Rabbi Roodyn

I would like to start by exploring some of the themes surrounding the Korban Pesach because despite being one of the major events on the Yom Tov, we often gloss over it due to the fact that we are not currently able to perform it.

It is well known that since the Egyptians worshipped the sheep, the Bnei Yisrael were told to take a perfect sheep and tie it up for four days. This gave ample time for the Egyptians to be fully aware of what was going on. The sight of their god being tied up and of the Bnei Yisrael sharpening their knives and preparing their roasting spits must have been too much to bear, yet the Egyptians left them alone and said nothing. Through slaughtering the korban, roasting its meat and eating every last morsel, the Bnei Yisrael gained their emotional and spiritual independence whilst still firmly on Egyptian soil.

Only once they had been able to stand up to their captors and defiantly assert themselves could they go free physically. Had they failed to do so then it is safe to assume that they would have obediently returned to Egypt as soon as they saw the Egyptian forces pursuing them at the Red Sea.

Put simply, the message of the Korban Pesach is that physical freedom is merely an empty shell if it is not accompanied by inner freedom.

There is however a much deeper message here that we will discuss in the coming days based on the insights of Rav Shimshon Rephael Hirsh. He explains in great detail how every part of the Korban Pesach service was in fact building a new society, a model society based on Divine truths, even before they had left Egypt.

Stay tuned to find out how.