Chagigah 2a — the Talmud in English

The Jewish people were commanded to fulfill three positive mitzvot on each of the three pilgrimage festivals, and these are: 1. The mitzva of appearing, which includes appearing in person in the Temple courtyard, and bringing an appearance offering. As it is stated: “Three times in the year every one of your males shall appear before the Lord H.” 2. The mitzva of the festival offering: As it is stated: “Three pilgrimage festivals [times] shall you celebrate for Me in the year.” And most of the expressions of “celebration” that are stated in the Torah concerning the pilgrimage festivals refer to the festival offering. 3. The mitzva of rejoicing: As it is stated: “And you shall rejoice in your festival.” And it is stated: “And you shall slaughter peace-offerings, and eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God.” The mitzva of appearing stated in the Torah is that one appear before the Lord in the courtyard on the first Festival day of the festival, and offer an “appearance burnt-offering.” And one who came to the courtyard during the festival and did not bring an appearance burnt-offering transgressed a prohibition. As it is stated: “And they shall not appear before Me empty-handed.” One who did not appear before the Lord in the courtyard on the first Festival day of the festival continues to fulfill it and appears throughout all seven days. And if he appeared in the courtyard on the first Festival day of the festival, but did not bring an offering with him, he continues to fulfill it and brings the appearance burnt-offering throughout all seven days. The festival offering stated in the Torah is that we offer peace-offerings [for the purpose of a festival offering] on the first Festival day of the festival. And one who did not bring his festival offering on the first day of the festival continues to fulfill it and brings it throughout all seven days. The rejoicing stated in the Torah concerning the pilgrimage festivals is that a person bring a peace-offering from his non-sacred money [or from his second-tithe money], so that he will have meat to satiety. For the rejoicing of the festival is only with meat. Mishna:

All are obligated

on the three pilgrimage festivals

in

mitzvot

of appearing

in the courtyard, and in bringing an appearance burnt-offering [Tosafot in understanding Rashi],

except for:

A deaf-mute.

It will be explained in the Gemara whether the reference is to a deaf-mute who also neither hears nor speaks, because he has no understanding, or whether the reference is even to one who speaks but does not hear, or hears but does not speak.

An intellectually incapacitated person and a minor.

Since they have no understanding, they are exempt from all the mitzvot.

And a tumtum

[whose genital organs are covered by skin]. And it is learned from what the Torah said: “Every one of your males shall appear,” and it did not say: “A male shall appear.”

And an androgynos.

A person who has both male organs and female organs. “

Andro” is male in the Greek language, and “gynos” is female [Arukh]. And he, too, is learned from “your males.”

And women.

For the Torah said: “Every one of your males shall appear.”

Furthermore, the mitzva of appearing is a positive mitzva whose time determines it. And women are exempt from every positive mitzva whose time determines it.

And slaves who are not emancipated.

Since their law concerning mitzvot is equal to the law of a woman.

And according to Ravina in the Gemara, our Mishna comes to exempt even one who is half slave and half free, as it is stated: “Before the Lord, the Master”—one who has only one master; this one, who also has another master, is excluded. And therefore we taught “who are not emancipated,” to include one who was partially emancipated but not completely.

Likewise, those who cannot walk on their feet without a support and assistance are exempt from the mitzva of appearing. And they are:

the lame, the blind, the sick, the elderly, and one who cannot ascend on his feet

for other reasons [and this is explained in the Gemara].

And this exemption is learned from what the Torah said: “Three pilgrimage festivals shall you celebrate for Me in the year.” And the meaning of “pilgrimage festivals” is: one who is fit to ascend on his feet is obligated to ascend; this excludes one who cannot ascend by means of his feet, but only by means of a support.

And the Mishna explains:

Who is a minor

who is exempt from appearing, and whom the Sages did not require to train?

Every

minor

who cannot “ride on his father’s shoulders and ascend

with him

from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount.

But once he has reached this measure, he is included in the mitzva of training for appearing, by rabbinic law,

the words of Beit Shammai.

And

these

Beit Hillel say

a different measure:

Everyone who cannot “grasp his father’s hand and ascend from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount”

on his feet is still exempt from appearing, and he need not be trained in this. Only once he has reached this measure is he required to appear, by the law of “training,” by rabbinic law. And the reason that we do not require him to be trained in the mitzva of appearing before this measure is because

it is stated: “Three pilgrimage festivals

shall you celebrate for Me in the year,” and everyone who cannot ascend on his feet was excluded by “pilgrimage festivals.” And since if he were an adult and could not walk on his feet he would be exempt from the mitzva of appearing, even when he is a minor there is no law of training for him [Rashi. And see an additional explanation in the notes].

Beit Shammai say:

The offering

of appearing

must be worth at least

two

coins

of silver, and

the offering

of the festival offering

must be worth at least

one silver coin.

And Beit Hillel say

the opposite:

The appearance offering is one silver coin, and the festival offering is two silver coins.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: All are obligated in appearing.

And the Gemara explains the wording of the Mishna, “All are obligated in appearing”:

“All”—

to include what

[whom does this expression come to include]?

The Gemara explains:

To include one who is half slave and half free,

[a slave who belonged to two partners, and one released his share], to obligate him in appearing.

But according to Ravina, who says: One who is half slave and half free is exempt from appearing

[and he explained in this way the latter part of our Mishna: “and slaves who are not emancipated,” implying that all who are not completely emancipated are exempt from appearing]—

“All”—to include what?

We learned in the Mishna below, 9a: One who did not bring the festival offering on the first Festival day of the festival celebrates throughout the entire festival.

And the same law applies to one who did not appear in the courtyard on the first Festival day of the festival: he has compensatory days throughout all seven days, and he appears in the courtyard and brings an offering with him [Tuvei Even].

And the amoraim disagree below, 9a, concerning the nature of the compensatory days throughout all seven days with regard to the festival offering, and the same law applies with regard to appearing:

Rabbi Yohanan holds: They are all “compensation for the first,” and there is an obligation in its own right only on the first day, while the other days are compensation for it.

But Rabbi Oshaya holds: “They are all compensation for one another.” That is, each and every day creates an obligation in its own right, and it is not connected to the obligation or exemption of the days before it. And if he became obligated on the first day, the days after it are “compensation” for him. And if he was exempt on the first day and became obligated on another day, the days following the day on which he became obligated are compensation for him [Rashi below].

And we explain “all”:

to include

one who was

lame on the first day

of the festival, and was exempt on it from the mitzva of appearing,

and became able-bodied

[became whole like everyone else]

on the second day.

He is obligated to appear on the second day, and if he did not appear on the second day, he is obligated to appear on another day and to bring an offering with him [and we do not say: Since he was exempt on the first day from appearing, he is no longer obligated, because there is no “compensation” for one who was not obligated].

And we still raise an objection:

This works well according to the one who says: They are all

—the seven days—

compensation for one another,

for according to his view, everyone who was exempt on the first day becomes obligated on the second day.

But according to the one who says: They are all compensation for the first,

and according to his view one who was exempt on the first day has no compensation, if so:

“All”—

to include what?

And we explain:

To include one blind in one eye

to obligate him in appearing.

For a blind person is exempt from the mitzva of appearing only because he cannot walk alone without assistance, and his exemption is because it is stated “pilgrimage festivals.” Therefore, if he is blind only in one eye, he is obligated to make the pilgrimage.

And

our Mishna

is not in accordance with this tanna,

who exempts even one who is blind in only one eye and can walk on his own.

As it was taught in a beraita: Yohanan ben Dahavai says in the name of Rabbi Yehuda: One blind in one eye is exempt from appearing,

since

it is stated: “Three times in the year every one of your males shall appear before the Lord, the Master”—

“Three times in the year he shall appear, every one of your males, before the Lord, the Master.”

And this word, without the tradition of the vowels, is read

“he shall see”

[with a hiriq], meaning that the person will come to the courtyard and see the Divine Presence there.

But according to the tradition of the vowels we read it

“he shall be seen”

[with a tzere], meaning that a person must bring himself to the courtyard so that there he will be seen by the Divine Presence.

And both readings are expounded, to teach you:

Just as He came

the Holy One, blessed be He,

to see

you

[that is, “he shall be seen,” according to the meaning of the tradition of the vowels, that the person comes to be shown before the Holy One, blessed be He],

so

the Holy One, blessed be He,

comes to be seen

by you, through your seeing Him [that is, “he shall see,” according to the meaning of the biblical text, without the tradition of the vowels].

Just as “to see

you”

[“he shall be seen”] is, as it were,

with His two eyes

of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is complete sight—

so, to be seen

by a person,

with the two eyes

of the person who comes to see. This excludes one who does not see with both his eyes, who is exempt from appearing.

And if you wish, I will say

to explain what our Mishna said, “all”:

Actually, as they said initially,

that it comes to include one who is half slave and half free, to obligate him in appearing.

, and what troubles you is this statement of Ravina,

who said that it comes to interpret the ending of our Mishna, which comes to teach that even one who is half a slave and half a free man is exempt from pilgrimage appearance.

It is not difficult.

For:

Here—

the ending, which exempts one who is half a slave and half a free man, was taught

according to the first Mishna,

before Beit Hillel retracted their position, when they held that his master is not compelled to free him; and since that is so, he is exempt from pilgrimage appearance.

Here—

the beginning, which obligates one who is half a slave and half a free man in pilgrimage appearance, was taught

according to the latter Mishna,

after Beit Hillel retracted their position and conceded to Beit Shammai, who had said: his master is compelled, and makes him a free man.

And since the master is obligated to free him, already from now he is as though he had been freed, and he is obligated in pilgrimage appearance.

For we learned: One who is half a slave and half a free man,

that one

serves his master one day, and himself one day, the words of Beit Hillel

Beit Shammai said to them: