ר"ע תיתד תונויצל ינויערה גוחה ,םולשו זוע

The priest is to clothe himself in his wide-raiment of linen, with breeches of linen he is to clothe himself, over his "flesh"; he is to set aside the ashes from which the fire has consumed the offering-up on the slaughter site, and is to put them beside the slaughter-site. (Vayikra 6:3)

Said Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, son of Rabbi Shalom: The conduct of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not like the conduct of mortals. In what way? The mortal has nice clothes. When goes out in public, he wears them, but when he is about to cook, he removes the nice clothes, and dons torn and filthy ones, and when he scours the pots and the oven, he wears even worse ones. But when the priest raked the altar ashes and prepared it before the Holy One, he would wear very fine garments, as is written (Vayikra 6) ", "The priest is go clothe himself in his wide-raiment of linen" and "he is to set aside the ashes". Why so? It is to teach us that there is no pride before the Omnipresent, and so we find that Elazar the Priest would conduct himself with humility before the Omnipresent. (Bemidbar Rabba, 4)

Chag Sameach to all our readers

To the entire House of Israel To all the world

When God delivered Israel from Egypt, he delivered not only those who were in Egypt, but all subsequent generations. So we recite at the end of the Hagadda "Not only our fathers did He deliver, but us, too, did He deliver". When the Holy One, Blessed Be He, removed Israel from the power of Egypt, this removal was not only for that generation, for if it were so, the exodus would have only for that generation. But the exodus continued for the sons as well . . . (Maharal of Prague, Sefer Gevurot Hashem, p.227)

This year, Pesach eve occurs on the Shabbat on which we read Parashat Tsav. [Translator's note: "Pesach eve" is not the night of Pesach, but the day leading up to the Pesach festival]. At first blush, there would seem to be no inherent and substantial connection between the glorious redemption and the precise technical laws of the sacrifices which are detailed in the parasha (laws of the burnt offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the shalom offerings, etc.). Examination, however, will reveal that this parasha in particular – which is devoted solely to offerings – is especially suited to Pesach eve, the time which Torah assigns for the slaughter of the sheep for the offering, both in the "Egyptian Pesach" and throughout many generations until the destruction of the Temple.

Actually, the long list of offerings appearing in Parashat Tsav has its primary roots in the Pesach offering described in Parashat Bo, for this offering was the first sacrifice which the Children of Israel were ordered to bring before God. The Paschal offering in the deliverance from Egypt narrative is not merely ceremonial ritual, nor is it a pragmatic means for saving the Children of Israel from the "destroyer" who, upon seeing the blood on the lintel and the two door-posts, would "pass over" their homes; it was also a pedagogical tool for educating future generations. When the descendants will witness the paschal rite, says the Torah, they will wonder and ask questions, and we will enlighten their eyes and relate the story of the deliverance: "And it will be, when your children say to you: What does this service (mean) to you? Then say: It is the slaughter-meal of Passover to God, who passed over the houses of the Children of Israel in Egypt, when he dealt-the-blow to Egypt and our houses he rescued. The people did homage and bowed low". (Shemot 12:26-27)

In these passages lie the seed of the Pesach night seder as it is observed in Jewish homes until this day, that fabric of questions and answers, of speculations and explanations, of which the Hagadda composed. But we know that the author of the Hagadda (following the berayta in the Mekhilta and the Yerushalmi, Pesahim) attributes the question "What does this service mean to you?" to the 'wicked' son, to the least sympathetic of the sons addressed by the Torah:

This well-known part of the Hagadda does not cease to arouse our curiosity; the incomprehensible outweighs the comprehensible. Why did our Sages assign this question to the wicked son in particular? Is it really only because it contains "to you", implying alienation from the community of Israel? Commentators long ago pointed out that the wise son asks in similar fashion: "What mean the precepts, the laws and the regulations that the Lord our God has commanded you?" And furthermore, why is the wicked son judged so severely for his question? Does he really deserve to be called "one who denies the principle?" Does he really warrant the sentence "If he were there, he would not have been delivered?"

Many answers have been given these questions: The wicked son does not ask out of innocent curiosity. His tone is assertive and provocative (when your children say to you"); the phrase "What does this service mean to you?" can be understood as meaning "What is all this bother you have taken upon yourselves"; the wicked son, in contrast to the wise son, makes no mention of the name of God, and so on. We propose an explanation based on the original textual context in which the question of the wicked son is asked.

As mentioned above, the passage assigned the wicked son appears as part of the commandment to offer the paschal lamb.

An accepted rationale for the mitzvah of sacrificing the lamb on Passover eve is the demand to combat idolatry. The explanation appears repeatedly throughout the generations from the pens of different commentators – from the ancient masters of midrash, through Rambam and Ramban of medieval times, to Abarbanel in the generation of the expulsion from Spain. Rambam, for instance, points out that in Egypt " they worship the constellation of The Lamb, and therefore slaughtering of sheep was forbidden, and shepherds were abhorred". He adds that "we were ordered

to slaughter the paschal lamb and to sprinkle its blood in Egypt on the outside of entrances, to purify ourselves of those doctrines and to publicize their opposites. . ."

The most incisive version of this explanation seems to be that which appears in "Shemot Rabba":

This midrash imparts two basic teachings: a) The exodus from Egypt is first and foremost Israel's deliverance from idolatry; b) before God stretches out His hand to rescue, deliverance must first occur within man himself. Man must want to save himself. He must take the first steps in the process which will lead to his redemption, "to slaughter" the gods of Egypt on his own initiative. The free and active decision of Man, who is able to distinguish between good and bad, stands at the locus of the overwhelming event of the exodus from Egypt – an event in which, ostensibly, passive Jewish nation is led by the Almighty Deliv.

In the light of all the above, it can perhaps be said that the selection about the wicked son of the Hagadda and the above-quoted midrash are quite close to each other in their points of view, and they are actually saying the same thing. The midrash in Shemot Rabba, which sees in the Paschal offering an expression of the unconditional negation of idolatry, enables us to easily understand why the wicked son, who voice his doubts about the necessity of this mitzvah, is labeled "denier of the principle". He refuses to identify with the heritage of our father Avraham, first of the believers in God and first to fight idolatry. He announces, with skepticism (and perhaps sarcasm) "What does this service mean to you?" he, in effect, negates the need for struggle against idolatry. Thus he excludes himself from the community, for, in the words of the Talmud "Whoever denies idolatry is called a Jew" (Bavli, Meila 12b); whoever refuses to deny idolatry disavows, in effect, his Judaism.

Comparison of the two sources under discussion also explains why the wicked son, had he lived in the in the generation of the exodus, "would not have been delivered." The author of the midrash in Shemot Rabba says explicitly: "Israel will not leave here until they slaughter the gods of Egypt before their eyes." The geula begins with every individual's inner resolution to rebel against idolatry, and this takes place not in Egypt, smitten with frogs, insects, and locust, but within the heart of Man.

This means that geula is not an automatic process; no one can be redeemed against his will. He who does not want to rebel, remains in Egypt. It follows, then, that the fact that the wicked "would not have been delivered" is not a cruel punishment for the question he asked (even were it to be a provocation), but the result

of free choice on the part of one who does not identify with the goals of geula. Such a person is not redeemed, because he is not interested in being redeemed.

As usual, then, even the wicked provide beneficial lessons. From the wicked son of the Haggada we can learn that there can be no escape from making decisions,

and that even in the face of clear miracles produced in order to free him, Man remains free to decide that he would rather remain in the house of slavery.

"Now a sojourner you are not to maltreat, you are not to oppress him, for sojourners were you in the land of Egypt"

We thank our member, Niki Lachs, for suggesting an original and tangible way to fulfill "In every generation one must regards himself as though he left Egypt":

In recent years we've added an onion to the central seder place. What is the purpose of this onion?

Our Sages held various opinions regarding the sin of the Children of Israelwhich warranted the suffering in Egypt. But the nature of the Egyptian experience is clear – slavery. the many reminders about our servitude in Egypt are scattered throughout the Torah. Many commentators understood these as messages of interpersonal morality – that we never forget that we were once slaves. Rabbi Aviah Cohen posits that King Shelomo forgot this four hundred years after the exodus from Egypt when he conscripted multitudes for his grandiose building programs – and for this he was punished towards the end of his life. (I Kings, 11:11).

Today, too, we tend to forget the slavery experience, and we enslave others. The most outstanding examples are our attitude to some of the foreign workers who live in disgraceful conditions, devoid of basic rights, and the phenomenon of purchasing women from abroad and employing them in prostitution.

Now, to the onion. The onion not only causes us to shed a tear. The onion symbolizes an basic item of food which is found in many dishes, but is not always detected. So the foreign workers who work in basic jobs in our society, such as construction, agriculture, and health care, have become essential to Israel's economy, but they are invisible. They live in the shadows of society.

The onion at the seder table reminds us that, as slaves in the past, we should refrain from enslaving others today.

The Responsibility of Eliyahu the Prophet in the Future: "To Reconcile Parents With Children" (From the Haftara for Shabbat Hagadol)

. . . And the Sages say[Eliyahu will come] neither to distance nor to bring close, but to make peace in the world, as is written (Malachi 3) "Lo, I will send before you the prophet Eliyahu . . . and he will reconcile parents with children and children with their parents." (Mishna, Eduyot 8:7)

The goal of the exodus from Egypt was not realized. The mission of "the time of our freedom" took the form of a synthetic freedom, something which may be a pre-condition for freedom, but it is not true freedom. The nation which left Egypt did

not accept upon itself the Kingdom of God, and therefore we do not recite "the Complete Hallel" on the festival on which the attempt to realize our freedom failed.

The exodus from Egypt was – and was not! – geula. It is geula in the sense of "ataruta shamaymit" – "heavenly awaking" – but is was not geula in the sense of "earthly awakening". The great difference between geula as a means and geula as an

end can be seen in the four terms of geula which announce the great purpose for which the people will be delivered: "And I will take them out" "And I will save",

"And I will take them" "I will redeem them" . . . And you will know that I am the Lord your God." The first four are in the hands of heaven -- the last is in the hands of Man. The exodus becomes geula only if the one being saved participates "for the sake of heaven"; liberation is not geula as long as the liberated one's role is only limited to self-benefit.

The four terms of geula without "And you will know that I am the Lord your God" represent false geula, and false geula is worse for Israel than loss of belief in geula.

The fall of Yerushalayim and the destruction of the Temple by Titus, and even the decrees of Hadrian against Torah and mitzvoth, did not uproot Judaism – not even from the hearts of those who had abandoned hope for geula and anticipated that the seed of Avraham will disappear (Bavli, Bava Batra 60b). The Shabbtai Zevi debacle weakened the Judaism of its believers, and even opened the door to its collapse among the entire Jewish people.

Therefore, Man, -- who has no communication with that which is beyond the curtain – must be extremely careful about proclaiming that military victory and national-political success are indicative of atchalta d'geula – the beginning of the geula ("the beginning of the flowering of our geula"). (Leibowitz, Discussion on the Festivals of Israel and It's Appointed Times)

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About us

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom was founded in 1975 in order to present an alternative expression of religious Zionism. It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts which have always been centrato Jewish tradition and law.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom was established by a group of awho were alarmed by the growing militance which they saw in most of the religious Zionist community. They were aware that religious fundamentalism, gaining hold throughout the region, mounted the greatest threat to possible coexistence, and believed that the only effective counter arguments would also need to stem from religious tradition. They were convinced that the established religious Zionist camp had become distanced from the values which had originally been its cornerstones.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom shares a powerful attachment to the land of Israel and nevertheless views peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have a religious obligation no less than a national one to support the pursuit of peace. It maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an imperative.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom`s programs include both educational and protest activities. Seminars, lectures, workshops, conferences and weekend programs on a variety of topics are held for youth, students, educators and families, while protest activities focus on issues of human rights, co-existence between Jews and Arabs, and responses to issues of particular religious relevance. We publish 9,000 copies of a 4 page peace oriented commentary on the weekly Torah reading that is distributed to over 350 synagogues in Israel and is sent overseas via email.

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Committed to Jewish tradition and law, while supporting peace, equality and co-existence, Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom is in a unique position to enter into a dialogue with both the secular left and the religious right.

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