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From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
To: "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
Date: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 00:56:09 +0000
Subject: Info on Passover
>From JUICE Administration juice at INTERNET
juice@jer1.co.il
To: basics at INTERNET
basics@jer1.co.il
Subject: JUICE Basics 7
Sender owner-basics@jer1.co.il
========================================================================
WZO Student and Academic Department
Jewish University In CyberspacE (JUICE)
juice@wzo.org.il birnbaum@wzo.org.il
http://www.wzo.org.il
==============================================================
Course: JUDAISM: THE BASICS
Lecture: 7/12
Lecturer: Rabbi Reuven D. Sutnick
email: reuven@shani.net
PESACH AS A BASIC
Starting this week, I want to deal with the holiday of Passover, first with the special dietary laws and next week
with the Passover Haggada. By definition, PESACH is the pilgrimage holiday which celebrates our deliverance from
Egypt. As the Haggada recalls, "we were slaves unto Pharaoh in Egypt, and G-d took us out with an outstretched arm and a
mighty hand." But to begin, we have to do a little exercise -- on a chart -- to try to reference for just how much of a BASIC
Passover is.
PESACH, A HOLIDAY
Passover is one of the three pilgrimage holidays commanded by the Torah. Its historical basis lies in the following: on the
15th of Nisan G-d took the Jews out of Egypt and on the 21st He split the Red Sea, allowing us to escape the Egyptians in
pursuit. Therefore, between these dates each year we celebrate Israel s redemption from Egypt. The 1st and 7th days of the
holiday are full holidays, with the intermediate days enjoying semi-holiday status. In the Diaspora, the 1st, 2nd, 7th and
8th days are full holidays.
There is also a special festive meal known as the SEDER at which the Haggada, the story of Passover, is recited in
fulfillment of the commandment from the Torah. MATZAH, MAROR (bitter herbs) and the 4 CUPS are consumed, again in
fulfillment of the requirements of the holiday. In the Diaspora, Jews perform the Seder twice, on the 1st and 2nd
evenings of the holiday.
DIETARY LAWS and RESTRICTIONS
The single law which does the most to define Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread ("Chag HaMatzot") is actually the
negative command not to keep leavened substance during the holiday. The commandment is prescribed twice with the Torah's
harshest punishment set out for its abrogation:
Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whosoever shall eat that which is leavened shall be CUT OFF
from the congregation of Israel ...
(Exodus 12:18 ff)
... and there shall be no leavened bread seen (for seven days) with you, leavened bread shall not be seen in all your
borders.
(Exodus 13:7)
Specifically, CHAMETZ, or leavened products made from one of the five grains -- wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt -- are
prohibited. If water came into contact with one of these grains, the resulting food cannot be eaten, seen, found or
owned during the holiday.
On the up side, we are commanded to eat MATZAH -- unleavened bread -- for the seven days of the holiday.
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread ...
(Exodus 12:15)
In the first month (Nisan) on the 14th day of the month, you shall eat unleavened bread...
(Exodus 12:18)
The apparent contradiction in the two verses is resolved in that we MUST eat Matzah on the first day only (second day as
well in the Diaspora).
We are also commanded to eat two other foods as part of the celebration of the holiday, vis. BITTER HERBS and the meat of
the PESACH SACRIFICE. The later is no longer in practice among Jews, although the Samaritans living in Israel continue to
slaughter and eat the Pesach Sacrifice until this very day. In fact, the Samaritan sacrifice of the paschal lamb is a
tourist attraction here in Israel. I saw it personally about twenty years ago. They do it the way it was done when the
Temple was standing. The Torah prescribes that the paschal lamb be eaten with Matzah and Bitter Herbs as a kind of
sandwich.
But anyone who has made preparations for a strict Passover themselves or seen it done by conscientious Jews, knows that
the avoidance of "chametz" or leavened substance is the key, tangible concern of the holiday. We clean the house thoroughly
and put away dishes and pots which are used during the year. We bring in kosher for Passover replacements. We use up all
leavened products and bring in special products prepared under special supervision for the holiday. Certain types of foods
which are not actually "chometz" are avoided nevertheless -- just to be sure. And all of this derives from the prohibition
of "chometz."
MATZAH, A BASIC HISTORY
I mentioned above that Pesach is the pilgrimage holiday which celebrates the historical event of our deliverance from Egypt.
Matzah, unleavened bread, has its special historical meaning within the story of the Exodus. We read:
And they (the children of Israel) baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought out of Egypt , for it had not
leavened... they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay ...
(see Exodus 12:37 ff.)
In the Haggada for Pesach, the historical account of the Exodus which is recited at the SEDER, the question is asked:
"Matzah, what is the reason?" The Haggada offers the verse above as the reason for the commandment to eat Matzah on
Passover. It is as if the event of our not being able to bake bread properly gave G-d the opportunity or justification to
command the central ritual of the holiday. This is very strange!! That we celebrate the holiday because of the G-d
initiated Exodus, or because of the wonders wrought by G-d in Egypt, or because G-d fulfilled His promise to Abraham --
these are the kinds of reasons that make sense in a G-d oriented religion. G-d acts and it impacts on us! But here,
the origin of a commandment which brings with it the most serious of all punishments for non-observance is the curiosity
of our human input. I mean, can you imagine what Pesach would look like today if the fleeing slaves had grabbed plastic
wrapped, sliced white bread on the way out?
R. Kasher, in his commentary Haggada Sh'leima, says that G-d foresaw that the Jews would not have enough time to bake
proper bread, and therefore commanded us to eat Matzah in light of what would happen in the future. This explanation is
supported by the fact that Matzah is commanded in Exodus 12:15, while the reason is given in 12:37 -- after the
command. But even so, whether the reason is because of what happened to us or because of what would happen to us, our
experience is particularly formative.
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