QUESTION: Rebbi Ami and Rebbi Yirmiyah argue about how each of the Four
Parshi'os are read on Shabbos. Rebbi Ami maintains that the normal Parshah of
that week is postponed, and the only Parshah that is read is the one from the
Four Parshi'os. Rebbi Yirmiyah, on the other hand, maintains that the normal
Parshah of that week is read, while the Parshah from the Four Parshi'os is
read as the Maftir by the last Aliyah, and a Haftorah which deals with the
same subject is read afterwards.
Abaye adduces a proof for the opinion of Rebbi Ami from the wording of the
Mishnah (29a). The Gemara refutes his proof.
It seems clear from our Gemara that Abaye sides with Rebbi Ami. However, the
Gemara earlier (30a) seems to contradict this. In the Gemara there, Abaye
gives his opinion how to read Parshas Shekalim when it coincides with Parshas
Tetzaveh or with Parshas Ki Sisa. Abaye says that the first six Aliyos read
the normal Parshah of that week, and the seventh Aliyah reads from Parshas
Shekalim. If Abaye holds like Rebbi Ami that the entire Torah reading on each
Shabbos of the Four Parshi'os consists only of that Parshah, then why does he
say that the first six Aliyos read from the normal Parshah of that week?
ANSWER: The VILNA GA'ON (in BI'UR HA'GRA OC 685:2) explains that Abaye must
have changed his mind and in the end sided with Rebbi Yirmiyah and not with
Rebbi Ami. That is why he said that six Aliyos read from the normal Parshah
of the week and the last Aliyah reads from the Arba Parshi'os. The Poskim
rule in accordance with Rebbi Yirmiyah, because both Rebbi Yitzchak Nafcha
and Abaye in the Gemara earlier agreed with him.
QUESTION: The Mishnah lists the Torah readings for the festivals. The Mishnah
says that on Pesach, Rosh Hashanah, and the first day of Sukos, we read the
section of Parshas Emor (Vayikra 23) which discusses those Mo'adim. On
Shavuos, though, the Mishnah says that we read the section in Parshas Re'eh
(Devarim 16:9) which discusses Shavuos.
Why do we not read on Shavuos the section in Parshas *Emor* which discusses
Shavuos, just like we read from Emor on Pesach, Rosh Hashanah, and Sukos?
ANSWER: The RAN answers that the reason we do not read from Emor on all of
the festivals is because we want to rotate the reading of the Parshi'os which
discuss the Mo'adim. Since on Pesach we read from Parshas Emor, when the next
festival comes -- Shavuos -- we read from Parshas Re'eh, the other Parshah
which discusses the Mo'adim. Then, on Sukos, it is time to read Parshas Emor
again, since on the previous festival (Shavuos) we read from Parshas Re'eh.
(Next Pesach begins a new year of Mo'adim, so we start again from Parshas
Emor.)
The Ran's rotation system, though, does not seem to be taking into account
the reading of Rosh Hashanah. On Rosh Hashanah we already returned to Emor,
so shouldn't we read from Parshas Re'eh, again, on Sukos? Why do we read
again from Parshas Emor on Sukos, two Mo'adim in a row?
The answer to this question can be found in the MORDECHAI. The Mordechai
adduces from the wording of the Mishnah that on Rosh Hashanah we do not read
from Parshas Emor the *entire* section describing the Mo'adim, like we read
on Pesach and Sukos. Rather, we read only the verses that relate specifically
to Rosh Hashanah. This is evident from the Mishnah which says that on Rosh
Hashanah, we read the verses of "ba'Chodesh ha'Shevi'i" (in Parshas Emor),
while with regard to Pesach and Sukos it says that we read "Parshas Mo'ados"
in Parshas Emor.
Since we read only a few verses out of the entire section in the Rosh
Hashanah Torah reading, the Torah reading of Rosh Hashanah does not count as
part of the rotation of Emor-Re'eh. Hence, we read the section of the Mo'adim
in Parshas Emor on Sukos in order to give Parshas Emor its turn!
(Why do we read the entire Parshas Mo'ados on Pesach and Sukos but not on
Rosh Hashanah? Perhaps because we only read sections that are related to the
holiday somewhat. All the three Regalim, Pesach Shavuos and Sukos, are
related insofar as their common obligations of Aliyah l'Regel and Korban
Re'iyah are concerned, so we may read about one during the other. Rosh
Hashanah, though, is not directly related to the Regalim, and therefore it is
not appropriate to read the entire Parshas ha'Mo'ados on Rosh Hashanah.)