Korban Pesach
Encyclopedia
The Passover sacrifice also known as the "sacrifice of Passover
", the "Paschal Lamb" is the sacrifice
that the Torah
mandates to be brought on the eve of Passover
, and eaten on the first night of the holiday with bitter herbs and matzo
. According to the Torah, it was first offered on the night of the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt
. Although practiced by Jews in ancient times, the ritual is no longer performed today except by certain minority groups.
that night, that he should pass by the houses of the Israelites This is called in the Mishnah
the "Passover of Egypt" (Pesaḥ Miẓrayim in M.Pesach ix. 5). It was ordained, furthermore (Exodus 12:24-27), that this observance should be repeated annually for all time once the Israelites entered into their promised land. Exodus 12:25 "It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service (NKJV). This so-called "Pesaḥ Dorot," the Passover of succeeding generations (Mishnah Pesach l.c.), differs in many respects from the Passover of Egypt (Pesaḥ Miẓrayim). In the pre-exilic period, however, Passover was rarely sacrificed in accordance with the legal prescriptions (comp. II Chron. xxxv. 18).
, on Numbers 9:1, only once during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness, one year after the Exodus, was the sacrifice offered. For the next 39 years there was no offering, according to Rashi
, as God stipulated that it could only be offered after the Children of Israel had entered the Land of Israel
. In fact, the bringing of the Pesach sacrifice resumed only after the Israelites had taken possession of the land, and then the sacrifice was made annually until during the times when Solomon's Temple
and the Second Temple
stood and functioned. During this time there was a definite ritual for the offering, in addition to the regulations prescribed by the Law. The following is a brief summary of the principal ordinances and of the ritual accompanying the sacrifice:
or goat, was necessarily a male, one year old, and without blemish. Each family or society offered one animal together, which did not require the "semikah" (laying on of hands), although it was obligatory to determine who were to take part in the sacrifice that the killing might take place with the proper intentions. Only those who were circumcised and clean before the Law might participate, and they were forbidden to have leavened food in their possession during the act of killing the paschal lamb. The animal was slain on the eve of the Passover
, on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan
, after the Tamid sacrifice had been killed, i.e., at three o'clock, or, in case the eve of the Passover fell on Friday, at two.
The killing took place in the court of the Temple at Jerusalem, and might be performed by a layman, although the blood had to be caught by a priest, and rows of priests with gold or silver cups in their hands stood in line from the Temple court to the altar, where the blood was sprinkled. These cups were rounded on the bottom, so that they could not be set down; for in that case the blood might coagulate. The priest who caught the blood as it dropped from the victim then handed the cup to the priest next to him, receiving from him an empty one, and the full cup was passed along the line until it reached the last priest, who sprinkled its contents on the altar. The lamb was then hung upon special hooks or sticks and skinned; but if the eve of the Passover fell on a Sabbath
, the skin was removed down to the breast only. The abdomen was then cut open, and the fatty portions intended for the altar were taken out, placed in a vessel, salted, and offered by the priest on the altar, while the remaining entrails likewise were taken out and cleansed.
While the required quorum for most activities requiring a quorum is usually ten, the Korban Pesach must be offered before a quorum of 30. (It must be performed in front of kahal adat yisrael, the assembly of the congregation of Israel. Ten are needed for the assembly, ten for the congregation, and ten for Israel.) According to some Talmudic authorities, such as Rav Kahana IV
, women counted in the minyan for offering the passover sacrifice (B.Pesachim 79b).
. This regulation, that the Sabbath yielded the precedence to the Passover, was not definitely determined until the time of Hillel
, who established it as a law and was in return elevated to the dignity of nasi
by Judah ben Bathyra
.(B.Pesachim 68a).
" (Psalms 113-118), accompanied by instruments of brass. If the Levites finished their recitation before the priests had completed the sacrifice, they repeated the "Hallel," although it never happened that they had to repeat it twice. As soon as the first group had offered their sacrifice, the gates were opened to let them out, and their places were taken by the second and third groups successively.
All three groups offered their sacrifice in the manner described, while the "Hallel" was recited; but the third group was so small that it had always finished before the Levites reached Psalm 116. It was called the "group of the lazy" because it came last. Even if the majority of the people were ritually unclean on the eve of the Passover, the sacrifice was offered on the 14th of Nisan
. Other sacrifices, on the contrary, called "ḥagigah," which were offered together with the paschal lamb, were omitted if the eve of the Passover fell on a Sabbath, or if the sacrifice was offered in a state of uncleanness, or if the number of participants was so small that they could not consume all the meat. When the sacrifice was completed and the animal was ready for roasting, each one present carried his lamb home, except when the eve of the Passover fell on a Sabbath, in which case it might not be taken away.
, the second group in the "ḥel," the space between the Temple wall and the Temple hall, while the third group remained in the Temple court, thus awaiting the evening, when they took their lambs home and roasted them on a spit of pomegranate-wood. No bones might be broken either during the cooking or during the eating. The lamb was set on the table at the evening banquet (see Passover Seder
), and was eaten by the assembled company after all had satisfied their appetites with the ḥagigah or other food. The sacrifice had to be consumed entirely that same evening, nothing being allowed to remain overnight. While eating it, the entire company of those who partook was obliged to remain together, and every participant had to take a piece of the lamb at least as large as an olive. Women and girls also might take part in the banquet and eat of the sacrifice. The following benediction was pronounced before eating the lamb: "Blessed be Thou, the Eternal, our God, the King of the world, who hast sanctified us by Thy commands, and hast ordained that we should eat the Passover." The "Hallel" was recited during the meal, and when the lamb had been eaten the meaning of the custom was explained, and the story of the Exodus was told (see Passover Seder
).
The paschal sacrifice belongs to the shelamim, thus forming one of the sacrifices in which the meal is the principal part and indicates the community between God and man. It is really a house or family sacrifice, and each household is regarded as constituting a small community in itself, not only because the lamb is eaten at home, but also because every member of the family is obliged to partake of the meal, on pain of ritual excommunication, although each man must be circumcised and all must be ritually clean. The fact that the paschal lamb might be killed only at the central sanctuary of Jerusalem, on the other hand, implies that each household was but a member of the larger community; this is indicated also by the national character of the sacrifice, which kept alive in the memory of the nation the preservation and liberation of the entire people.
identified a Kohen
who was a butcher, made plans for conducting a passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount
, and petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice for permission. The Court sided with the government and rejected the request, holding that such an event would inflame religious tensions and would threaten security. The incident was a successor to a series of earlier attempts by various groups to perform such a sacrifice, either openly or by subterfuge.
In 2008 animal rights group Tnoo Lachayot Lichyot ("Let the Animals Live") sued the Temple Institute
, claiming its conduct of a practice passover sacrifice demonstration would constitute animal cruelty. An Israeli court rejected the claim.
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
", the "Paschal Lamb" is the sacrifice
Korban
The term offering as found in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the worship of Ancient Israel is mainly represented by the Hebrew noun korban whether for an animal or other offering...
that the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
mandates to be brought on the eve of Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, and eaten on the first night of the holiday with bitter herbs and matzo
Matzo
Matzo or matzah is an unleavened bread traditionally eaten by Jews during the week-long Passover holiday, when eating chametz—bread and other food which is made with leavened grain—is forbidden according to Jewish law. Currently, the most ubiquitous type of Matzo is the traditional Ashkenazic...
. According to the Torah, it was first offered on the night of the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt
The Exodus
The Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
. Although practiced by Jews in ancient times, the ritual is no longer performed today except by certain minority groups.
Hebrew Bible
The blood of this sacrifice sprinkled on the door-posts of the Israelites was to be a sign to God, when passing through the land to slay the first-born of the EgyptiansEgyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
that night, that he should pass by the houses of the Israelites This is called in the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
the "Passover of Egypt" (Pesaḥ Miẓrayim in M.Pesach ix. 5). It was ordained, furthermore (Exodus 12:24-27), that this observance should be repeated annually for all time once the Israelites entered into their promised land. Exodus 12:25 "It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service (NKJV). This so-called "Pesaḥ Dorot," the Passover of succeeding generations (Mishnah Pesach l.c.), differs in many respects from the Passover of Egypt (Pesaḥ Miẓrayim). In the pre-exilic period, however, Passover was rarely sacrificed in accordance with the legal prescriptions (comp. II Chron. xxxv. 18).
Rabbinical interpretation
According to RashiRashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
, on Numbers 9:1, only once during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness, one year after the Exodus, was the sacrifice offered. For the next 39 years there was no offering, according to Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
, as God stipulated that it could only be offered after the Children of Israel had entered the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
. In fact, the bringing of the Pesach sacrifice resumed only after the Israelites had taken possession of the land, and then the sacrifice was made annually until during the times when Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was the main temple in ancient Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount , before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II after the Siege of Jerusalem of 587 BCE....
and the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
stood and functioned. During this time there was a definite ritual for the offering, in addition to the regulations prescribed by the Law. The following is a brief summary of the principal ordinances and of the ritual accompanying the sacrifice:
The sacrificial animal
The sacrificial animal, which was either a lambDomestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
or goat, was necessarily a male, one year old, and without blemish. Each family or society offered one animal together, which did not require the "semikah" (laying on of hands), although it was obligatory to determine who were to take part in the sacrifice that the killing might take place with the proper intentions. Only those who were circumcised and clean before the Law might participate, and they were forbidden to have leavened food in their possession during the act of killing the paschal lamb. The animal was slain on the eve of the Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan
Nisan
Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...
, after the Tamid sacrifice had been killed, i.e., at three o'clock, or, in case the eve of the Passover fell on Friday, at two.
The killing took place in the court of the Temple at Jerusalem, and might be performed by a layman, although the blood had to be caught by a priest, and rows of priests with gold or silver cups in their hands stood in line from the Temple court to the altar, where the blood was sprinkled. These cups were rounded on the bottom, so that they could not be set down; for in that case the blood might coagulate. The priest who caught the blood as it dropped from the victim then handed the cup to the priest next to him, receiving from him an empty one, and the full cup was passed along the line until it reached the last priest, who sprinkled its contents on the altar. The lamb was then hung upon special hooks or sticks and skinned; but if the eve of the Passover fell on a Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, the skin was removed down to the breast only. The abdomen was then cut open, and the fatty portions intended for the altar were taken out, placed in a vessel, salted, and offered by the priest on the altar, while the remaining entrails likewise were taken out and cleansed.
While the required quorum for most activities requiring a quorum is usually ten, the Korban Pesach must be offered before a quorum of 30. (It must be performed in front of kahal adat yisrael, the assembly of the congregation of Israel. Ten are needed for the assembly, ten for the congregation, and ten for Israel.) According to some Talmudic authorities, such as Rav Kahana IV
Rav Kahana IV
Rav Kahana Was a Jewish Amora sage of Babylon, of the third and fourth generation of the Amora sages, and headed the Yeshiva of Pum-Nahara....
, women counted in the minyan for offering the passover sacrifice (B.Pesachim 79b).
Timing: Passover Eve on the Sabbath
Even if the eve of the Passover fell on a Sabbath, the paschal lamb was killed in the manner described above, the blood was sprinkled on the altar, the entrails removed and cleansed, and the fat offered on the altar; for these four ceremonies in the case of the paschal lamb, and these alone, were exempt from the prohibition against working on the SabbathShabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
. This regulation, that the Sabbath yielded the precedence to the Passover, was not definitely determined until the time of Hillel
Hillel the Elder
Hillel was a famous Jewish religious leader, one of the most important figures in Jewish history. He is associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud...
, who established it as a law and was in return elevated to the dignity of nasi
Nasi
Nāśī’ is a Hebrew title meaning prince in Biblical Hebrew, Prince in Mishnaic Hebrew, or president in Modern Hebrew.-Genesis and Ancient Israel:...
by Judah ben Bathyra
Judah ben Bathyra
Judah ben Bathyra or simply Judah Bathyra was an eminent tanna. He must have lived before the destruction of the Temple, since he prevented a pagan in Jerusalem from partaking of the Paschal offering...
.(B.Pesachim 68a).
The three groups of lay people
The people taking part in the sacrifice were divided into three groups. The first of these filled the court of the Temple, so that the gates had to be closed, and while they were killing and offering their paschal lambs the Levites on the platform (dukan) recited the "HallelHallel
Hallel is a Jewish prayer—a verbatim recitation from Psalms 113–118, which is used for praise and thanksgiving that is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays.-Holy days:...
" (Psalms 113-118), accompanied by instruments of brass. If the Levites finished their recitation before the priests had completed the sacrifice, they repeated the "Hallel," although it never happened that they had to repeat it twice. As soon as the first group had offered their sacrifice, the gates were opened to let them out, and their places were taken by the second and third groups successively.
All three groups offered their sacrifice in the manner described, while the "Hallel" was recited; but the third group was so small that it had always finished before the Levites reached Psalm 116. It was called the "group of the lazy" because it came last. Even if the majority of the people were ritually unclean on the eve of the Passover, the sacrifice was offered on the 14th of Nisan
Nisan
Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...
. Other sacrifices, on the contrary, called "ḥagigah," which were offered together with the paschal lamb, were omitted if the eve of the Passover fell on a Sabbath, or if the sacrifice was offered in a state of uncleanness, or if the number of participants was so small that they could not consume all the meat. When the sacrifice was completed and the animal was ready for roasting, each one present carried his lamb home, except when the eve of the Passover fell on a Sabbath, in which case it might not be taken away.
The Home Ceremony
The first group stationed itself on the mount of the Temple in JerusalemTemple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
, the second group in the "ḥel," the space between the Temple wall and the Temple hall, while the third group remained in the Temple court, thus awaiting the evening, when they took their lambs home and roasted them on a spit of pomegranate-wood. No bones might be broken either during the cooking or during the eating. The lamb was set on the table at the evening banquet (see Passover Seder
Passover Seder
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
), and was eaten by the assembled company after all had satisfied their appetites with the ḥagigah or other food. The sacrifice had to be consumed entirely that same evening, nothing being allowed to remain overnight. While eating it, the entire company of those who partook was obliged to remain together, and every participant had to take a piece of the lamb at least as large as an olive. Women and girls also might take part in the banquet and eat of the sacrifice. The following benediction was pronounced before eating the lamb: "Blessed be Thou, the Eternal, our God, the King of the world, who hast sanctified us by Thy commands, and hast ordained that we should eat the Passover." The "Hallel" was recited during the meal, and when the lamb had been eaten the meaning of the custom was explained, and the story of the Exodus was told (see Passover Seder
Passover Seder
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
).
The paschal sacrifice belongs to the shelamim, thus forming one of the sacrifices in which the meal is the principal part and indicates the community between God and man. It is really a house or family sacrifice, and each household is regarded as constituting a small community in itself, not only because the lamb is eaten at home, but also because every member of the family is obliged to partake of the meal, on pain of ritual excommunication, although each man must be circumcised and all must be ritually clean. The fact that the paschal lamb might be killed only at the central sanctuary of Jerusalem, on the other hand, implies that each household was but a member of the larger community; this is indicated also by the national character of the sacrifice, which kept alive in the memory of the nation the preservation and liberation of the entire people.
Modern attempts to revive the sacrifice
In 2007, a group of rabbis led by Adin Steinsalz and supported by the Temple Mount Faithful and the New Sanhedrin CouncilModern attempts to revive the Sanhedrin
Modern attempts to revive the Sanhedrin are the efforts from 1538 CE until the present day to renew the Sanhedrin which was dissolved in 358 CE by the edict of the Byzantine emperor. The latest effort was in 2004 when a group of seventy one rabbis claiming to represent varied communities in Israel...
identified a Kohen
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
who was a butcher, made plans for conducting a passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...
, and petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice for permission. The Court sided with the government and rejected the request, holding that such an event would inflame religious tensions and would threaten security. The incident was a successor to a series of earlier attempts by various groups to perform such a sacrifice, either openly or by subterfuge.
In 2008 animal rights group Tnoo Lachayot Lichyot ("Let the Animals Live") sued the Temple Institute
Temple Institute
The Temple Institute, known in Hebrew as Machon HaMikdash , is an organization in Israel focusing on the controversial endeavor of establishing the Third Temple. Its long-term aims are to build the third Jewish temple on the Temple Mount, on the site currently occupied by the Dome of the Rock, and...
, claiming its conduct of a practice passover sacrifice demonstration would constitute animal cruelty. An Israeli court rejected the claim.