Shabbat Pesach/Pesach 7-8
As we come to the end of Pesach we may look forward to again eating bread. Yet there is one place where it was Pesach the whole year round and that was in the Temple. The Torah commands that no offering is allowed to be offered using Hametz. All the meal offerings were made of Matzah, with two notable exceptions. One is the thanksgiving offering. That includes both Matzah and a loaf of bread. For this reason it could not be offered on Pesach and why the Ashkenazim don’t say the ‘Psalm of Thanksgiving’ in Shacharit during the whole of Pesach. The other exception are the two loaves offered on Shavuot, which are Hametz. This seems at first sight strange. A thanksgiving offering is offered for four things detailed in Psalm 107: rescue from prison, sickness and dangerous journeys. For this reason we say the Gomel blessing on these same occurrences. Yet the paradigm for redemption and thanksgiving is the Exodus. Here we were rescued from the prison of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea safely. We should therefore eat Hametz. Yet this time of year is when that is totally forbidden. Only on Shavuot do we celebrate with Hametz. Why then do we bring Hametz davkah with a thanksgiving offering? An answer may lie in what the commentators said about Hametz. It is a symbol of human pride. For this reason it is forbidden in the Temple. It can only be brought with a thanksgiving offering. In that case, the experience of danger has led the worshipper to appreciate their own vulnerability and thus punctuate their pride. They can then truly bring a Hametz offering. Why then is this totally forbidden on Pesach? Surely we also underwent such an experience at the time of the Exodus. Here the answer lies in when you can bring a thanksgiving offering. A person that was near death and is now out of immediate danger, but still seriously ill can’t bring an offering until he is properly recovered. This is the analogy to the Jews in Egypt. Pesach doesn’t celebrate our complete redemption but only our partial rescue. We are no longer under the Egyptian thumb but still under their cultural influence. Only with the giving of the Torah on Shavuot did we become truly free and can bring a thanksgiving offering.
TORAH PREVIEW
Shabbat: 116-119 HAFTORAH: 120-121
The Torah Reading is from Exodus and deals with the giving of the Second Tablets. The Haftorah is from Ezekiel and is the vision of the Dry Bones.
SEVENTH DAY: 121-126 HAFTORAH: 126-129
The Torah Reading is from Exodus and deals with the crossing of the Red Sea. The Haftorah from Samuel is a vision of the Messianic age.
EIGHTH DAY: 129-134 HAFTORAH: 134-136
The Torah Reading is from Deuteronomy and deals with the three Pilgrim Festivals. The Haftorah from Isaiah is a vision of the Messianic age.
KNOW YOUR SONG
Who wrote the Song of Songs?
Why is it said on Pesach?
When else is it said on Pesach?
What is the name of the female lover?
Why want the woman open the door to her lover?
Where are there royal vineyards?
Who in Jewish tradition are the two lovers?
What is stronger than death?
What is the female compared to?
