Courage of The Slaves

This Friday at sunset Passover will begin. I read an article by a Rabbi that gave me a different view of the Passover then I had had before. Unfortunately I can't remember who, so I can't give credit where it's due, but I will try give his idea due justice.

When G-d told the people of Israel to prepare for the Passover,see exodus 12:1-8, to take into their homes a “kid” ( from the goats or sheep) hold it for 4 days and then slaughter it, and put the blood on the “door posts and lintel of the house” then roast it and eat it, he was doing much more than just showing His power over the Egyptians, He was asking the Hebrew slaves to trust Him completely with their lives and to not be afraid, to be braver then they had been up to this time.

They had witnessed all the plagues that had fallen upon the Egyptians, but really that had been between Pharaoh and G-d. The prize was obviously their freedom, but it had only affected them, as it pertained to Pharaoh, increasing their labors, while perhaps giving them some hope, via Moses, that they were to be delivered by G-d. They were witnesses to the miracles, but now G-d was calling them to act and that action was something that the Egyptians wouldn't tolerate.

First they were to be shepherds again and shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians.

Genesis 46:33-34

So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Remember also in Exodus 8:21-22 in the Jewish bible (25-26 in the Christian bible) it says: “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the untouchable of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the untouchable of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us?”

G-d tells the Hebrew slaves in Exodus 12 to gather a “kid” from the goats or the sheep and bring it into their dwellings, however sheep and goats were considered to be sacred to the Egyptians, as the Ram was considered the sacred animal of two of their major gods, Amun and Khnum, so they were not to be touched in any way let alone slaughtered and eaten. Yet this was the command of G-d.

G-d was literally telling them to do something that could get them killed, this is where courage comes in. First they were to bring a goat or a sheep into their homes, essentially capturing one of their sacred gods and keeping them captive.

Then they were to kill the goat or the sheep, not only touching the “sacred”sheep or goat, but actually slaughtering the animal and then spreading the blood of it on the doorposts and lintel in full view of the Egyptians.

Then they were to roast it and eat it in a hurry. All of this with the full knowledge of the Egyptians. They were, in a nutshell, told to capture, hold, and then destroy a major Egyptian god right in front of them.

Yes, this was also to protect the first born, but it was also an act of courage and faith in G-d ,in a place where they were captives and slaves.

They saw the miracles that He had performed, and I am sure that it helped, but they were asked to do something and actually participate with Him in their own deliverance.

G-d wants people of courage and action, He wants men and women to act when he calls, even in the threat of mortal enemies, they did, and here we are remembering it thousands of years later.

A blessed Pesach to all.