Pesach/Passover - Traditional Hebraic Perspective
Pesach (Passover)—begins at sundown on the fourteenth of Nissan and traditionally lasts for twenty-four hours running through the 15th of Nissan. It is treated as a full Sabbath. Passover is a recognition and celebration of the day in which G_D “passed over” the firstborn children of Israel when he judged all the firstborn of Egypt and delivered the curse unto Pharaoh. This cemented Israel’s miraculous release from the cruel bondage of Egyptian slavery. The core of the Pesach Festival centers on redemption by G_D … using the sacrificial blood of the slaughtered lamb to separate Israel from Egypt.
Admittedly we have already covered at a high level, by way of the Shabbat review, the meaningfulness of Pesach with respects to the “redemption of Israel”! But as was declared, despite the fact that Shabbat encapsulates this “redemptive plan” the richness and fullness of this plan will be revealed within the auspices of the Pesach Festival itself!
To begin let us first and foremost explore Pesach within a traditional Hebraic perspective taking into account the meaningfulness of the festival and events associated therewith … while maintaining focus upon the initial context that would have been understood by the Israelites over 3,000 years ago.
And moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel: I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments; and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a G_D; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your G_D, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (Exodus 6:5-7)
And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence; when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.' And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. And Moses said: 'Thus says the LORD: About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sits upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of cattle. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there hath been none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog whet his tongue, against man or beast; that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down unto me, saying: Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee; and after that I will go out.' And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. …
And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying: This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying: In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household be too little for a lamb, then shall he and his neighbor next unto his house take one according to the number of the souls; according to every man's eating ye shall make your count for the lamb. …
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats; and ye shall keep it unto the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at dusk. And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; its head with its legs and with the inwards thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remains of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. …
And thus shall ye eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste--it is the LORD'S Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. …
And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall no plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. (Exodus 11:1-12-14)
And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanite, as he swore unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee, that thou shall set apart unto the LORD all that opens the womb; every firstling that is a male, which thou hast coming of a beast, shall be the LORD'S. And every firstling of an ass thou shall redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shall break its neck; and all the first-born of man among thy sons shall thou redeem. And it shall be when thy son asks thee in time to come, saying: What is this? that thou shall say unto him: By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage; and it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man, and the first-born of beast; therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that opens the womb, being males; but all the first-born of my sons I redeem. (Exodus 13:11-15)
When we review the Exodus passages referenced herein it should seem apparent that certain key observations can be made:
The Pesach event represents a show-down between G_D and Pharaoh … between G_D and the false gods of Egypt;
The Pesach event represents the redemption of Israel from Egypt;
The Pesach event represents G_D staking a claim over the children of Israel;
The Pesach event represents the beginning of a new time construct in which the children of Israel shall operate;
The Pesach event represents a permanent testimony to G_D’s authority over life itself
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As we contemplate these primary Hebraic perspectives with regards to Pesach there is no surprise of course that “redemption” is the key element. Although we know that the freedom being sought by Israel was freedom from the slavery and bondage of Egypt, there is more to the story when we review the historical record.
Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people: 'Behold, the people of the children of Israel are too many and too mighty for us; come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there befalls us any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land.' Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And they were a-dread because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor. And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah; and he said: 'When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, ye shall look upon the birth-stool: if it be a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.' Exodus 1:8-16)
Ultimately what we see in the record is that slavery was only a part of Pharaoh’s primary objective which was clearly to wipe out any potential threat by the children of Israel by removing “the seed” and therein integrate the slave people into the empire by mingling bloodlines.
Prior to the showdown with G_D the record is clear that Egypt’s design for the elimination of Israel was biological and cultural syncretism … Egypt was going to breed out the robust (blessed) Israelite seed with the hopes of course that a more docile and manageable slave population could be realized. It is clear that Pharaoh wanted to remove the threat but at the same time maintain control over the slave population … in perpetuity.
Consequently what we see is that the redemption needed by Israel was not simply for freedom … but for existence and life itself. Clearly the stakes could not have been any higher.
What we also learn from this understanding is that it was in fact Pharaoh who was ultimately responsible for Egypt’s final judgment. It was Pharaoh and Egypt that first sought to wipe out Israel’s seed. It was Pharaoh and Egypt that first engaged in the taking of life. It was Pharaoh and Egypt that brought the plague of death upon them.
Most unfortunately we see within the Biblical record is that it was through the seed of Israel, in Joseph by the power of G_D, that Egypt itself was spared great suffering and turmoil while being raised to prominence from an imperial perspective. Ultimately what we see in the Egypt-G_D relationship is Egypt biting the hand that fed it! Clearly this Pharaoh did not know or seemingly desire to know what was really going on … he was essentially “in the dark” so to speak.
As we continue to look at this redemption of Israel in more detail the reader is probably cognizant of the fact that Pesach is the tenth and final judgment that is brought against Egypt with respects to the release of Israel. As such we know that we need to look at Pesach within the context that it represents a significant battle of power, ownership and control wherein Egypt simply will not let Israel go despite the consistent and awesome pounding of The LORD.
From a Holy Scripture perspective the amount of details and record of events related to Pesach is quite frankly “significant” and we should not lose sight of the fact that the over-arching theme of Pesach is G_D showing his might and majesty while affirming the truth that it is he and only he who is the G_D of creation. What we see essentially is that the events of Pesach represent G_D’s tangible control over the systems and false gods of Egypt. We also see the fairness of G_D wherein Israel to a certain extent is recompensed for the dishonor and troubles brought upon them by Egypt.
G_D therefore is the focus of Pesach! Consequently we really need to take a closer look at the Goel (Redeemer) and this redemption paradigm.
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The very tenuous plight of the Israelites is a matter of record … and we’ve already established the prominence and importance of how G_D has made sure that we recognize his awesome hand in this record of redemption … but we do need to look deeper to understand the nature of this redemption and the logical ramifications associated with same.
At first glance we all recognize that the redemption resulted in the exodus from Egypt … and we also know what the primary reason for the exodus was:
And Moses said unto G_D: 'who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?' And he said: 'certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be the token unto thee, that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve G_D upon this mountain.' Exodus (3:11-12)
And the LORD said unto Moses: 'When thou goest back into Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thy hand; but I will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go. And thou shall say unto Pharaoh: Thus says the LORD: Israel is my son, my first-born. And I have said unto thee: Let my son go, that he may serve me; and thou hast refused to let him go. Behold, I will slay thy son, thy first-born.' Exodus 4:21-23)
So we immediately know from the record that the purpose of the redemption was much more than the Israelite freedom … we see where G_D was redeeming Israel for the specific purposes of becoming his treasured people … his servant nation … and that he did so using the clearly evident construct of taking back parental custody of Israel! G_D clearly declares Israel to be his first born son therein making this redemption about a very significant relationship … a familial relationship.
And because G_D has revealed to us this very distinct relationship we can readily gain insights as to why Israel was commanded to redeem their first born males. Now obviously when we view this post Exodus redemption construct it is really all about the dedication of the first born male to G_D wherein the redemption price is paid by the natural father in lieu of sacrificing the child to G_D.
This issue of redemption is quite important for us to understand in detail because it answers the questions surrounding why the Israelite households (every male) were required to sacrifice the lamb and place blood surrounding the doorposts.
Essentially we can see that it was the lamb itself that was the ransom paid for redemption and the covering … though clearly protecting all Israel … was just as clearly designed to protect the first born of Israel … and it is not a difficult leap to conjecture that the first born being referred to was only the male Israelites.
With this male centricity being the apparent case what then can we see about this redemption? It would seem beloveds that we are dealing with an issue of seed defined within the framework of a father-son lineage. Especially when we consider Egypt’s desire and attempts to wipe out the seed of Israel it becomes fairly clear that this great redemption of Israel seems to be about G_D taking his people back from Egypt.
Although this issue of “taking back his people” seems quite strange … in as much that G_D is the creator, it would appear all the same that a redemption price was indeed paid and necessary! The big question is to whom the redemption price was paid?
In the Hebraic perspective there is one and only one source of authority and power and it is G_D. But … we also do understand that G_D does indeed bestow authority … as was the case with our first parents who were given authority over the Earth … or in the case of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon who was given authority to conquer all the nations or in the case of Pharaoh as examples.
The point is that a redemption price was most certainly paid and it is also clear that G_D did not mandate the payment of the ransom to himself. So again … who was the recipient of the ransom?
For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. (Exodus 12:23)
"Destroyer" … in Hebrew the word is "shachath ". It means to corrupt, go to ruin or decay and in other contexts to pervert
Now … without launching into a deep Hebrew word study or connecting numerous dots, the reader should be aware that the receiver of the redemption ransom fee is none other than the “destroyer”!
It is assuredly clear that it was G_D who made the declaration that Egypt was under judgment. It was G_D who let loose the destroyer but it would seem apparent as well that the collection of either the life of the first born within Egypt … or the redemption/ransom fee was due to the destroyer.
The destroyer … hmmm! Frankly within the Tanakh there is no direct link between “the destroyer and hasatan” however by way of traditional Hebraic understanding the contexts in which the angel of death, destroyer and hasatan (adversary) are revealed … lead to the conclusion that we are really discussing G_D’s enemy. Some key passages from Scripture regarding the enemy:
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying: 'Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say unto him: Thus says the LORD G_D: Thou seal most accurate, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty, thou was in Eden the garden of G_D; every precious stone was thy covering, the carnelian, the topaz, and the emerald, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the carbuncle, and the smaragd, and gold; the workmanship of thy settings and of thy sockets was in thee, in the day that thou was created they were prepared. Thou was the far-covering cherub; and I set thee, so that thou was upon the holy mountain of G_D; thou has walked up and down in the midst of stones of fire. Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created till unrighteousness was found in thee. By the multitude of thy traffic they filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned; therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of G_D; and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I have cast thee to the ground, I have laid thee before kings that they may gaze upon thee. By the multitude of thine iniquities, in the unrighteousness of thy traffic, thou hast profaned thy sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of thee, it hath devoured thee, and I have turned thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the peoples shall be appalled at thee; thou art become a terror, and thou shall never be any more.' Ezekiel 28:11-19)
That thou shall take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say: How hath the oppressor ceased! The exactress of gold ceased! The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, that smote the peoples in wrath with an incessant stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing. Yea, the cypresses rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon: 'Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.' The nether-world from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; the shades are stirred up for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; all the kings of the nations are raised up from their thrones. All they do answer and say unto thee: 'Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the nether-world, and the noise of thy psalteries; the maggot is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.' How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground that didst cast lots over the nations! And thou said in thy heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, above the stars of G_D will I exalt my throne, and I will sit upon the mount of meeting, in the uttermost parts of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.' Yet thou shall be brought down to the nether-world, to the uttermost parts of the pit. They that saw thee do narrowly look upon thee, they gaze earnestly at thee: 'Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?' All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house. But thou art cast forth away from thy grave like an abhorred offshoot, in the raiment of the slain that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the pavement of the pit, as a carcass trodden under foot. Thou shall not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named forever. Prepare ye slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they rise not up, and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities. And I will rise up against them, says the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and offshoot and offspring, says the LORD. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, says the LORD of hosts. The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying: Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand, That I will break Asshur in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot; then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? Isaiah 14:4-27)
Now it fell upon a day, that the sons of G_D came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan: 'Whence come thou?' Then Satan answered the LORD, and said: 'From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.' And the LORD said unto satan: 'Has thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a whole-hearted and an upright man, one that fears G_D, and shuns evil?' Then Satan answered the LORD, and said: 'Does Job fear G_D for naught? Has not Thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has, on every side? Thou has blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions are increased in the land. But put forth Thy hand now, and touch all that he has, surely he will blaspheme Thee to Thy face.' And the LORD said unto satan: 'Behold, all that he has is in thy power; only upon him put not forth thy hand.' So satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. (Job 1:6-12)
What we should realize is that G_D clearly has set up, within the auspices of his plan, a scenario wherein he has issued/granted authority over the soiled creation to the adversary … hasatan … the destroyer. It would appear that hasatan’s rights and inheritance pertain to those people that fall unfavorably under the judgment of G_D.
Consequently when G_D decreed the judgment upon the first born of Egypt it would appear that the Israelites as well would have been subjected to this penalty … if not for the payment of the redemption fee … which we can readily see was a “blood payment” … a life payment!
Additionally we can deduce as well that this redemption simply did not spare the Israelites the penalty of this specific decree but more so reveals how G_D adopted the seed of Israel therein taking them out from the seed of Egypt. As indicated this “familial construct” is of vital importance to the Pesach paradigm and sheds deeper insights with respects to the details associated with Israel’s redemption. Ultimately we should be viewing this Pesach redemption within the context that “it is about pulling out and separating the seed of Israel from the seed that is of Egypt”!
Although it does seem clear that G_D “paid the redemption fee” we also see that G_D goes even further and essentially ransacks Egypt of its wealth and might … removing from Egypt all the signs and produce of its glory while providing the lowly Israelite slave people with the wealth of the world upon their exodus from captivity and forced abasement.
What we in effect see is G_D paying the ransom fee for the release of his children from slavery … since this payment was due the one with granted authority … but we also see G_D exacting much more in payment from Egypt in return. We ultimately see G_D declaring that everything is his and subject to his purpose and will. In this case there was a price to be paid for redemption but G_D surely made it apparent that he would exact righteous recompense for any such payment.
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Another issue that was apparent from the brief review of the selected Exodus passages deals with the matter of G_D declaring that Israel will culturally and socially operate under a new “annual” cycle beginning in Nisan, the month in which Pesach is observed.
It is hoped that the significance of what G_D has implemented within this new “annual cycle” is intuitively obvious. Clearly G_D is setting in motion the framework for development of a community … a people … a kingdom … who will not be operating under the auspices of the imperial system of Egypt.
It would seem apparent that the declaration of a new annual cycle is indicative of a “new beginning”. A beginning integrally associated with Israel’s redemption … a beginning with a foundation predicated upon G_D’s order and timeframe. A beginning not rooted in mankind’s wisdom with respects to how the annual cycle of life is ordered and observed.
What we must also note herein is how G_D mandated that Pesach be observed as a permanent memorial/testimony to what he has done! G_D has mandated that the redemption of Israel be remembered and treasured.
Within a Hebraic perspective we memorialize Pesach not just as our Exodus from the bondage of Egypt but more importantly as the time when G_D declared that he in fact adopted Israel and declared that we were no longer sons of the Egyptian system but were now his child!
Within a Hebraic perspective we memorialize Pesach as the time when G_D paid for the lives of our first born in blood while exercising supreme authority and judgment against Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt.
Within a Hebraic perspective we memorialize Pesach as the time when G_D declared our new beginning and formally gave to us the framework that would define for us an annual cycle of life that was unique and wholly aligned with his order of time and events.
Ultimately then within a Hebraic perspective we memorialize Pesach as the time when G_D declared to the nations that Israel was indeed to be his chosen people … set apart to do his bidding!
In the most basic of Hebraic perspectives there should be no doubts as to why Pesach is such a revered festival/mo’ed of G_D!
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Thus far we have covered the core traditional Hebraic perspectives related to Pesach … in a context that only accounts for the events related to the Mo’ed itself. What we need to do next is look at Pesach in a broader context that considers its relationship to Torah; The Everlasting Covenant; The Holy Service and of course the Mishkan.
Because of the logical implications which hopefully have already surfaced let us begin broadening this Hebraic perspective of Pesach by looking at potential relationships to the Everlasting Covenant.
To begin … our focus immediately turns toward the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
And Abram said: 'Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed, and, lo, one born in my house is to be mine heir.' And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying: 'This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.' … And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him: 'I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.' And he said: 'O LORD G_D, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?' And he said unto him: … 'Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance. But thou shall go to thy fathers in peace; thou shall be buried in a good old age. And in the fourth generation they shall come back hither; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.' (Genesis 15:3-16)
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him: 'I am G_D Almighty; walk before me, and be thou wholehearted. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.' … And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a G_D unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their G_D.' …. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.' … (Genesis 17:1-21)
And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts; and he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. … And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that G_D blessed Isaac his son; and Isaac dwelt by Beer-lahai-roi. (Genesis 25:511)
And the LORD appeared unto Isaac, and said: 'Go not down unto Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father; and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands; and by thy se