Bar-Ilan University
Parashat Bo 5773/January 19, 2013
Parashat Hashavua Study Center
Lectures on the weekly Torah reading by the faculty of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. A project of the Faculty of Jewish Studies, Paul and Helene Shulman Basic Jewish Studies Center, and the Office of the Campus Rabbi. Published on the Internet under the sponsorship of Bar-Ilan University's International Center for Jewish Identity. Prepared for Internet Publication by the Computer Center Staff at Bar-Ilan University.
951
Yonah Bar-Maoz[*]
"Bring in My devotees, who made a covenant with Me over sacrifice!" (Ps. 50:5)
The commandment of eating the Pascal lamb in Egypt was conveyed to Moses and Aaron on the first of the month; The ritual itself was to be performed in three parts: on the tenth of the month a live lamb was to be taken by the household, at twilight on the fourteenth of the month it was to be sacrificed and roasted whole and its blood smeared on the doorposts and lintel, and on the eve of the fifteenth of the month it was to be eaten in its entirety along with unleavened cakes and bitter herbs by those assigned to each lamb, those feasting being fully dressed and ready for the road (Ex. 12:9-13). One other instruction was given them—to remember this act and to observe it in the future. To this instruction two major innovations were added: the obligation to celebrate the festival seven days and the prohibition against eating leavened bread (Ex. 12:14-20).
When Moses transmitted the instructions for eating the Pascal lamb in Egypt to the elders of Israel, he mainly repeated the obligation to smear blood on the doorway, adding that they must not go outside the doors of their houses all through the night, as well as instructing them to "observe this rite" for all time, without detailing which of all the details were to be observed in the future as well (Ex. 12:21-27).
The Torah does not recapitulate the laws of Passover until after it has described the smiting of first-borns and the actual Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt which followed in its wake; and then we find out that the lamb may be eaten only by circumcised Israelites and their circumcised slaves (Ex. 12:43-50):[1]
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the law of the Passover offering: No foreigner shall eat of it. But any slave a man has bought may eat of it once he has been circumcised. No bound or hired laborer shall eat of it. It shall be eaten in one house: you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house; nor shall you break a bone of it. The whole community of Israel shall offer it. If a stranger who dwells with you would offer the Passover to the Lord, all his males must be circumcised; then he shall be admitted to offer it; he shall then be as a citizen of the country. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it. There shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger who dwells among you.
The natural question is whether the restrictions requiring circumcision as a condition for eating the Passover offering were also observed in the celebration of Passover that took place in Egypt, or whether this instruction was only for later generations, insofar as the neighboring verses also mention "citizens" and the "stranger who dwells with you," instructions clearly intended for the time when the Israelites would be settled in their land. Here we present three responses to this question.
One response is based on the principle that "the Torah provides a paucity of information in one place and a wealth of information in another" (Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 3.5, 58d), according to which the limitations applying to subsequent celebrations of Passover also applied to the original celebration of Passover in Egypt:
"But no uncircumcised person may eat of it" (Ex. 12:48) and "No foreigner shall eat of it" (Ex. 12:43)—what does the Torah teach us by saying "law" (there)? To apply that which is said with regard to the Passover of Egypt to the Passover for the [subsequent] generations, and that which is said for the Passover for the [subsequent] generations to the Passover in Egypt, save for that which Scripture explicitly excludes.[2]
According to this opinion, in Egypt the Israelites were instructed ahead of time to circumcise themselves and the members of their households as a precondition for eating the Pascal lamb, and therefore when the Mishnah summarizes the differences between Passover in Egypt and Passover for subsequent generations, it does not mention the obligation of circumcision:
What is the difference between Passover as celebrated in Egypt and Passover for subsequent generations? In celebrating Passover in Egypt they set aside the lamb "from the tenth of the month," they had to dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood and spread it on the lintel and both doorposts, and the lamb had to be eaten in haste in a single night; Passover for subsequent generations is celebrated a full seven days.[3]
A second response assumes that at the outset no restriction about circumcision was given, but that it was only added close to the time of eating the lamb. This is evident in several homilies, but the homilies do not always make it clear why this requirement was added, as we shall see below:[4]
Rabbi Abbahu said: By the time Moses and the Israelites were seated and eating their Pascal offerings in Egypt, the Holy One, blessed be He, had already acted, as it is written, "In the middle of the night the Lord struck down all the first-born in the land of Egypt" (Ex. 12:29); that is the view of Rabbi Abbahu, to say "my wormwood[5] gave forth its odor" (cf. Song 1:12)—this teaches us that the smell of that blood[6] was hard to bear, and the Holy One, blessed be He, caused a smell from the fragrance of the Garden of Eden to come to them, so that their mouths watered for food,[7] and they said: Moses, give us something to eat! Moses answered them: Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, said to me: "No foreigner may eat of it." So they forthwith removed all the foreigners from their midst. They salivated for food and said to him: Moses, give us something to eat. He said to them: Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, said to me: "But any slave a man has bought may eat of it once he has been circumcised." They forthwith circumcised their slaves, but they still salivated for the food. They said to him: Give us something to eat. He said to them: Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, said to me in brief, "But no uncircumcised person may eat of it." Immediately each and every one of them took his sword from his side and circumcised himself. (Song of Songs Rabbah, 1.57).
According to this homily, those feasting on the Pascal lamb only found out shortly before the meal that there were conditions which had to be met before it could be fully enjoyed, and it was this context that led them to comply with these requirements.[8]
The third response says the instruction was not given until after they had left Egypt (Exodus Rabbah 19.2):
"This is the law of the Passover"—Rabbi Simeon ben Halafta said: Seeing that the Israelites had left Egypt the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Warn the Israelites regarding the commandment of Passover, "No foreigner shall eat of it. But any slave a man has bought may eat of it once he has been circumcised, etc." The Israelites, seeing that uncircumcised men were forbidden to eat the Pascal lamb, paused briefly and circumcised all their slaves and sons, and all who left with them, as it is written: "And the Israelites went and did so; [just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did]" (Ex. 12:28).[9]
The expression, rendered here as "seeing that," denotes a connection between an event that occurred and what followed afterwards, e.g., "seeing that uncircumcised men were forbidden to eat the Pascal lamb, [they] paused briefly and circumcised all their slaves and sons." This is also clearly evident from the continuation of the homily: "and all who left with them." It follows that the restriction against uncircumcised men eating the Pascal lamb did not precede the exodus, rather followed it, perhaps on account of it.
The third response has a double advantage. Firstly, one does not have to make deductions from one part of the text regarding another part, because the order of the narrative matches the order of events. Secondly, the original instruction was indeed to take "a lamb to a family, a lamb to a household," but also "with a neighbor who dwells nearby" (Ex. 12:3-4). But in Egypt their neighbors and even those who lived in the same house could have been gentiles, for Scripture says, "Each woman shall borrow from her neighbor and the lodger in her house objects of silver and gold, and clothing" (Ex. 3:22).[10] Thus it appears from these verses that the restriction against foreigners partaking had not been preplanned.
According to this view, we can understand why this innovation should appear separately, apart from the other new elements in the celebration of Passover for subsequent generations, after the exodus from bondage to freedom. But what was the reason for this new law? It seems to document what actually happened of its own accord. Bear in mind that it was extremely dangerous for the Israelites to sit down to eat the lamb amidst the Egyptians, for Moses had turned down Pharaoh's proposal that they sacrifice to the Lord within the land of Egypt, arguing, "If we sacrifice that which is untouchable to the Egyptians before their very eyes, will they not stone us?" (Ex. 8:22). Thus it seems that only those who trusted in the Lord had the courage to make the Pascal offering in their homes, and they were joined there by others who did not dare take such overt action against the Egyptians.[11]
Assuming that such was the case, it stands to reason that the significance of eating the Pascal lamb as a mark of spiritually casting off the yoke of bondage to Egypt was understood and appreciated by those who from the outset had managed to preserve an independent spirit and distinctiveness from the Egyptians. One of the marks of freedom of spirit was circumcision. Indeed, when the entire people were again circumcised, according to the heritage of their forebears, the Lord said to Joshua: "Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt" (Josh. 5:9), meaning that this was the final act signifying the exodus from bondage to freedom.
If this was the case, then the first celebration of the Passover may have set a precedent for a process that took place in the second celebration of Passover as well (Num. 9): the Lord confirmed something that the people had begun, and in the wake of their initiative gave it validity for all time. Since the vast majority of the people who carried out the instruction to eat the Pascal lamb were circumcised, the Lord commanded that henceforth this would be a necessary condition for observing Passover.
If we are correct in our hypothesis, this might explain the interesting phenomenon of the people of Israel showing renewed interest in their heritage precisely during Passover.[12] Adding the fact that the vast majority of Israelis circumcise their sons, we are happy to say that it appears that ever since the original celebration of Passover in Egypt we seem to have willingly imprinted on our spiritual genetic code adherence to the commandments of Passover and circumcision.[13]
Translated by Rachel Rowen
[*] Ms. Bar-Maoz taught in the Department of Bible and the Center for Basic Jewish Studies at Bar Ilan University. Currently she is a senior employee of Ha-Keter Mikraot Gedolot and specializes in redacting Bible commentaries.
[1] The title of this article comes from the continuation of the homily in Exodus Rabbah (19.5), discussed in the article: "It can be compared to a king who arranged a banquet for his friends and who said: 'Unless the invited guests show my seal [on the invitation card], none can enter.' Similarly, G-d ordained a feast for them, flesh roasted with fire…to commemorate their deliverance from trouble; but He commanded: 'Unless the seal of Abraham is inscribed on your flesh, you cannot taste thereof.' Thereupon all those who had been born in Egypt were immediately circumcised, and concerning these is it said: 'Bring in My devotees, who made a covenant with Me over sacrifice.'"
[2] Mekhilta de-Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai (12.43), Epstein edition, Jerusalem 1979 (for the reader's convenience we present the midrash entirely reconstructed), and in Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Bo, Pisha 15: "This is the law of the Passover offering—Scripture here deals with both the Passover of Egypt and the Passover of subsequent generations—these are the words of Rabbi Josiah. Rabbi Jonathan says: This passage deals with the Passover of Egypt; hence I would know only about the Passover of Egypt, so how do I know about the Passover of subsequent generations? Scripture says: 'you shall offer it according to all its rules and rites' (Num. 9:3). Rabbi Josiah said to him: This passage as well as that one deals with both the Passover of Egypt and the Passover of subsequent generations. Why, then, does Scripture have to say: 'according to all its rules and rites'? It merely aims to teach thereby that even those laws which are omitted in the regulations for the Passover of subsequent generations are applicable to it." (Horowitz-Rabin edition, Jerusalem 1970)
[3] Mishnah Pesahim 9:5. Moreover, the discussion in the gemara, Pesahim 96a, surmises that perhaps the restriction of circumcision applied to the Passover celebrated in Egypt and not to Passover for subsequent generations.
[4] This version of the midrash comes from Shimshon Donsky, Midrash Rabbah, Shir ha-Shirim, Midrash Hazit, Jerusalem—Tel Aviv 1980. A shorter version of the story also appears in ch. 3, 14.