Summer

Nature

עונת הקיץ החמה מוזכרת לראשונה כחלק מעונות השנה לאחר המבול בספר בראשית. המילה 'קיץ' משמשת במקרא ובמקורות חז"לים גם תיאור של פירות בגמר הבשלתם ובייחוד תאנים. בלשון חז"ל עונת הקיץ מכונה 'תקופת תמוז' שנמשכת מחודש תמוז ועד לחודש אלול. בעונה זו מבשילה התבואה והעצים נותנים בה פירות, ולכן קשורות בה מצוות רבות הקשורות לקציר, קטיף ואסיף כמו מתנות עניים, ביכורים ועוד.

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Lessons from the Ant

JEWISH THOUGHT

The ant's summer activity serves as a metaphor for the importance of diligence and prioritizing eternal values over material ones. In his 15th-century work, Akeidat Yitzchak, Rabbi Isaac Arama uses the ant to illustrate the need for foresight and preparation for the afterlife.

In Proverbs 6, King Solomon teaches that by observing the behavior of the ant, which though not subject to external pressure makes provisions for the oncoming winter by laying in a food supply during the summer, we can learn the value of diligence. It is a sad commentary on the behavior of man, the most intelligent creature, that he must be reminded to learn such lessons from the lowly ant. It is even more saddening to observe man spend most of his life amassing values which will not accompany him beyond the grave…

Akeidat Yitzchak 25:2:4

The Divine Promise of Seasons

TANAKH

The perpetual and unchanging nature of the seasons is a divine promise that underscores the reliability and continuity of the natural world. In the book of Genesis, God promises Noah that as long as the earth exists, the cycles of seasons, including summer, will never cease.

So long as the earth endures,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Summer and winter,
Day and night
Shall not cease.”

Genesis 8:22

Vows and Agricultural Seasons

MISHNAH

Understanding the timing and conditions of vows related to agricultural seasons can provide insight into how Jewish law adapts to local practices and geographical variations. The Mishnah, a foundational text of Jewish oral law from around 200 CE, discusses these nuances in the tractate Nedarim, which deals with vows and their implications.

If he said: Until the summer [kayitz], or: Until it will be summer, the vow remains in effect until the people begin to bring fruit into their houses in baskets. If he said: Until the summer has passed, the vow remains in effect until the people set aside [yakpilu] the knives [hamaktzuot] with which the figs are cut after being harvested, and return them to their place of storage. If one takes a vow until the harvest, the vow remains in effect until people begin to harvest…

Mishnah Nedarim 8:4

The Oppressive End of Summer

TALMUD

The end of summer can feel more oppressive than the summer itself. The Talmudic tractate Yoma uses vivid analogies and mnemonics to compare the relationship of two events.

Thoughts of transgression are worse than transgression itself, and your mnemonic is the odor of meat. The smell of roasting meat is more appetizing than actually eating the meat. The heat of the end of summer is more oppressive than the heat of the summer itself, and your mnemonic is a heated oven. After an oven has been heated several times in the course of a day, lighting it again, even slightly, will produce powerful heat. So too, at the end of the summer, since everything is hot, the heat is more oppressive.

Yoma 29a:1

Harvesting Before the Rain

COMMENTARY

The agricultural practices and seasonal changes during the Festival of Tabernacles are deeply tied to the gathering of fruits due to impending rain. Rashi, the renowned 11th-century French biblical commentator, explains the timing of Sukkot in relation to the agricultural cycle and the gathering of fruits.

באספך את מעשיך WHEN THOU HAST GATHERED IN THY LABOURS — For during the whole summer-time the fruits are drying in the fields and about the Festival (הָחָג is a Talmudical term for the Feast of Tabernacles) they are gathered into the barns on account of the rain that is then due.

Rashi on Exodus 23:16:4

Summer Afternoon, Asher Brown Durand, 1865

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