Parshat Emor 5786 - "מועדי ה׳ אשר־תקראו אתם"

This Shabbat we read פרשת אמור, a Parsha in which the ספר החינך counts 63 מצוות being given. 46% of these relate to the מועדים, the festivals of HaShem. They are first commanded in the fourth aliyah, where HaShem states: “דבר אל־בני ישראל ואמרת אלהם מועדי ה׳ אשר־תקראו אתם מקראי קדש אלה הם מועדי - speak to the children of Yisrael and say to them: the festivals of HaShem, which you shall proclaim as holy gatherings, these are My festivals”. The Torah first mentions שבת, calling it a מקרא קודש (holy gathering), before continuing: “אלה מועדי ה׳ מקראי קדש אשר־תקראו אתם במועדם - these are the festivals of HaShem, the holy gatherings, which you shall proclaim in their designated time”. It then proceeds to list what we know as our מועדים: Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Shemini Atzeret. However, this section raises many questions: What is the תורה’s intent with שבת - it seems to be linked, at least partially, to these days, included together with the מועדים, yet it is ultimately excluded from the list itself? What does it mean to proclaim a חג a מקרא קודש? And lastly, what is a מועד, what does this term mean in context of the festivals, and what are these days really about? Recorded in Yeshivat Sha'alvim