I’m never surprised what I am studying at any given moment has direct application to something else going on in my life. We shall read about the last three plagues, the laws of Passover, and the Exodus from Egypt this coming Saturday in parashat Bo. Today’s daf TB Pesakhim 61 elaborates on the following three versus from our weekly Torah portion.
“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, in proportion to the number of persons: you shall contribute for
the lamb according to what each household will eat. (Exodus 12:3-4)
“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.” (Exodus 12:48)
I’m putting the cart before the horse because I’m quoting the Gemara before
the Mishnah. The korban Pesakh needs
to be offered up in the name of specific people. To create a group one must
register all the participants. The rabbis learn the necessity of this
registration from verse 4. “The Gemara
asks: From where are these matters, which are not explicitly written in
the Torah, derived? The Gemara answers: As the Sages taught with regard
to the verse: “And if the household be too little for a lamb, then he and his
neighbor who is close to his house shall take one according to the number of
the souls; according to every man’s eating you shall make your count for the
lamb” (Exodus 12:4). “According
to the number of” teaches that the Paschal lamb is slaughtered only for those
who have registered for it. Everything is done according to the number of
people who have registered before the slaughtering.” (Sefaria.org translation)
The korban Pesakh, the Passover
sacrifice, is unique amongst all the sacrifices because its sole purpose is to
be eaten celebrating Passover. The Mishnah elaborates on the laws when the korban Pesakh is offered up for an ineligible
person. “If one slaughtered the Paschal lamb for people who
cannot eat it[1]
or for those who did not register in advance to eat it, or if one
slaughtered it for people who are uncircumcised or for those who are
ritually impure[2],
whom the Torah prohibits from eating the Paschal lamb, it is disqualified.
However, if one slaughtered it for those who can eat it and for those who
cannot eat it; for those who have registered for it and for those who have not
registered for it; for the circumcised and for the uncircumcised; for the
ritually impure and for the ritually pure, it is valid, for a partially
invalid intent does not disqualify the offering.” (Sefaria.org translation)
As long as some people in the registered group are eligible to eat some of
the korban Pesakh, the korban Pesakh is kosher. I like this
idea of inclusivity. The modern Jewish family is more diverse than ever before.
Ashkenazi Jews and Sephardic Jews are intermarrying bringing with them diverse
Passover customs. Jews from the different streams and different educational
backgrounds have married and bring with them different understandings, customs,
and appreciation of the Passover Seder. Many Jewish families now include
non-Jewish spouses and perhaps even non-Jewish children. Nobody should be
excluded. I think the twin goals of the Seder is to be inclusive and meaningful
to all the participants. If the Seder is inclusive and meaningful, I believe
that the meal will be even more delicious.
[1] “The
Sages taught in the Tosefta: How so the case of slaughtering
the Paschal lamb for those who cannot eat it? It is a case where one slaughtered
it for the sake of a sick person or for the sake of an old person who is
unable to eat even an olive-sized portion of the Paschal lamb.” (TB Pesakhim
61a, sefria.org translation)
[2] I
have always translated the term as ritually unready.
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