MHA-FYOS Dean's Blog

In the section from Parashat Bo that we will read on the first day of Pesach, the Torah recounts Moshe’s command to the elders of Israel regarding the night of the exodus. Moshe commands the details of the Pesach sacrifice and concludes by commanding the elders to guard this matter as a law for all generations. Moshe continues and says, "And it will be that when you come to the land that Hashem has given to you like He spoke. And you will guard this service. And it will be that when your children say to you, ‘What is this service of yours?’ And you will say, ‘It is a Pesach offering to Hashem that He passed over the houses of the Jewish People in Egypt when He smote Egypt and our houses he saved and the nation bowed and worshipped. And the children of Israel went and did like Hashem commanded Moshe and Aharon – thus did they do.'" In summary, after commanding the people to offer the Passover offering, Moshe tells the people that when they enter the land of Israel, thei...

In a section near the end of this week’s parasha – Parashat Ki Tisa – the Torah presents some of the mitzvot related to the chaggim – the Jewish festivals. Particular attention in the section is given to the holiday of Pesach. This section concludes with two mitzvot – all first fruits are to be brought to the Temple to be given to the kohen and the commandment not to cook milk together with meat. At first glance, the connection between the beginning and the end of this section is not obvious. Pesach and the prohibition to mix milk and meat seem unrelated. In a very novel and interesting approach, Rabbenu Ovadiah Seforno identifies a theme that runs through the section. Seforno explains that the mitzvot in this section are aimed to reorient a person’s concept of the true source of success. Hashem is the source of our material success and well-being. There are two moments in which a person is particularly susceptible to forgetting this idea. Celebrating a spring festival – Pesach – is ai...