-offerings³⁰ which are not mentioned here, as I have explained [above]. And this is the intention of the interpretation of the Sages,⁠³¹ who said: "What has the matter of the Sabbath to do with the festivals? etc.,⁠" since the Sabbath is not included at all in the terms of the appointed seasons of the Eternal, but Scripture only put them in juxtaposition [for the reason mentioned above].
The meaning of 'mikra'ei kodesh' (holy convocations), is that all people should come together on that day and be assembled to sanctify it, for it is a commandment upon Israel to be gathered together in G-d's House on the festival day to hallow it publicly with prayer and praise to G-d, and with clean garments, and to make it a day of feasting, as it is said in the tradition,⁠³² Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto him for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy unto our Lord; neither be ye grieved, for the joy of the Eternal is your strength.⁠³³ Thus the expression mikra kodesh (a holy convocation) is similar to: 'kru'ei' (those called) of the congregation;³⁴ afterwards they eat 'ha'kru'im' (they that are called).⁠³⁵ Similarly, over the whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over 'mikra'eha',⁠³⁶ meaning the places where they are called to, and where those called of the congregation assemble. Onkelos, however, [in rendering the Hebrew mikra'ei kodesh as m'arei kadish — "holy events"], understood [the word mikra'ei] as similar to the expression that which 'yikra' (shall befall) you in the end of days,⁠³⁷ an expression of "event,⁠" meaning that whenever the festivals occur, you should make them holy. And our Rabbis of blessed memory have said:⁠³⁸ "Proclaim them with [special] food and drink and clean garments;⁠" that is to say, the nature of these [festival] days should not be to you like that of other days, but instead you should make them occasions of holiness, changing them by food and dress from the common to the holy. This is also the opinion of Onkelos [who translated mikra'ei kodesh as "holy events"].

YE SHALL DO NO MANNER OF 'M'LECHETH AVODAH' (SERVILE WORK). "[Not] even such work as is considered by you important and necessary work, because the neglect of it would involve a monetary loss, as for example a matter that will not permit delay. So I understood from the Torath Kohanim which teaches as follows:⁠¹ 'I might think that on intermediate days of the festival² it is also forbidden to do m'lecheth avodah (servile work) etc'"³ This is Rashi's language.
But this is not correct at all. For what reason is there that Scripture should say, "Do not do [on the festival days even] such work that will not permit delay,⁠" and [the prohibition for] all other labors be deduced by a kal vachomer⁴ and if so it would have been proper to say it in the same way in the case of the Sabbath too! [However, with reference to the Sabbath it says Ye shall do 'no manner' of 'm'lachah' (work), and it does not say m'lecheth avodah (servile work) as in the case of the festivals!] Moreover, if it be [as Rashi explained it], then there is an allusion in the Torah to the effect that on the intermediate days of the festival it is permissible to do work that will not permit delay, but the Rabbis have said,⁠⁵ "Scripture has handed over this matter [of determining which activities are forbidden and which are permitted on the intermediate days of the festival] only to the Sages,⁠" which means that there is no allusion in the Torah as to which work is permitted and which is forbidden! Again, the term avodah (work) includes all kinds of labors and purposes, [as the following verses indicate]: 'oveid' (he that tilleth) his ground shall have plenty of bread;⁶ 'va'avadcha' (he shall serve thee) six years;⁷ 'v'avad'ta' (thou shalt serve) thine enemy⁸ — and nowhere does the term avodah mean only work that permits no delay, which, if not done today, can no longer be done on the following day [as Rashi had written]!
Rather, the meaning of m'lecheth avodah (servile work) is all work that is not necessary in the preparation of food, similar to that which it is said, Six days 'ta'avod (shalt thou labor), and do all thy work;⁹ and in all 'avodah' (manner of work) in the field;¹⁰ 'v'ne'evadtem' (and ye shall be tilled) and sown;¹¹ but Cain was an 'oved' (tiller) of the ground.⁠¹² But work which is done in preparation of food is work of direct benefit, and is not [called] m'lecheth avodah (servile work). This [distinction] is clearly explained in the Torah. For with reference to the Festival of Unleavened Bread where He said at first, no manner of work shall be done in them,⁠¹³ it was necessary to explain [in the same verse], Save that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you; therefore with respect to the other festivals He shortened [the command] and said [as in the verse before us], ye shall do no manner of servile work, thus prohibiting all work which is not done in preparation of food, and informing us that the preparation of food is permissible on the festival days. And in no place does Scripture say concerning any of the festival days, that "no manner of work" [shall be done on it] without explaining [immediately] that the preparation of food is permissible on it, because the form m'lecheth avodah (servile work) establishes that principle.⁠¹⁴ However, in the section of All the firstling males¹⁵ [where all the festivals are mentioned], He states with reference to the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Eternal thy G-d; thou shalt do no work therein¹⁶ [and yet Scripture does not follow it up with a permission for preparing food]! The reason for this is that He had already clearly permitted¹⁷ the preparation of food on it [Passover], and it was therefore no longer necessary [there in the section of All the firstling males] to say in connection with it: "all manner of servile work.⁠" He mentioned there merely "work" (thou shalt do no 'work' therein),⁠¹⁸ and did not say kol m'lachah ("all work" or "any manner of work") as He said with reference to the Sabbath¹⁹ and the Day of Atonement,⁠²⁰ because the intention is, "Do not do that work about which I have admonished you [elsewhere, i.e., 'servile work'].⁠"
Now Rabbi Chananel²¹ wrote: "Do no manner of 'm'lecheth avodah' (servile work). This teaches that He only permitted [on a festival day] the preparation of food, as it is written in connection with this matter in another place: And in the first day [of Passover] there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them.⁠²² And because He mentioned there any manner of work [which indicates a prohibition covering even preparation of food], it was essential that He should explain [in the same verse]: save that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you. The meaning of m'lecheth avodah is work for the purpose of material possessions, such as sowing, harvesting, digging and the like, but the preparation of food is not m'lecheth avodah.⁠" This is Rabbeinu Chananel's language.
And the Beraitha in the Torath Kohanim [which Rashi quoted at the beginning of the section] is taught as follows in the correct texts thereof:⁠²³ "Do no manner of 'm'lecheth avodah.'²⁴ This is intended to elucidate [the law] about the intermediate days of the festival, that it is prohibited to do work on them. I might think that any manner of m'lecheth avodah (servile work) is forbidden on them. Scripture therefore states it [i.e., the eighth day of Tabernacles, is a day of solemn assembly],⁠²⁵ meaning: it is a day on which all manner of servile work is forbidden, but on the intermediate days [of the festival] such work is not forbidden. These are the words of Rabbi Yosei the Galilean. Rabbi Akiba says: What need is there for Scripture to say: These are the appointed seasons of the Eternal which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations?²⁶ If it refers to the festivals, they are each stated [separately]! If so, why is it said, These are the appointed seasons of the Eternal, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations? This refers to the intermediate days of the festival, on which the doing of work is forbidden. I might think that all manner of servile work is forbidden to be done on them. Scripture therefore states, it etc.⁠"²⁷ [as quoted above].
The explanation of this Beraitha is [as follows]: Rabbi Yosei the Galilean interprets the verses, Ye shall do [no manner of servile work],⁠²⁸ and These are the appointed seasons of the Eternal,⁠²⁹ as meaning that Scripture prohibits the doing of work on all [the days] which are termed "the appointed festivals of the Eternal.⁠" Thus I might think that they are all alike with respect to this prohibition, and that any manner of servile work is prohibited to be done on [the intermediate days of the festival] just as on the first and eighth days [of Tabernacles], and [then] we would interpret the verses thus: Ye shall do no manner of servile work. These are the appointed seasons of the Eternal,⁠³⁰ since a verse may be interpreted together with an antecedent phrase or even together with a penultimate phrase.⁠³¹ It is for this reason that Scripture excludes it by saying, 'it' is a day of solemn assembly; ye shall do no manner of servile work,⁠³² meaning: "the eighth day [of Tabernacles] is restricted as regards all servile work, but on the intermediate days of the festival the prohibition is not like that of [the eighth day], affecting all manner of 'servile work,' but it is only 'work' which He said they must not do,⁠" and [the precise nature of the work forbidden on the intermediate days of the festival] Scripture did not mention, nor did it allude to it at all, but entrusted it to the Sages [to establish which work is permitted and which is prohibited]. The text which Rashi brings [further on in (36)]⁠³³ is also to be explained in this way.
This Beraitha [of the Torath Kohanim] is taught in the Gemara of Tractate Chagigah in the following way:⁠³⁴ "Ye shall do no manner of servile work.⁠³⁵ This teaches us about the intermediate days of the festival, that it is forbidden to do work [on them]. These are the words of Rabbi Yosei the Galilean. Rabbi Akiba says etc.⁠" [as quoted above]. And there [in Tractate Chagigah] it is further taught: "Just as [servile work] is forbidden on the seventh day [of Passover], so also it is forbidden on the sixth day; if so [I might think], just as the seventh day is restricted with respect to all work,⁠³⁶ so also the sixth day [as well as the other intermediate days of the festival] are restricted with respect to all work. Scripture therefore states 'ha'shvi'i', ('the' seventh day),⁠³⁷ meaning: "the seventh day is restricted with regard to all work, but the sixth day is not restricted with respect to all work, for Scripture entrusted [the determining of which work is permitted and which is forbidden] only to the Sages, etc.⁠" Now the Gemara states that [on the seventh day of the festival we are] restricted against doing "all work,⁠" but the Torath Kohanim [mentioned above] states "all servile work.⁠" This is because in the interpretation [of the Gemara] the Sages chose the wording of the Scriptural text [and since in Deuteronomy 16:8 it says with reference to the seventh day of Passover, thou shalt do no 'work' therein, the Gemara followed that expression, but the intention is really only to "servile work"], for with respect to a festival it cannot be said that "all work" is forbidden therein, but only "all servile work.⁠" Thus both [the Torath Kohanim and the Gemara] meant the same thing, namely, that on the festival days all manner of servile work is forbidden, but on the intermediate days of the festival all manner of servile work is not forbidden; however, forbidden are those kinds of labor which [although] have not been set forth in the Torah, but which Scripture entrusted to the Sages [to be specified as forbidden].
And in the Sifre [we have been taught]:⁠³⁸ "Rabbi Yishmael says: Since we have not been instructed that on the intermediate days of a festival it is forbidden to do work, therefore Scripture states, Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly,⁠³⁹ [thus teaching that] just as the seventh day is restricted [as regarding work], so also is the sixth day [and all intermediate days of the festival] restricted. Now I might think that just as the seventh day is restricted with regard to all work, so also is the sixth day restricted with regard to all work. Scripture therefore states 'the' seventh day,⁠⁴⁰ thus teaching that the seventh day is restricted with regard to all work, but the sixth day is not restricted with respect to all work.⁠" This Beraitha too [speaking of "all work" being prohibited on the seventh day of Passover] is to be explained in accordance with the principle we have laid down [i.e., that the intention is "all servile work,⁠" the Beraitha merely following the language of the verse, as explained above]. Thus we have discussed at length the matter of the Beraithoth dealing with this subject, in order that the words of our Rabbis, of blessed memory, should conform with the clear and correct interpretation which we have said of these verses.
Yet despite all this, I have found a contradiction to our words from a Beraitha taught in the Sifre:⁠⁴¹ "Ye shall do no manner of 'm'lecheth avodah' (servile work).⁠⁴² This teaches that the doing of work [on the first day of Passover] is forbidden. How do we know that the preparation of food is permitted thereon? Here it is stated a holy convocation [In the first day shall be 'a holy convocation'; ye shall do no manner of servile work], and there⁴³ it is said [with respect to the same day] a holy convocation. Now just as there [the verse explicitly] permits preparing food, so here too the intention is to permit the preparation of food [on the same day].⁠"⁴⁴
It appears to me that the term avodah was understood by our Rabbis, of blessed memory, in the sense of labor and toil which one does for another, [the usage being] similar to these expressions: 'avodath aved' (the work of a bondservant);⁠⁴⁵ 'eved avadim' (a servant of servants) shall he be unto his brethren;⁴⁶ 'avdu' (they served) Chedorlaomer.⁠⁴⁷ Similarly: 'avodath avodah va'avodath masa' (the work of service, and the work of bearing burdens),⁠⁴⁸ which means the work of any task in the Tent [of Meeting], and the work of [bearing] burdens upon the shoulder. If so, it would be possible [to think] that light works which one does for one's own enjoyment are permissible, even though they are not for the preparation of food, while those difficult labors done in the course of preparation of food, which a servant performs for his master, are forbidden to be done. Therefore this [Beraitha just quoted from the Sifre] asked: "Whence do we know that this permission [for certain works] refers to preparation of food, so that all work done in the preparation of food is permissible, even if it involves difficult labor, and that we should prohibit all other kinds of work, for even the easiest of them are called m'lecheth avodah? From the similarity of phrases, a holy convocation, for there⁴⁹ it is indicated that all works [even easy ones] are prohibited, and all works done for the preparation of food [even those difficult tasks that a servant does for his master, such as cooking, baking, etc.] are permitted to be done.⁠"
Now I have seen the following text taught in the Mechilta:⁠⁵⁰ "Save that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you.⁠⁵¹ All works necessary for the preparation of food overrule the festival, but not all Services [in the Sanctuary, as will be explained] overrule the festival. Now [the argument may be advanced]: Let some works done for the preparation of food overrule the Sabbath! And the following reasoning would favor it: If in a situation when all Services do not overrule the festival, nonetheless all works necessary for the preparation of food do overrule the festival, then in the situation where some Services [in the Sanctuary] do overrule the Sabbath, is it not logical that some works done for the preparation of food overrule the Sabbath! Scripture therefore states, Save that which every man must eat, [that only may be done by you.⁠⁵² — on the festival, but not on the Sabbath. It is thus established that although] some Services [in the Sanctuary] overrule the Sabbath, no work for the preparation of food may overrule the Sabbath.⁠" Now the meaning of the phrase [in the Beraitha] "some Services [in the Sanctuary which overrule the Sabbath],⁠" is such things as offerings which are obligatory for the day, these being the Daily Whole-offering and the Additional Offerings; "but the festival is not overruled by all Services [in the Sanctuary],⁠" these are vow-offerings and freewill-offerings [of individuals], or a freewill burnt-offering [which, although wholly for the altar, may yet not be offered on a festival]. But the meaning of the phrase ["is it not logical that] some works for the preparation of food [overrule the Sabbath]" has not been clarified to me. However, it alludes to what we have said, that work which is accomplished by means of great toil, akin to work [which a servant does for his master], is included in the prohibition, but that which is accomplished easily, and is customary for a man to do for himself, is permitted; or "some works" may mean [those necessary] for maintenance of life, and "all works" may mean abundance of dishes for pleasure. The principle then of 'm'lecheth avodah' [servile work — stated in the case of the festivals], is thus to permit the preparation of food [since that is not within the terms of "servile work" which is forbidden on the festival].