Haftarah: Isaiah 10:32 - 12:6
This week's commentary was written by Dr. Alan Cooper, Elaine Ravich Professor of Jewish Studies and Provost, JTS.
Of all the extra festival days that we celebrate in Diaspora (yom tov sheni shel galuyot), perhaps the most irksome is the eighth day of Pesah. The second day of Sukkot adds to the delight of the holiday when the weather cooperates; the second day of Shemini Atzeret brings us the joy of Simhat Torah as a day unto itself. Even the second seder has its pleasures, except perhaps for those who have to prepare the meal and clean up afterward. But the eighth day of Pesah? Enough already! Bring on the pizza and pasta. We might wish that we were in Israel, where we could enjoy the conviviality of Mimouna together with our Moroccan neighbors.1 The mere thought of traditional delicacies like moufleta and zaban makes my mouth water.
From its inception, Reform Judaism did away with the added festival days. The Breslau rabbinical conference of 1846 resolved that "second-day festivals and the eighth day of the Pesah festival, respectively, as well as the ninth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, have no more validity for our time."2 Beginning about 50 years ago, there was serious discussion in the Conservative Movement of the possible elimination of yom tov sheni, culminating with the publication in 1969 of three teshuvot (responsa) approved by the Movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.3 The most lenient of the three, written by Rabbis Philip Sigal and Abraham J. Ehrlich, ruled that the observance of yom tov sheni (except for Rosh Hashanah) should be regarded as a custom (minhag) rather than an obligation, with the particulars to be decided by the rabbi of each congregation. Arguing that the controversies, practical considerations, and supporting explanations underlying the institution no longer obtained, they proposed doing away with the additional festival days "in order to provide relief to those who no longer find in [them] spiritual enrichment, and to those who for socio-economic reasons find it is not feasible to observe the second day of yom tov." Nevertheless, they affirmed the value of continued observance "as an expression of personal piety," a stringency (chumrah) that might be a source of blessing.
Continue reading.
Follow us on
No comments:
Post a Comment