Yetziat Mitzrayim, the Exodus from Egypt, was the beginning of our existence as a nation. God told us exactly how to experience this night, through the prism of the korban Pesach the Passover offering. The Yetziat Mitzrayim is reenacted year after year through the offering of the korban Pesach; it is the central component of the seder even today when we can no longer bring sacrifices.
The problem is, how much do we relate to it? I think most of us would answer very little. How can we expect to find meaning in the seder and these events if we don't understand where the spotlight shines? We hear a short Torah thought here and there, but if we are not willing to tackle korban Pesach it is very hard to get the complete experience.
The Pesach offering happened in between the ninth and tenth plague. The blood was placed on the inside of the doorposts and Hashem "passed over" the Jews and smote only the Egyptians. This moment becomes so monumental that it becomes the name of the holiday, the Chag. What is the significance of the korban Pesach and more importantly what significance does it have to our everyday lives?
Before we can begin to answer these questions, we need to first understand the nature of the korban Pesach and some of its laws. The offering was supposed to be taken from a one-year-old lamb or goat, without a blemish. It had to be roasted whole without its feet or inner organs removed, and had to be eaten together with matzah, unleavened bread and marror, bitter herbs. One had to be careful not to break any bones from the offering and none of the meat could be left over by morning. Men and women were equally obligated in the offering as well as young children.
The Maharal, Rabbi Yehudah Loew, explains that we see from the laws of the korban Pesach the essence of oneness. A one-year-old sheep or goat, needed to remain whole and everyone came together as one, you cannot cook it, and you need to roast it because when you roast it stays as one.
What is the significance of the korban Pesach? Other than being a reminder of the Exodus and an annual re-creation of that experience, the korban Pesach symbolizes the preservation and liberation of the entire people. The small groups consisting of families and friends constituted small communities which in unison with other groups proclaimed that they were part of the greater community which is the Congregation of Israel.
What happened the night we slaughtered the korban Pesach? After they slaughtered the Pesach offering, they then placed the blood of the korban on their doorposts and after they walked through their doors something new was created- a national entity that transcended family, we became a nation. Until then the greatest sense of community was the family unit, but after the korban Pesach a grand new community was born. It was the first time the nation joined together in unison to proclaim their allegiance to God as a people.
The nature of the korban Pesach resembles the idea of oneness and unification. It was only once we became one that we were able to leave the galut, exile, we found ourselves in. Unfortunately we no longer have the Beit Hamikdash and we can no longer perform the korban Pesach, so how are we to build this unity amongst the Jewish people and leave our current galut?
Perhaps we could suggest an approach based on the korban Pesach. As pointed out by Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky, if one takes a closer look at the mitzvah of korban Pesach they will notice that there is a recurring word through these verses, drawing our attention to its significance. The word bayit, home, appears in various forms thirteen times. From the blood being placed on the door of the house to its meat being eaten specifically in the house, the korban Pesach is linked directly to the home.
What is it about the mitzvah of korban Pesach that causes the house to take such a significant role in its performance? Maybe the key to leaving the current galut is in each of our homes. It is the home where the ideals of a child are formed, it is the place where a child learns how to interact with others, and it is the home where the individual develops their uniqueness that contributes to the klal, group, as a whole.
The gemara at the end of masechet Sukkah says that "A child never says over anything
Are they attitudes of acceptance even towards the "other"? Do we try to see positive in others and see what others are able to contribute? Do we promote the message of the korban Pesach, the focus on achdut, unity?
From our homes we are able to have a greater effect on our communities at large. If we promote values of unity and acceptance at home then we will be able to unite and be able to emerge from the galut in which we find ourselves.
In the midst of B'nei Yisrael leaving Egypt, God gives them their very first national mitzvah: to establish the months of the calendar via the renewing of the moon. The verse (Exodus 12:2) says "haChodesh haZeh lachem rosh chadashim...this month shall be reckoned to you as the beginning of months..." Rashi takes note of the word haZeh, this, as being somewhat extraneous and quotes the Midrash to explain it: Moshe had difficulty regarding the renewal of the moon; how much of it must be visible so that it is fit to be consecrated. God then showed him with His "finger" the moon in the sky and said to him "when you see it like this, sanctify it."
When Moshe had difficulty discerning the moon's renewal, God didn't scold or chastise Moshe for misunderstanding. Instead, He took the time to "point His finger" to where Moshe was struggling to comprehend the moon's complexities. God, perhaps, was doing His own form of constructive criticism. He wasn't yelling at Moshe or blasting him for not grasping the information. He took a new direction, visually showed Moshe, ensuring he correctly understood.
We see that there are two ways to point fingers. The first is done when assigning blame. However, what one may fail to recognize is that by pointing a finger at someone else you are simultaneously pointing three fingers right back at yourself. The second finger point is that of constructive criticism: to point out, calmly and gainfully, not just another's mistake, but where and how he or she can grow and improve themselves.
It's easy to point the fingers at others, but far too often we fail to recognize that we ourselves may be partially (or even wholly) responsible for the circumstances we are unhappy with. This can be a bitter pill to swallow, but we are almost always accountable in some way or another for our situation in life and the results (or lack thereof) that we achieve.
Hashem certainly understands this. Let us all try to be a little less apt to blame others but instead look inside ourselves, while constructively aiding our colleagues and peers wherever they may need assistance.