Torah Study Blog

Part of the Torah portion for this week from the book of Exodus describes the Passover meal: “Speak to the whole community of Israel and say that on the tenth of this month each of them shall take a lamb to a family, a lamb to a household. But if the household is too small for a lamb, let him share one with a neighbor who dwells nearby ... Your lamb shall be without blemish, a yearling male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goat. You shall keep watch over it until the fourteenth day of this month; and all the assembled congregation of the Israelites shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they are to eat it. They shall eat the flesh that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs ... you shall not leave any of it over until morning: ... you shall eat it [with] your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly: it is a Passover offering to the Lord.” (Exodus 12:3-11)

Is your Passover Seder anything like that? Mine is not. We do not eat a whole lamb or goat, sticking to the traditional brisket instead. We look forward to having some tasty leftovers the next day, and we do not eat hurriedly – our Passover Seder is a celebratory meal that takes several hours. Scholars know that the typical Passover Seder today is modeled on a Greco-Roman symposium which, according to the Oxford-American dictionary, was a “drinking party or convivial discussion” held after dinner. People (usually men) would recline on pillows and enjoy an evening of music, conversation, and good company.

The word “Pesach” is translated in the Exodus passage as “Passover.” However, the very same word is translated in Isaiah 31 (verse 5) as “protecting.” The passage goes on to say that the Lord will go through the land of Egypt and strike down every first-born in the land, but the blood on the marked houses will give a sign to the Lord that no plague will enter to destroy those inside. (paraphrased, Exodus 11-14)

The meal described in Exodus is a different meal from the Passover meal described in Deuteronomy. The book of Exodus describes the meal as one that will be cooked and eaten at home, while the book of Deuteronomy describes the meal as one to be cooked and eaten at the Temple. The passage from Deuteronomy was written when Israelite worship had become centralized and Jews were required to congregate at the Temple for major festivals. Although is was a time to come together and a cause for celebration of the liberation from bondage, it was also a time for overcrowding where tempers were short, and people had to pay exorbitant prices to get their sacrifice cooked - and then find a spot in which to eat it, which might have included a rental fee.

The Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E. and tradition tells us that, because there was no longer a Temple at which to cook the official sacrifice, the sages suggested that people needed to eat food other than lamb or goat. Maybe that was the beginning of brisket for Passover!

The tradition in Exodus is older than the tradition in Deuteronomy. The Exodus passage goes on to say that no foreigner can eat from the Passover sacrifice, but any slave or stranger that has been circumcised may. Additionally, the whole animal must be eaten in one house, and none of the bones shall be broken (Exodus 12:43-46). The skeleton of the animal is supposed to remain whole.

Archaeology tells us that human beings have practiced animal sacrifice for at least 50,000 years – well before the beginning of the Israelite religion. Archaeologist have concluded that sacrificial animals were left with their bones intact.

Now that we know that animal sacrifice is ancient, and that the passage in Exodus is an earlier passage which describes a “protective” meal, we can ask what they were trying to protect themselves from: In agricultural communities, spring is a time of uncertainty and danger. It is a time for animals to have babies and for crops to be established. If the springtime is not successful for your livestock or crops, it will be a very hard, if not calamitous, year for you and your family.

This springtime ritual was away to attract the favor of God to look out for the entire community, and participation would identify you as being part of the community. Yes, foreigners are excluded, but slaves, who are members of your household, and strangers who are circumcised have declared citizenship with the Israelite people. By not breaking the bones we show God that we are all one group and we are reinforcing our identity.

This original Passover meal defined who was part of the community. We see that concept evolve in Christianity, too. The Gospel of Mark gives a description of Jesus eating the Passover meal. Jesus and his disciples go to a room to eat the sacrifice where they also have wine and unleavened bread, and they dip into a bowl – just as we do at Passover today. Jesus is quoted as saying, “this is my blood of the covenant,” which is a line from Exodus 24 in the Torah when Moses says to the people, “This is the blood of the covenant.” For Christianity, this became the prototype for the Christian ritual called communion.

Communion is offered in many Christian churches, and only members of that faith are supposed to partake in communion. Just as the Passover meal was a way for Israelites to show their citizenship in the community, being able to participate in communion is the definition of belonging to that Christian community.

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misquotes or misunderstandings in what Rabbi Jaech taught us are the responsibility of Tara Keiter