Hi,
The Torah mandates that the owner of a donkey redeem its first-born progeny by dedicating a lamb in its place, or by donating the lamb‘s monetary equivalent. Failure to do so means that the donkey‘s owner must instead end his donkey‘s life. Our sages wrote that the penalty of losing one‘s donkey is meant to encourage owners to fulfill the mitzvah of redeeming their donkeys.
The Torah explains that this mitzvah is meant to remind us of our own redemption from Egypt, and of the destruction of the Egyptian firstborn. Why donkeys, though? Rambam, in his Moreh haNevuchim, suggested that the Torah singled out donkeys because they are common beasts, and because their ability to carry burdens make them indispensable for all people.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Showing posts with label Pesach: Remembering the departure from Egypt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pesach: Remembering the departure from Egypt. Show all posts
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Don't expect miracles
Hi,
"G-d will not perform signs and wonders in every generation before the eyes of every wicked person and denier, and so He instructed us to make a perpetual memorial and a sign for that which we saw, and to convey it to our children, and their children to their children, and their children to the final generation."
(Ramban to Shemot 13:16)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"G-d will not perform signs and wonders in every generation before the eyes of every wicked person and denier, and so He instructed us to make a perpetual memorial and a sign for that which we saw, and to convey it to our children, and their children to their children, and their children to the final generation."
(Ramban to Shemot 13:16)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The Mitzvot of Pesach - Discussing the departure from Egypt
Hi,
The Torah expresses the mitzvah of sippur yetziat mitzrayim (re-telling the account of leaving Egypt) as a two-part mitzvah: (1) To talk about the events of our departure from Egypt, and (2) To thank Gd for engineering that miracle. The Torah says we should do this while eating the korban pesach, and so we, in the absence of a korban, do this at our seder; the Sefer haChinuch lists this as the 21st mitzvah in the Torah.
The Tzlach (Berachot 12b) noted that there is a separate mitzvah of mentioning our departure from Egypt on a daily basis, and the gemara even discusses the possibility that such a mitzvah might apply nightly as well. Nonetheless, that on-going mitzvah is not included in the standard count of the 613 mitzvot. The Tzlach suggested that this omission may be because the pasuk from which the lesson is derived says, “So that you will remember,” and does not command, “You shall remember.”
Chag kasher v'sameach,
Mordechai
The Torah expresses the mitzvah of sippur yetziat mitzrayim (re-telling the account of leaving Egypt) as a two-part mitzvah: (1) To talk about the events of our departure from Egypt, and (2) To thank Gd for engineering that miracle. The Torah says we should do this while eating the korban pesach, and so we, in the absence of a korban, do this at our seder; the Sefer haChinuch lists this as the 21st mitzvah in the Torah.
The Tzlach (Berachot 12b) noted that there is a separate mitzvah of mentioning our departure from Egypt on a daily basis, and the gemara even discusses the possibility that such a mitzvah might apply nightly as well. Nonetheless, that on-going mitzvah is not included in the standard count of the 613 mitzvot. The Tzlach suggested that this omission may be because the pasuk from which the lesson is derived says, “So that you will remember,” and does not command, “You shall remember.”
Chag kasher v'sameach,
Mordechai
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