Pessah in Egypt

Found 14 Search results

1. The Korban Pesach - Sacrifice or Feast?

   Prof. Jonathan Grossman

   The Pessach God commands the nation to bring in Egypt includes various sacrificial elements - but one of the essential elements of a sacrifice - an altar - is absent. This essay posits that the homes of Bnei Yisrael were made into an altar for the purpose of sacrificing the Pessach. This supposition sheds light on the function of the Pessach sacrifice in this parasha and throughout Tanach.

2. The Speed of Redemption

   Rabbi Alex Israel | 41 minutes

   Central to Parashat Bo are the the unique Pesach Mitzrayim rituals, such as painting doorposts with lamb’s blood, carried out during the night of the Plague of the Firstborn. What is the purpose of Pesach Mitzrayim? After exploring the respective commentaries of Rambam and Rashi on the meaning and symbolism behind the rituals, we arrive at a message about the need to invest ourselves in the redemption process

3. Pesach Mitzrayim - A Commitment to God

   Rabbi Moshe Aberman

   What was the purpose of the Pesach Mitzrayim? Why was a sacrifice called for proceeding the exodus from Egypt? And why did the Pesach Mitzrayim require all the various preparatory stages unique to Pesach Mitzrayim (which are not practised for Pesach Dorot)? Midrashic sources such as the Mekhilta and the Midrash Lekach Tov  respond to these questions and raise other ones. We arrive at an understanding of the purpose of the unique features of Pesach Mitzrayim: to identify with the God of Israel; to break ties with Egyptian culture and strengthen the Israelite identity.

4. The Uniqueness of the Korban Pesach

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   What is the nature of the Korban Pessah? Is it a sacrifice or perhaps a festive meal? If it is considered a sacrifice, what type of sacrifice is it? Why does it need to be eaten quickly? By examining this korban, we can learn about its unique dual nature representing the presence of God. 

5. You Comfort Me in Vain

   A Clarification of the Connection Between Pesach and the 9th of Av

   Rabbi Elyakim Krumbein

   The Midrash comments that Pessah and the 9^th of Av always fall on the same day of the week.

   The Pesach of Egypt was not an ideal sacrifice. The true festival lay ahead, in the future, in Eretz Yisrael.  What was required of the nation in Egypt was a demonstration of faith in that future despite the difficult conditions that existed in Egypt. The combination of the maror and the Pesach declares that faith in the future is victorious over the depression of the present; it is indeed possible to taste the redemption in the very grains of the maror.

   Eating maror in the Beit HaMikdash was meant to help us identify with the heroic faith of our forefathers in Egypt, which attained its justification and its realization in the celebration of the Pessah in the Mikdash.  But after the Beit Hamikdah was destroyed, the grand celebration of Pessah appears to have been a passing euphoria; the Pessah of Egypt - observance of the mitzvot under difficult conditions - became the dominant situation for all generations.  For the weary nation of Israel only absolute redemption can justify the old understanding of Pesach in Egypt - as a road-sign for the future.  At this stage the Pesach of Egypt appears as nothing more than yet another example of the gloomy scenario which plays itself over and over - a perverted observance of the beautiful Torah which exists only in the dreams of seers.  The maror was supposed to be the basis for the Pessah sacrifice, but Tish'a be-Av gives it a new perspective: the sacrifice has disappeared, but the maror remains.

    

6. The Matza Mystery - The Meaning of the Command to Eat Matza Prior to the Exodus

   Rabbi Yair Kahn

   תאריך פרסום: תשע"ג | |

   Sefer Shemot describes how Bnei Yisrael baked matza as they were being rushed out of Egypt because they didn't have time to wait for the leavening process in bread. But there was already a law about matza that appeared in the instructions before the Pesach in Egypt. - that Bnei Yisrael were to eat the lamb with matza and maror. Why are Bnei Yisrael commanded to eat matza for Pesach Mitzrayim-- what is the symbolism for the matza before Bnei Yisrael left in haste? We find clues in earlier chapters in Shemot as well as in the Brit Bein HaBetarim (Covenant Between the Parts) that present the matza as paralleling two different parts of the exodus. Multiple aspects of the matza experience are important in commemorating the Exodus, as the matza may symbolize the enslavement, oppression (innuy), and redemption.

7. Remembering the Exodus from Egypt

   Rabbi Meir Spiegelman

   The Torah commands us to celebrate, for all generations, the day of our exodus from Egypt. When are we to celebrate this festival? It turns out that the answer to this question differs from parasha to parasha, depending on where it appears. In some places the "festival of Pesach" is attached to the date upon which it fell (14th or 15th of Nissan), while in others the date is noted according to the season (in the "month of spring"). What is the nature of the dual dating of the Pesach festival?

   Through an examination of the text we notice that the two dates of Pesach correspond to the two perspectives regarding the sanctity of time – that of Bnei Yisrael and that of God.

8. Parashat Vaera - Moshe the Liberator

   Rabbi Ezra Bick | 30 minutes

   Parashat Vaera is notorious for the confusion at the beginning - there is blatant repetition of the command to tell Pharaoh the message, and Moshe's complaint. We compare our parasha to the previous Parasha- Parashat Shemot, to look at Moshe's two missions. Moshe appears to believe he has two missions: one to Pharaoh and one to the Jews. What are these different missions? Is God only concerned with the mission to Pharaoh?

   Moshe wishes to uplift the spirit of Bnei Yisrael, but is mistaken in his approach: Moshe's mission to Bnei Yisrael will be completed through his mission to Pharaoh. Rather than by oratory, Bnei Yisrael will be liberated by God as the collapse of Egypt and the breaking of their yoke of slavery occurs before their eyes, in a way that is drawn-out enough to transform the way they see themselves.

9. Parashat Bo: From Passive to Active

   Rabbi Alex Israel | 32 minutes

   Parashat Bo takes an exciting twist: we finally see Bnei Yisrael act. Egypt now knows that God is sovereign and Bnei Yisrael are almost ready to go. Throughout the process, Bnei Yisrael have been marignialized, but suddenly they are asked to do something: they are to prepare for The Plague of the Firstborn, and are given a set of instructions to prepare for the Pesach ritual in Egypt- a Pesach characterized by anticipation and tension rather than remembrance of future generations.
   Suddenly Bnei Yisrael turn from passive to active. This is a dramatic shift- and why is it here? Why are Bnei Yisrael commanded to act?
   Did they need this? We explore various possibilities and suggest that they need to bring themselves into a different state in order to make themselves worthy of coming out of Eypt - and worthy of redemption - in an absolute way.

    

10. The Deaths in the Plague of Baal Peor - Hesed in the Midst of Din

    Rabbi Ezra Bick | 12 minutes

    After the sin of Ba'al Pe'or, there is a plague that kills many of Bnei Yisrael.  In the pasuk about the number of those who died in the plague, the Torah's phrasing is unusual. This brings us to examine the concept of a plague in the Torah. We look at the principles of Divine intervention in cases of plagues in the Torah, including that of Pesach Mitzrayim and Makkat Bekhorot. We find that even when there's din- strict judgment, there is also Divine hessed - lovingkindness.

11. The Meaning of Shavuot and its Unique Offering

    Rabbi Dr. Yoel Bin Nun

    While Pesach and Shavuot are linked by the counting of the Omer, they differ radically in their relationship to chametz and matza: on Pesach chametz is forbidden and matza is compulsory, while on Shavuot we offer two loaves of chametz.  How are we to understand this?  A proper explanation of the significance of chametz and matza, analyzing the various sources that appear in the Torah, shows that these are all details of a complete, unified system.

12. “And They Did” - Between Obedience and Creativity

    Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky

13. Pesach and the Feast of Matzot – Two Holidays Rather than One

    Rabbi Dr. Yoel Bin Nun

    In the Torah, Pesach (Passover) and the Feast of Matzot (Chag Ha-Matzot) are two connected holidays, rather than a single holiday that begins with the Paschal offering. But Pesach also appears in the Torah and in the Prophets on its own, without the Feast of Matzot, in various forms and sometimes even without a date, in the sense of miraculous rescue. Through a close examination of the text we can understand the relationship between these two aspects of the holiday and the crucial role that each plays.  

14. Parshat Bo Part 4: The Paschal Lamb: In Egypt and for Future Generations

    Dr. Yael Ziegler | 36 minutes

    This podcast discusses Pesach Mitzrayim and Pesach Dorot, as well as the commandment of the Korban Pesach, all of which are meant to help Bnei Yisrael define their relationship with God and separate themselves from Egyptian culture.  

    Courtesy of www.tanachstudy.com