Siman 490, Se'if 5

Shulchan Aruch, siman 490, continuation of se'if 5: the mnemonic for the Torah readings of the eight days of Pesach

"Meshech, Tora, Kadesh, Bekaspa, Pesal, Bemidbera, Shelach, Buchra"
(the mnemonic for the readings, as brought in the Shulchan Aruch from the Gemara)

The nature of the mnemonic

Why a mnemonic is needed: On each day of Pesach we read a different portion dealing with a different subject, since Pesach is mentioned in the Torah in a number of different parshiyos. This is unlike Sukkos, where we stay in the same portion all the days and only the korban changes (on the second day, on the third day, and so on). Since nobody remembers the order of these readings, Chazal established a mnemonic.
Its source in the Gemara: This mnemonic appears in the Gemara itself, unlike the mnemonics of the Seder night, which are not from the Gemara.
Eight separate words: These are not paired phrases. There are eight expressions, each one of them a portion in its own right, with no connection between one and the next. Accordingly, a comma should really be printed between every single word, and the fact that it is usually printed without commas has no explanation.

The readings in detail (Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 8)

"Meshech, Tora: these are the mnemonics for the opening words of the portions": the first day, "Draw out and take for yourselves sheep"; the second day, "An ox or a sheep"; the third day, "Sanctify to Me every firstborn"; the fourth day, "If you lend money"; the fifth day, "Carve for yourself two tablets of stone"; the sixth day, "And Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai... and Bnei Yisrael made the Pesach in its appointed time"; the seventh day, parshas Beshalach; the eighth day, "Every firstborn that is born in your herd" (parshas Re'eh)
(Mishnah Berurah)

The mnemonic does not always begin with the first verse: Sometimes the portion actually opens with "And Hashem spoke to Moshe saying," and the mnemonic was formed according to the subject rather than the literal opening word.
The eighth day: In Eretz Yisrael there is no eighth day, since Pesach there is seven days, so the last item in the mnemonic applies only outside of Eretz Yisrael.
Proof for the punctuation: The Mishnah Berurah's words also show that each word is a mnemonic in its own right, with no connection between the first and the second.

Homiletic interpretations of the mnemonic

Although the mnemonic is purely technical, the darshanim found hints in it, just as they expounded on every mnemonic in the Gemara and in the Haggadah.

The Levush (Rav Mordechai Yaffe): The mnemonic alludes to the sin of the golden calf. "Meshech tora": they were drawn after the calf; "Kadesh bekaspa": they made it from silver and gold; "Pesal bemidbera": the idol that was made in the wilderness; "Shelach buchra": as a result of the sin the firstborn were disqualified from the service and the Levi'im took their place, even though until then the firstborn had been the first and the sanctified one.
The Ya'avetz, who disagrees: One does not create mnemonics that point to something negative, only to something good and to the redemption. In his view "Meshech tora" refers to Yosef, who drew Yisrael down to Mitzrayim; "Kadesh bekaspa" because he gathered money there during the famine years; "Shelach buchra" that Hakadosh Baruch Hu redeemed the firstborn.

(The Ya'avetz's explanation of "Pesal bemidbera" was not brought here.)

A change in the order

"And this order does not change except when Pesach falls on Thursday"
(Shulchan Aruch)

The principle: The order that Chazal established in the Gemara is the standard order, and only when Pesach falls on Thursday, so that Shabbos falls in the middle of Chol Hamoed, is there a deviation from that order. In a year where this situation does not arise, we follow the standard order.

Reading from two Sifrei Torah on Chol Hamoed and the last Yamim Tovim

"On all the days of Chol Hamoed and on the last two Yamim Tovim we read in the second Sefer the additional korbanos found in parshas Pinchas, beginning with 'And you shall offer' until the end of the paragraph"
(Shulchan Aruch)

The reading has a double purpose: In the first Sefer we read the subject of the day, that is, the portion in which Pesach is mentioned; and in the second Sefer, the korban Musaf.
Why we read the korban: The Musaf prayer was instituted as a commemoration of the korban Musaf that was brought on every Yom Tov and Moed, and we are obligated to mention the korban in the tefillah ("and the Musaf of this day, as it is said") and to recite its verses.
Why this works out conveniently on Pesach: On Pesach there is a portion about Pesach on its own without the korban, and there is parshas Pinchas which contains all the korbanos including the korban of Pesach, and therefore we take out two Sifrei Torah.

Where the Chatzi Kaddish is said (Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 10)

"Four are called up throughout the Moed... and therefore we do not say Kaddish until after the fourth has read, for then the number of those called up has been completed"
(Mishnah Berurah)

The function of the Chatzi Kaddish: It marks the conclusion of the reading of the Torah, and therefore it is said only after the full number of aliyos has been completed.
The common mistake: Some assume that it is always said after the first Sefer. True, in most cases it works out that way, but that is not the rule.
An example of the usual case: On the four special parshiyos (Shekalim, Parah, HaChodesh) we take out two Sifrei Torah; in the first we read the weekly parshah and in the second we read Shekalim or Parah or HaChodesh, which serves as the Maftir. Therefore the Kaddish is said after the seven aliyos of the first Sefer are finished.
The difference on Chol Hamoed: On Chol Hamoed four people are called up, there is no Haftarah, and in the first Sefer only three read. The one called to the second Sefer is the fourth, and that reading is a continuation of the Torah reading and not a Maftir. Therefore Kaddish cannot be said after the first Sefer, since that is not the end of the reading.

A parallel case: three Sifrei Torah

On Simchas Torah: In the first Sefer we read in parshas Vezos Habrachah, in the second Sefer we read parshas Bereishis, and no Kaddish is said between them. After the reading in the second Sefer is finished we say Chatzi Kaddish, and in the third Sefer we read the Maftir, which is the korban Musaf of Shemini Atzeres: "On the eighth day you shall have an assembly."
It does not depend on the number of aliyos: On Simchas Torah we call up as many people as we wish, and the Kaddish there too is not determined by the number of those called up but by the conclusion of the reading, since the reading in the second Sefer is an inseparable part of the reading in the first.
What "the weekly parshah" means here: Even though Simchas Torah falls on a weekday, we read on it the portion according to the regular cycle of parshiyos, and the reading of Bereishis is likewise not connected to the subject of the day. The phrase "the weekly parshah" can therefore be misleading; what is meant is the reading that follows the cycle of parshiyos.
The resulting rule: In the other cases too where three Sifrei Torah are taken out, the Kaddish is said after the second Sefer and not after the first. Since this is not a frequent occurrence, the poskim discussed cases where the congregation erred, for instance where they said Kaddish after the first aliyah or after the first Sefer.

Shabbos, Yom Tov and Yom Kippur

"This is not so on Shabbos, Yom Tov and Yom Kippur, where the number of those called up is completed before the Maftir reads, and therefore we say Kaddish immediately"
(Mishnah Berurah)

The practice: On Shabbos, when there is one Sefer, we say Kaddish at the conclusion of the reading. And when there are two Sifrei Torah, we say Kaddish once the required number of aliyos has been completed and afterwards read the Maftir in the second Sefer.
The Sephardic custom: Those who take out two Sifrei Torah say Kaddish after each Sefer, and this is not the Ashkenazic custom.

Taking out two Sifrei Torah and tircha d'tzibura

The accepted reason: We take out two Sifrei Torah in order to avoid burdening the congregation with rolling the Sefer from one portion to another.
The practice of Rav Shimon in Yerushalayim: In his beis medrash they did not take out two Sifrei Torah for parshas Shekalim, because parshas Shekalim (in Ki Sisa) is close to parshas Terumah, with only two columns of rolling separating them, and in his view taking out a second Sefer is the greater burden. This is a unique practice; the universal custom is to take out two Sifrei Torah even when the portions are close to each other.
Sometimes the second Sefer also needs rolling: Taking out two Sifrei Torah does not always solve the burden, since even in the second Sefer there are times when one has to roll.
A note in the name of the academic scholars: Some want to say that according to the Yerushalmi they did not take out two Sifrei Torah at all, and there are scholars who claim that the custom is a later one that took hold in Bavel, since it is written in the Gemara, while in Eretz Yisrael they did not practice this way. The matter is not decided.

Shulchan Aruch, se'if 7: the night of the last Yom Tov

"On the night of the last Yom Tov we make Kiddush on wine and do not say the blessing of 'zman' (Shehecheyanu), and in the tefillah and in Kiddush we say 'the time of our freedom' just as on the first Yom Tov"
(Shulchan Aruch)

1. Why we do not say "zman" (Shehecheyanu)

The side that there would be room to say it: The Torah calls the seventh day of Pesach "atzeres" ("an assembly to Hashem your God"), and likewise there is Shemini Atzeres, on which we do say Shehecheyanu. One might therefore have thought that the seventh day of Pesach is a Yom Tov in its own right and that Shehecheyanu should be said on it.
The ruling: The seventh day of Pesach is not a Yom Tov in its own right but is derived from the first day, and for that reason no "zman" is said on it. Because of the possible error, the Shulchan Aruch had to state this explicitly.

2. "The time of our freedom" on the seventh day of Pesach

The side that one should not say "our freedom": The freedom took place at the Exodus, which was on the first day, and on that basis some wanted to say a different formulation on the seventh day, such as "the time of our rejoicing."
The side that we do say "our freedom": After the Exodus, Pharaoh still pursued Yisrael and could have overtaken them, and the freedom was only completed with the splitting of the sea, which took place on the seventh day of Pesach.
The halachah: The ruling is to say "the time of our freedom" on the seventh day of Pesach as well, just as on the first Yom Tov.

(Some wanted to say that it is the time of the splitting of the Yam Suf, and therefore the Shulchan Aruch had to spell out the wording of the tefillah and of Kiddush.)

3. "We make Kiddush on wine": the point is in shul (Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 11-12)

"On the nights of the last Yom Tov: both on the seventh and on the eighth outside of Eretz Yisrael"
(Mishnah Berurah)

"We make Kiddush on wine: meaning in the shul. For the reason that on the first two nights we do not make Kiddush in shul is that there is no one in Yisrael who does not have four cups... which is not the case here"
(Mishnah Berurah)

What the novelty is: It is obvious that Kiddush is made on wine; the emphasis of the Shulchan Aruch is that on the night of the last Yom Tov Kiddush is also made in shul, unlike the first two nights of Pesach.
Why Kiddush is made in shul on the other festivals: To fulfill the obligation for the poor and for guests who have no wine and who eat in the shul.
Two reasons why Kiddush is not made in shul on the Seder night:
- There is no one in Yisrael who does not have four cups, since on Pesach we provide the poor man with all the needs of the seudah.
- The Kiddush of the Seder night is not merely Kiddush but is also the first of the four cups, so Kiddush in shul would not achieve its purpose; rather he goes home, where he has four cups and conducts the Seder there.
On the night of the last Yom Tov: There is no obligation of four cups, and so someone who has no wine comes to shul and hears Kiddush, and that Kiddush solves his wine problem.

4. Shehecheyanu on the reading of Shir Hashirim

The view of the Agur: On the reading of the Megillos, including Shir Hashirim, one should recite Shehecheyanu. According to this, when we read Shir Hashirim on the seventh day of Pesach it turns out that Shehecheyanu is said on the seventh day of Pesach, even though no "zman" is said on the day itself.
A qualification: Not everyone holds this way in practice, and it is not the plain meaning of the se'if, which is that no "zman" is said over the day itself.

In passing · the development of reading Bereishis on Simchas Torah

The beginnings of the custom: Originally parshas Bereishis was not read on Simchas Torah; the custom is a later development. It is relatively early and already appears in the times of the Geonim, but it was not so from the outset.
The custom of Eretz Yisrael: There they completed the Torah once every three years, and our discussion here relates only to our custom of completing the Torah once a year.
Repeating the same reading: There is no difficulty in this, since on Monday and Thursday too we read from what will be read on Shabbos and then repeat the entire portion on Shabbos.
A source for further study: The sefer Toldos Chag Simchas Torah by Avraham Yaari, which brings all the stages of the development.

In passing · saying Shehecheyanu at candle lighting or at Kiddush

What the blessing is on: Shehecheyanu is not on the candles and is not on the Kiddush, but on the day itself, that a person merited to reach this time, just as we recite Shehecheyanu over a fruit.
Only once: It is said one time only, so someone who said it at candle lighting does not say it at Kiddush, and someone who says it at Kiddush does not say it at the candles. The common practice is to say it at Kiddush, but this is not an obligation.
One who did not say it: Even if he forgot at the candles and forgot at Kiddush, he can say it afterwards, since the blessing is on the day itself and it was attached to the candles or to Kiddush merely for convenience, in the same way that "zman" is not bound to Havdalah.
The absence of a discussion of candle lighting: The Mishnah Berurah here does not mention candle lighting at all, only that "zman" is not said at Kiddush, and likewise regarding the first Yom Tov the Shulchan Aruch did not enter into the laws of candle lighting. The commentators did address it, and the reason the Mishnah Berurah did not mention it is not explained.
A practical caution for women: A woman lighting candles knows the blessing by heart and does not need a siddur, and since on almost every Yom Tov Shehecheyanu is said at the lighting, she is liable to say it on the seventh day of Pesach as well by mistake. One must therefore warn about this. A person making Kiddush recites from the siddur and does not stumble in this.
A woman who said Shehecheyanu at the lighting and then hears Kiddush: There is no problem with this. She has already fulfilled her obligation by saying it, and the husband who says Shehecheyanu in Kiddush fulfills the obligation for those listening just as he does for the Kiddush itself.