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Parsha_Push Parshat Bo

Rabbanit Dr. Adina Sternberg

Every year before Passover, jokes begin circulating about how dust isn’t chametz (leavened food) and children aren’t Passover sacrifices.
Indeed, unlike neighboring peoples, the Torah firmly opposed human sacrifice. Despite all the pre-Passover demands, children (and certainly their parents who work even harder) are not sacrifices. Nevertheless, in the Torah, and especially regarding the Passover sacrifice, there are subtle hints about the sacrifice required from us and certain of the sacrificial elements.
The circumcision covenant that precedes the Passover sacrifice requires bloodletting. In Leviticus, we learn that a young animal must stay with its mother for seven days, and only from the eighth day onward is it acceptable as an offering to God. This echoes, while differing entirely, from the requirement to circumcise a Jewish boy on the eighth day.

The Passover sacrifice was offered within the family framework, at home. The blood on the doorposts and lintel transformed the entire house into an altar. This suggests that alongside the Passover sacrifice itself, through this marking, the family inside ‘enters the altar’ or ‘ascends it’ and draws closer to God.
In the story of the Binding of Isaac, the willingness to sacrifice our own flesh and blood was transferred to animal sacrifice. However, the psychological element of closeness and sacrifice takes on a renewed and refined form within the framework of our relationship with our people and God.
As part of our religious commitment, from the moment of our birth as a people, there are intertwined elements of sacrifice that create closeness. As in any relationship, so with God – the offering is an invitation to draw close, and the present is a form of being present and meriting His presence.

Rabbanit Dr. Adina Sternberg

Rabbanit Dr. Adina Sternberg

was in the first cohort of the Matan Kitvuni Fellowship program and her book is in the publication process. She has a B.A. in Bible from Hebrew University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Talmud from Bar Ilan University. Adina studied in Midreshet Lindenbaum, Migdal Oz, Havruta and the Advanced Talmud Institute in Matan. She currently teaches Bible and Talmud at Matan, and at Efrata and Orot colleges. Adina lives in Adam (Geva Binyamin) with her family.