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Passover sacrifice
Passover sacrifice
Passover sacrifice
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Practice of Passover sacrifice by Temple Mount activists in Jerusalem, 2012.

The Passover sacrifice (Hebrew: קרבן פסח, romanized: Qorban Pesaḥ), also known as the Paschal lamb or the Passover lamb, is the sacrifice that the Torah mandates the Israelites to ritually slaughter on the evening of Nisan 14, before Passover of Nisan 15, and eat lamb on the first night of the holiday with bitter herbs and matzo. According to the Torah, it was first offered on the night of the Exodus from Egypt. Although practiced by Jews in ancient times, the sacrifice is today not performed by the vast majority of Rabbinic Jews, but part of Beta Israel, Karaite and Samaritan observance.

In the Torah

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In the Torah, the blood of this sacrifice painted on the door-posts of the Israelites was to be a sign to God, when passing through the land to slay the first-born of the Egyptians that night, that he should pass by the houses of the Israelites (Exodus 12:1–28). In the Mishnah this is called the "Passover of Egypt" (Pesaḥ Miẓrayim in M.Pesach ix. 5). It was further ordained (Exodus 12:24-27) that this observance should be repeated annually for all time once the Israelites entered into their promised land. Exodus 12:25 "It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service" (NKJV). This so-called "Pesaḥ Dorot," the Passover of succeeding generations (Mishnah Pesach l.c.), differs in many respects from the Passover of Egypt (Pesaḥ Miẓrayim).

(9:1) The LORD spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first new month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying: (9:2) 'Let the children of Israel keep the passover in its appointed season. (9:3) In the fourteenth day of this month, at dusk, ye shall keep it according to all the statues of it, and according to al the ordinances thereof, shall you keep it.'

— Num. 9:1–3, JPS translation

Rabbinical interpretation

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According to Rashi, on Numbers 9:1, only once during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness, one year after the Exodus, was the sacrifice offered. For the next 39 years there was no offering, according to Rashi, as God stipulated that it could only be offered after the Children of Israel had entered the Land of Israel. In fact, the bringing of the Passover sacrifice resumed only after the Israelites had taken possession of the land, and then the sacrifice was made annually until during the times when Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple stood and functioned. During this time there was a definite ritual for the offering, in addition to the regulations prescribed by the Law. The following is a brief summary of the principal ordinances and of the ritual accompanying the sacrifice:

The sacrificial animal

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The sacrificial animal, which was either a lamb or goat, had to be a male, one year old, and without blemish. Each family or society offered one animal together, which did not require the semikah (laying on of hands), although it was obligatory to determine who were to take part in the sacrifice that the slaughtering might take place with the proper intentions. Only those who were circumcised and clean before the Law might participate, and they were forbidden to have leavened food in their possession during the act of slaughtering the Passover lamb. The animal was slain on the eve of the Passover, on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan,[1] after the Tamid sacrifice had been slaughtered, i.e., at three o'clock, or, in case the eve of the Passover fell on Friday, at two.[2]

The slaughtering took place in the courtyard of the Temple at Jerusalem. The slaughter could be performed by a layman, although the rituals dealing with the blood and fat had to be carried out by a priest.[2][3] The blood had to be collected by a priest, and rows of priests with gold or silver cups in their hands stood in line from the Temple court to the altar, where the blood was sprinkled. These cups were rounded on the bottom so that they could not be set down, because the blood might thus coagulate. The priest who caught the blood as it dropped from the sacrificial animal then handed the cup to the priest next to him, receiving from him an empty one, and the full cup was passed along the line until it reached the last priest, who sprinkled its contents on the altar. The lamb was then hung upon special hooks or sticks and skinned; but if the eve of the Passover fell on a Sabbath, the skin was removed down to the breast only. The abdomen was then cut open, and the fatty portions intended for the altar were taken out, placed in a vessel, salted, and offered by the priest on the altar, while the remaining entrails likewise were taken out and cleansed.[2]

While most services require a minyan of at least ten people, the Korban Pesach must be offered before a quorum of thirty—it must be performed in front of kahal adat yisrael, the assembly of the congregation of Israel; ten are needed for the assembly, ten for the congregation, and ten for Israel. According to some Talmudic authorities, such as Rav Kahana IV, women counted in the minyan for offering the passover sacrifice (B.Pesachim 79b).

Timing: Passover Eve on the Sabbath

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Even if the eve of the Passover fell on a Sabbath, the Passover lamb was killed in the manner described above, the blood was sprinkled on the altar, the entrails removed and cleansed, and the fat offered on the altar; these four ceremonies in the case of the Passover lamb were alone exempt from the prohibition against working on the Sabbath. This regulation, that the Sabbath yielded the precedence to the Passover, was not definitely determined until the time of Hillel, who established it as a law and was in return elevated to the dignity of nasi by Judah ben Bathyra.(B.Pesachim 68a).

The three groups of lay people

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The people taking part in the sacrifice were divided into three groups. The first of these filled the court of the Temple, so that the gates had to be closed, and while they were killing and offering their Passover lambs the Levites on the platform (dukhan) recited the Hallel (Psalms 113-118), accompanied by instruments of brass. If the Levites finished their recitation before the priests had completed the sacrifice, they repeated the Hallel, although it never happened that they had to repeat it twice. As soon as the first group had offered their sacrifice, the gates were opened to let them out, and their places were taken by the second and third groups successively.

All three groups offered their sacrifice in the manner described, while the Hallel was recited; but the third group was so small that it had always finished before the Levites reached Psalm 116. It was called the "group of the lazy" because it came last. Even if the majority of the people were ritually unclean on the eve of the Passover, the sacrifice was offered on the 14th of Nisan. Other sacrifices, on the contrary, called Hagigah, which were offered together with the Passover lamb, were omitted if the eve of the Passover fell on a Sabbath, or if the sacrifice was offered in a state of uncleanness, or if the number of participants was so small that they could not consume all the meat. When the sacrifice was completed and the animal was ready for roasting, each one present carried his lamb home, except when the eve of the Passover fell on a Sabbath, in which case it might not be taken away.[2]

The Home Ceremony

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If the 14th of Nissan fell on the Sabbath, the first group stationed itself on the mount of the Temple in Jerusalem, the second group in the ḥel, the space between the Temple wall and the Temple hall, while the third group remained in the Temple court, thus awaiting the evening, when they took their lambs home and roasted them on a spit of pomegranate-wood, On all other days, they could do it before nightfall (and if the 15th of Nissan fell to be on the Sabbath they would have to). No bones might be broken either during the cooking or during the eating. The lamb was set on the table at the evening banquet (see Passover Seder), and was eaten by the assembled company after all had satisfied their appetites with the ḥagigah or other food. The sacrifice had to be consumed entirely that same evening, nothing being allowed to remain overnight. While eating it, the entire company of those who partook was obliged to remain together, and every participant had to take a piece of the lamb at least as large as an olive. Women and girls also might take part in the banquet and eat of the sacrifice. The following benediction was pronounced before eating the lamb: "Blessed be Thou, the Eternal, our God, the King of the world, who hast sanctified us by Thy commands, and hast ordained that we should eat the Passover." The Hallel was recited during the meal, and when the lamb had been eaten the meaning of the custom was explained, and the story of the Exodus was told.[2]

The Passover sacrifice belongs to the category of zevachim that are eaten by the owner (similar to shelamim), thus forming one of the sacrifices in which the meal is the principal part and indicates the community between God and man. It is really a house or family sacrifice, and each household is regarded as constituting a small community in itself, not only because the lamb is eaten at home, but also because every member of the family is obliged to partake of the meal, although each male must be circumcised in order for it to be permissible for him to eat, and all must be ritually pure. The fact that the Passover lamb might be killed only at the central sanctuary of Jerusalem, on the other hand, implies that each household was but a member of the larger community; this is indicated also by the national character of the sacrifice, which kept alive in the memory of the nation the preservation and liberation of the entire people.[2]

Modern attempts to revive the sacrifice

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In 2007, a group of rabbis including Adin Steinsalz and other members of the New Sanhedrin Council supported by the Temple Mount Faithful identified a Kohen who was a butcher, made plans for conducting a Passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount, and petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice for permission. The Court sided with the government and rejected the request, holding that such an event would inflame religious tensions and would threaten security. The incident was a successor to a series of earlier attempts by various groups to perform such a sacrifice, either openly or by subterfuge.[4][5]

In 2008, the animal rights group Let the Animals Live (Tnoo Lachayot Lichyot in Hebrew) founded in 1986,[6][7] sued the Temple Institute, claiming its conduct of a practice Passover sacrifice demonstration would constitute animal cruelty. An Israeli court rejected the claim.[8]

In 2016, Jewish activists pushing for a third temple in Jerusalem attempted to ascend the Temple Mount carrying baby goats intended to be used as Passover sacrifices on Friday afternoon, as they do every year. Jerusalem police detained ten suspects in the Old City for interrogation, and seized four sacrificial goat kids. Among those arrested were Kach activist Noam Federman, who attempts to make the sacrifice every year, and Rafael Morris, an activist in the Temple Mount Faithful movement.[citation needed]

The annual attempt to ascend the Temple Mount to perform the sacrifice in 2022 spawned widespread rumours of Jewish extremists supposedly planning to enter the Al-Aqsa Compound, where Jews are heavily restricted from entering and Jewish prayer is forbidden, inciting a riot which ultimately led to the 2022 Al-Aqsa Mosque storming.[9]

In other traditions

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In Christianity, the sacrifice of the Passover lamb is considered to be fulfilled by the crucifixion and death of Jesus, who is consequently also given the title Lamb of God.[10][11]

See also

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References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Passover sacrifice

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The Passover sacrifice, or korban Pesach in Hebrew, constitutes a foundational biblical ritual outlined in Exodus 12, requiring Israelite families to select an unblemished yearling male sheep or goat on the tenth day of , confine it until the fourteenth day, slaughter it at twilight, daub its blood on the doorposts and lintel with a bunch of hyssop to avert the during the tenth Egyptian plague, and roast and consume the entire animal that night—head, legs, and innards included—alongside and bitter herbs, with participants girded, sandaled, and staff in hand to evoke urgent readiness for . No portion could remain until morning, no bones could be broken, and the meal was confined to one , emphasizing its character as a protective family feast rather than a standard burnt offering or for sin. This act directly precipitated the ' deliverance from bondage, as the blood-marked homes signaled divine exemption from the slaying of Egypt's , compelling Pharaoh's release of the enslaved population. Commanded as an enduring ordinance to perpetuate remembrance of God's redemptive intervention (Exodus 12:14, 24–27), the evolved under Deuteronomic centralization, shifting slaughter from homes to the where blood was dashed, the meat then roasted and eaten in pre-registered communal groups to foster national unity during pilgrimage festivals. In the Second Temple era, it formed the culminating element of the observance, with large-scale executions at drawing crowds and underscoring themes of collective identity and haste amid oppression. The practice abruptly halted with the Temple's destruction by Roman forces in 70 CE, rendering centralized sacrifice impossible under rabbinic halakhah, which prohibits offerings absent a sanctioned . Today, the korban Pesach endures symbolically in the through a roasted shank bone on the plate, evoking the original without replication, while its core motifs—protection via substitution, familial , and precipitous liberation—anchor Jewish narratives of resilience against assimilation and tyranny, though scholarly persists on its pre-Exodus nomadic or apotropaic roots absent direct archaeological attestation.

Biblical Description

Account in Exodus

In the Book of , the Passover sacrifice is first instituted as a divine command to and in the land of , prior to the ' departure. The specifies that on the tenth day of the first month, each shall select a lamb or a young , unblemished and male, one year old; if a is too small, it shall share with a neighboring based on the number of persons, with each eating according to . The animal must be kept until the fourteenth day, when the whole assembly of slaughters it at twilight. Blood from the slaughtered animal is to be applied to the doorposts and lintels of the houses where it is eaten, serving as a sign for the to those dwellings during the impending plague. The meat must be roasted whole over fire, including head, legs, and entrails, and consumed that night with and bitter herbs; no portion is to be eaten raw or boiled in water. The are instructed to eat it in haste, with loins girded, on feet, and staff in hand, prepared as for a journey, as this meal commemorates their imminent liberation. Any leftovers must be burned with fire by morning. That same night, the executes judgment by striking down every firstborn in —from 's firstborn son to the firstborn of livestock—while passing over the marked houses, sparing their firstborn. This event, termed the (Pesach), prompts to expel the , fulfilling the prophecy of deliverance. relays these instructions to the elders of , emphasizing the ordinance as a perpetual : in future generations, it shall be observed as a , with serving as and the as remembrance.

Regulations in Other Pentateuchal Books

In Leviticus, the is presented as part of the appointed festivals, occurring on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight, immediately followed by the seven-day Festival of beginning on the fifteenth day. Sacred assemblies are mandated on the first and seventh days, during which no regular work is permitted, and food offerings to the are required throughout the seven days. This calendrical framework integrates the sacrifice into broader cultic observances without detailing the lamb's preparation or household consumption, emphasizing instead communal rest and offerings. Numbers elaborates on practical observance during the wilderness period, commanding the to keep the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight, per its appointed time. Provisions allow a second-month observance for those ritually unclean due to corpse contact or delayed by journey, requiring the same lamb sacrifice, , and bitter herbs, with exclusion for willful neglect punishable by being from the . Foreigners residing among the may participate under identical statutes, provided they follow the prescribed rules. Numbers 28 specifies accompanying offerings for the seven festival days: daily burnt offerings of two young bulls, one ram, and seven unblemished year-old male lambs, each with grain and drink offerings, plus a male as a . Deuteronomy 16 centralizes the sacrifice, requiring observance in the month of Abib by slaughtering the offering from sheep or at the site chosen by the for His name to dwell, rather than in local settlements. The meat must be eaten at evening in the chosen place after boiling or roasting over fire, with no remains until morning, and consumed for six days, culminating in rejoicing on the seventh without . This regulation shifts emphasis from household rites to sanctuary-based pilgrimage, prohibiting decentralized sacrifices while recalling deliverance.

Historical Practice in Ancient Israel

First Temple Period

The Passover sacrifice, known as the korban pesach, during the First Temple period (c. 957–586 BCE) was centralized at the in , in accordance with Deuteronomy's requirement that it be offered only at the site chosen by , precluding local or home-based slaughter as described in the Exodus narrative. This shift emphasized priestly oversight, with unblemished lambs or kids slaughtered on the 14th of , their blood dashed on the altar, and the meat roasted and consumed that night by groups of participants within the city's walls, accompanied by and bitter herbs. Observance appears to have been irregular prior to the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom in 722 BCE, amid widespread with Canaanite practices, though textual records indicate continuity from pre-Temple traditions adapted to Temple ritual. A pivotal revival occurred under King (r. c. 715–686 BCE), who, following Temple purification from idolatrous defilement, proclaimed a national inviting remnants of all and Judah, including northern tribes in and Manasseh. Due to insufficient time for ritual cleansing by the 14th of the first month, the celebration was deferred to the second month, with and Levites slaughtering thousands of lambs and goats for those unprepared, while unclean participants were granted dispensation to join. The event involved massive sacrifices—over 30,000 sheep and goats, plus 3,000 cattle—distributed by the king and nobles, evoking unprecedented joy likened to the days of and , and extending into the Feast of with further offerings. Biblical chroniclers portray it as a unifying against Assyrian-influenced , though archaeological correlates remain absent, relying on these texts as primary witnesses to 8th-century BCE Judean cultic practices. The most extensive recorded observance followed under King (r. 640–609 BCE), enacted in the 18th year of his reign (622 BCE) after the discovery of a law scroll—likely Deuteronomy—during Temple repairs, prompting sweeping iconoclastic reforms. Josiah commanded the sacrifice of Passover lambs on the 14th of the first month, with stationed at and Levites organized into divisions to assist laypeople, ensuring centralized slaughter and blood application per prescription. Quantities were prodigious: 30,000 lambs and kids, plus 3,000 bulls from the king's resources, supplemented by flock offerings, all roasted without boiling and consumed exclusively by qualified , excluding aliens unless circumcised. The chronicler emphasizes its singularity—"no such Passover had been observed from the days of the judges" or —highlighting fidelity to amid eradication of high places and worship, though parallel accounts in Kings and Chronicles diverge slightly on scale and northern participation, reflecting possible ideological emphases in Judahite historiography. These reforms under and represent zeniths of centralized cultus, countering decentralized or neglected practices during periods of royal apostasy, such as under Manasseh (r. 687–642 BCE), whose idolatry desecrated the Temple. Post- observance likely persisted until the Babylonian destruction of the Temple in 586 BCE, which terminated sacrificial rites, but direct extrabiblical evidence—such as inscriptions or faunal remains tied to slaughters—is lacking, with scholars attributing this to the perishable nature of meat consumption and the texts' role as propagandistic royal annals rather than neutral records. The emphasis on mass participation and purity underscores causal links between monarchical piety, national cohesion, and ritual adherence, as inferred from the accounts' portrayal of divine favor preceding .

Second Temple Period

During the Second Temple period (c. 516 BCE–70 CE), the Passover sacrifice (Korban Pesach) was centralized at the Jerusalem Temple, aligning with Deuteronomic mandates for pilgrimage festivals and differing from the decentralized practice implied in Exodus. Pilgrims from across Judea and the diaspora assembled in Jerusalem, forming registered groups (chavurot) of at least ten participants to share each lamb or kid, ensuring ritual purity and communal consumption. The animals—unblemished, yearling males—were inspected beforehand, with disqualifications for defects enforced by priests. Slaughter occurred on the afternoon of 14 Nisan, after the daily tamid offering was advanced to the seventh-and-a-half hour (approximately 1:30 PM) to allow time for the Passover rites. The process unfolded in three divisions to manage the influx: the first group entered the until filled, were shut, a teruah blast signaled the start, lay slaughtered the animals at the northern side, priests caught the blood in basins and passed it in relay to for dashing against its base in a single projection per animal, while Levites sang psalms. Skins were stripped by designated priests, entrails washed, and the carcasses hung on hooks or bars for preparation; the sequence repeated for the second and third groups until sunset. Post-slaughter, the meat was roasted whole over fire that night in homes or temporary structures, consumed with and bitter herbs, with leftovers burned by morning. The scale of participation was immense, reflecting Passover's status as the era's premier festival. Flavius Josephus reports that in one observed (likely c. 4 BCE), 256,500 lambs were sacrificed, accommodating about 2.7 million people at ten per offering, with the Temple courts and city swollen by pilgrims despite logistical strains like crowd control and ritual haste. of , writing from an Alexandrian Jewish perspective, portrays the event as a joyous liberation feast drawing even non-Jews in celebration, though he focuses more on its philosophical symbolism—escape from bondage to virtue—than granular Temple mechanics, consistent with his allegorical bent and distance from . These accounts, from eyewitnesses and contemporaries, attest to the rite's continuity and vibrancy, though Josephus's figures may reflect rhetorical emphasis on Jewish devotion amid Roman oversight.

Rabbinic Elaborations and Rituals

Requirements for the Sacrificial Animal

The Korban Pesach required a male sheep or in its first year of life, free from any physical blemish, as stipulated in rabbinic interpretations of Exodus 12:5. This age range extended from eight days after birth to just under thirteen months, ensuring the animal qualified as a at the time of selection. Unblemished status demanded absence of defects such as missing limbs, scars, swellings, or internal abnormalities, with rabbinic authorities applying the comprehensive criteria for sacrificial validity detailed in the tractate Bekhorot. Rabbinic sources emphasized that the animal must belong to an Israelite, prohibiting acquisition from non-Jews to maintain ritual purity, and it could not have been used for prohibited labors like plowing or riding, which would render it unfit. The in Pesachim underscores these standards by integrating them into the designation process on the tenth of Nisan, where owners inspected and set aside the animal specifically for the offering, rejecting any that failed to meet the criteria. Talmudic discussions in Zevachim further clarify that only intact males—not castrated or hermaphroditic—qualified, aligning with broader regulations to preserve the offering's sanctity. These requirements ensured the animal's suitability for divine service, with conducting final validations at the Temple to exclude even temporary or minor flaws that might arise post-designation. Violations, such as offering a blemished animal, invalidated the and incurred penalties under halakhic , reflecting the emphasis on as a prerequisite for and communal participation.

Procedural and Timing Details

The Passover sacrifice was slaughtered in the afternoon of the 14th of , following the daily afternoon Tamid offering, which was advanced on that day to the seventh-and-a-half temporal hour (approximately 1:30 p.m.) for slaughter and the eighth-and-a-half hour (approximately 2:30 p.m.) for offering, whether on a weekday or . If the 14th fell on a , the Tamid was further advanced to the sixth-and-a-half hour (approximately 12:30 p.m.) for slaughter and seventh-and-a-half for offering, to allow completion before restrictions intensified. The Pesach itself was not to precede the Tamid, though Rabbi Eliezer permitted concurrent slaughter; the majority view required sequential order to prioritize the Tamid. The slaughter occurred in three sequential divisions of participants to manage the large crowds filling the Temple courtyard. Each division entered the courtyard, which was filled to capacity before the doors were shut; Levites chanted the ( 113–118), repeating it as needed until slaughter concluded for that group. Upon announcement, participants slaughtered their designated animals—unblemished male lambs or kids under one year—while priests simultaneously dashed the blood of previously collected offerings on . Blood from the freshly slaughtered animals was passed hand-to-hand in basins to a at , who sprinkled it once upward and seven times downward, reciting the count aloud. Post-slaughter, the animal's fats and inner organs were offered on after the daily evening Tamid, with the carcass roasted whole over an open fire—no boiling or breaking of bones permitted. Consumption occurred that night, at the start of the 15th of (nightfall), in a single location per group, with participants girded, staff in hand, and eating roasted meat alongside and bitter herbs. The meat had to be fully consumed by midnight, per the stricter rabbinic view in Pesachim 120b, though biblical allowance extended to dawn; leftovers were burned. These procedures ensured orderly execution amid thousands of offerings, superseding labor prohibitions for eligible participants.

Participation and Consumption

Participation in the Passover sacrifice required pre-registration into organized groups called chaburot, where each member committed to a specific animal to ensure orderly slaughter and consumption; no one could join after the offering began. The sacrifice was generally offered for such groups rather than individuals, per Rabbi Yehuda's view in the , though Rabbi Yosei allowed it for a single person if necessary. Only circumcised Jewish males, females, and children who were ritually pure could participate, excluding uncircumcised individuals, those in a state of impurity, or deliberate apostates who rejected core commandments. Consumption occurred exclusively at nightfall on the 15th of , within the or an enclosed space symbolizing the Temple's sanctity, with groups maintaining partitions if sharing a to preserve group . The meat was roasted whole over an open fire—neither boiled nor eaten raw—without breaking any bones, and served with () and bitter herbs (), though the core obligation centered on the sacrificial meat itself. Participants ate in a reclining position to denote free status, recited during the meal, and ensured full consumption before dawn; any remnants were burned to prevent profanation. Rabban Gamliel emphasized that failing to reference the Paschal lamb alongside and invalidated fulfillment of the rite.

Cessation and Post-Temple Adaptations

Destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE

The Roman forces under breached Jerusalem's defenses after a prolonged siege during the First Jewish-Roman War, ultimately setting fire to and dismantling the on the 10th of Av () in 70 CE, effectively ending organized Jewish sacrificial worship centered there. This cataclysmic event halted all Temple rituals, as Deuteronomy 16:5-6 explicitly required the sacrifice (korban pesach) to occur at the "place that the Lord your God will choose," interpreted by as the sanctuary alone. Prior to the final assault, the observance of 14, 70 CE unfolded amid the encirclement, with historian recording the slaughter of 256,500 lambs for the ritual despite factional violence and Roman restrictions that limited access to . The Temple's incineration and razing— describes soldiers prying stones loose to extract gold—destroyed the infrastructure essential for the rite, including altars, , and ritual purity protocols unattainable without the sacred site. Casualties exceeded one million, per , with survivors enslaved or dispersed, further disrupting communal participation required for the sacrifice, where groups of no fewer than ten shared each lamb ( Pesachim 8:2, reflecting pre-destruction norms). No alternative venue was halakhically viable, as attempts at extramural offerings post-70 CE were deemed invalid by rabbinic authorities due to the absence of prophetic sanction or restored purity. This cessation transformed Passover from a primarily sacrificial festival into one of narrative recitation and symbolic foods, with the Hallel psalms and matzah retention echoing but not replacing the lost offering. Archaeological evidence, such as Temple-era lamb bones from Jerusalem excavations, corroborates the scale of pre-70 CE practices but underscores their abrupt termination, as no comparable ritual deposits appear afterward in Jewish contexts. Rabbinic texts like the Mishnah, compiled circa 200 CE, preserve procedural details as historical memory rather than active liturgy, signaling the rite's obsolescence.

Symbolic Substitutes in Rabbinic Judaism

In Rabbinic Judaism, following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, which rendered the Korban Pesach (Passover sacrifice) impossible under halakhic law requiring Temple performance, sages adapted the observance through symbolic elements integrated into the Passover Seder. The primary substitute is the zeroa (shank bone), a roasted bone from a lamb, goat, or chicken placed on the Seder plate, evoking the paschal lamb slaughtered on the 14th of Nisan and roasted whole for consumption in ancient practice. This item is explicitly not eaten during the meal, distinguishing it from the original rite and underscoring its commemorative role, as rabbinic texts emphasize remembrance of the lost offering to fulfill the biblical imperative of Passover observance without physical sacrifice. The originated as one of two cooked foods (chazzeret or main dishes) served in post-Temple or settings to approximate the sacrificial meal's structure, evolving by the Talmudic period into a non-edible paired with the roasted egg (beitzah), which recalls the accompanying festival sacrifice (chagigah) offered on . Mishnah Pesachim 10, compiled circa 200 CE, codifies the Seder's core rituals—blessings over , bitter herbs (), and the retelling of (magid)—adapting Exodus 12's commands to prioritize and ingestion over slaughter and application, with sages at Yavneh viewing talmudic study and as spiritually efficacious replacements for Temple rites. These adaptations reflect a rabbinic shift toward internalized observance, where the Seder's ordered sequence (seder) and four cups of wine sustain communal identity and covenantal memory, compensating for the cessation of blood rituals deemed central to and in biblical texts. Some traditions, particularly Ashkenazi, further prohibit roasted at the Seder to evoke for the Temple, reinforcing the symbols' didactic purpose in transmitting without reinstating prohibited sacrifices outside .

Modern Revival Efforts

Preparations by Jewish Temple Advocacy Groups

The Temple Institute, established in 1987 in , leads efforts to prepare for the resumption of Temple services, including the Passover sacrifice (korban pesach). This organization trains kohanim (priestly descendants) in sacrificial procedures, fabricates ritual vessels and garments according to biblical specifications, and conducts simulations to preserve the knowledge of ancient rites. For Passover, preparations commence on Rosh Chodesh , approximately six weeks prior to the , involving study of relevant texts and of slaughter techniques using compliant animals such as yearling lambs or goats that are unblemished and ritually pure. In practice runs, the Temple Institute has staged historically accurate demonstrations of the offering. On March 31, 2015, priests-in-training performed a full procedural reenactment, including animal inspection, slaughter with specialized knives (shofarot), blood collection, and roasting over fire, though without application due to the absence of the Temple. These exercises aim to ensure procedural fidelity once legal and halakhic barriers are overcome, with over 500 kohanim trained to date. The Committee for the Korban Pesach, affiliated with the nascent , coordinates annual petitions to Israeli authorities for permission to conduct the sacrifice on the during . Preparations include sourcing eligible animals meeting criteria from Exodus 12—male, unblemished, and aged one year—and organizing groups of participants (kavannot) to register in advance, as required for the communal offering. Challenges from animal rights groups have contested these demonstrations, arguing they require permits for educational animal use, though proponents maintain their religious necessity. Prerequisite purity rituals, such as those involving ashes, are emphasized by these groups, as impurity would disqualify participants from handling Passover offerings. The Temple Institute has imported and raised red heifers from since 2018, aiming for their preparation by periods to enable broader Temple readiness, though actual sacrifice awaits full halakhic compliance. These efforts reflect a commitment to empirical restoration of biblical mandates amid ongoing legal and political constraints.

Samaritan Continuation on Mount Gerizim

Unlike , which ceased sacrificial practices following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the community has continuously observed the Passover sacrifice on , which they regard as the divinely ordained site of worship specified in the . This tradition persisted even after the destruction of their own temple on by the Hasmonean ruler in 128 BCE, with the maintaining altar-based offerings without a rebuilt structure. Their adherence to this rite stems from a strict interpretation of biblical commandments, viewing as the sole legitimate location for sacrifices, in contrast to affirmed by Jewish tradition. The Samaritan Passover ritual closely mirrors ancient biblical prescriptions: on the 14th of Abib (their first month, aligning roughly with the Jewish ), families select unblemished lambs or sheep, which are inspected and guarded for four days prior to slaughter at twilight. Typically, 30 to 50 animals are sacrificed annually—one per or clan—by designated butchers in a communal square on , with daubed on participants' foreheads symbolizing , followed by the whole over open fires. The entire community, numbering around 800 to 1,000 individuals split between in and Kiryat Luza near , then consumes the meal after nightfall with and bitter herbs, prohibiting any bones from being broken. This observance, claimed by Samaritans to date back over 3,600 years to times, represents the only extant group performing biblically mandated animal sacrifices for , drawing scholarly interest for its potential continuity with Second Temple-era practices despite lacking priestly lineages equivalent to Jewish standards. Recent years have seen slight population growth, enabling up to 40 lambs in some ceremonies, though the rite remains confined to amid Israeli-Palestinian jurisdictional complexities. Halakhic authorities predominantly hold that the korban Pesach cannot be performed in the current era due to the absence of the Temple and the ritual impurity (tumah) of the Jewish people, rendering any attempt invalid under traditional law. While Maimonides (Rambam) ruled that sacrifices could theoretically be offered on an improvised altar (bamah) even without the full Temple structure, he maintained that the korban Pesach specifically requires the sanctified precincts of the Temple Mount, which retain their holiness post-destruction. Opponents, including figures like the Chatam Sofer, cited additional barriers such as the lack of a reconstituted Sanhedrin, potential desecration risks, and the biblical mandate for centralized sacrifice in Jerusalem, arguing that premature revival contravenes core halakhic principles. Legal obstacles in further preclude enactment, as the has repeatedly denied petitions from groups seeking permission to offer the korban Pesach on the , citing public safety and preservation of the . Israeli police have intervened to prevent unauthorized attempts, detaining activists carrying knives or animals intended for sacrifice at /Al-Haram al-Sharif, enforced under laws restricting non-Muslim ritual activities on the site administered by the Jordanian . Animal welfare regulations and prohibitions on unsanctioned slaughter outside licensed facilities add layers of civil liability, with no governmental framework for Temple-era rites absent legislative overhaul. Politically, proposals for revival ignite tensions over the Temple Mount's sovereignty, with advocacy groups' annual "practice runs" in drawing condemnation from Palestinian authorities and threats from , who frame such actions as provocations warranting violence. Israeli security officials, including those under figures like National Security Minister , assess that permitting the sacrifice would trigger widespread Muslim unrest, potentially escalating to regional conflict given the site's dual religious significance as home to . Mainstream rabbinic and governmental consensus prioritizes de-escalation, viewing activist pushes—often from fringe Temple reconstruction movements—as undermining broader Israeli-Arab stability despite halakhic arguments for obligation.

Theological and Symbolic Significance

In Traditional Judaism

In traditional , the Passover sacrifice, or Korban Pesach, fundamentally commemorates God's selective protection of the during the tenth plague in , when the blood of the lamb smeared on doorposts signaled divine passage over their homes, sparing the while striking the Egyptians. This ritual, mandated in Exodus 12:3–14, underscores the theme of redemption through obedience to God's command, transforming ordinary homes into temporary sanctuaries akin to altars and imprinting the event as an eternal ordinance of remembrance (zikkaron). Theologically, the Korban Pesach embodies the covenantal bond between God and Israel, paralleling circumcision in its role as a marker of national identity and fidelity, with neglect incurring the severe penalty of karet (spiritual excision), as stipulated in Numbers 9:13. Its sacrificial form—slaughtering an unblemished male lamb or kid, applying blood, and roasting it whole—evokes elements of both the burnt offering (korban olah) for total devotion and the thanksgiving offering (korban toda) for deliverance, reinforcing gratitude for the Exodus and the formation of Israel as a "kingdom of priests." Symbolically, the ritual emphasizes communal unity and haste in redemption, requiring group consumption within designated fellowships (chavurot) to foster collective participation and prevent isolation, as detailed in the (Pesachim 8:1–7). This aspect highlights faith's role in averting calamity, rejecting Egyptian through the lamb's selection (associated with their deities), and consecrating the household as a site of sanctity, aligning with the priestly vocation in Exodus 19:6. Historical renewals, such as under (Joshua 5:10) and King (2 Kings 23:21–23), illustrate its function in rekindling covenantal loyalty during national revival. Even absent the Temple, traditional sources like (Rambam) in (Korban Pesach 1:1–3) preserve its essence through narrative retelling at the Seder, affirming its perpetual status as a testament to and the imperative of emulating ancestral for future redemption.

In Christianity as Typology for

In , the Passover sacrifice serves as a typological prefiguration of Christ's sacrificial death, wherein the lamb's role in averting symbolizes Christ's provision of redemption from and eternal death. This interpretation posits the Exodus ritual (Exodus 12:1–14) as a shadow fulfilled in Christ, emphasizing where an innocent victim bears the penalty on behalf of the people. The typology highlights causal parallels: just as the lamb's blood on doorposts protected Israelite firstborns from the tenth plague (Exodus 12:13, 23), Christ's blood is seen to shield believers from spiritual destruction. The explicitly invokes this connection in 1 Corinthians 5:7, where Paul declares, "For Christ, our lamb, has been sacrificed," urging believers to purge as during the Feast of (1 Corinthians 5:6–8). This passage frames Christ's death as the pivotal event enabling ethical renewal, with the lamb's sacrifice enabling Israel's deliverance from . Scholarly analysis of the text underscores Paul's midrashic application of Exodus motifs to Christ's atoning work, integrating the lamb's immolation with the broader paschal festival. Similarly, John 1:29 records proclaiming Jesus as "the , who takes away the of the world," a title evoking the lamb's apotropaic function against death while extending to sin removal, distinct from yet inclusive of daily temple offerings. The historical timing of ' crucifixion during —on the day of preparation when lambs were slaughtered in the Temple (:14, 31)—reinforces the typology, aligning his death with the ritual's annual observance around 14. Gospel accounts vary slightly: the Synoptics depict the as a meal (Mark 14:12–16), while John synchronizes the with lamb selection and slaughter, emphasizing as the ultimate paschal victim. Key correspondences include the lamb's requirement to be unblemished and male (Exodus 12:5), paralleling Christ's sinless nature ( 4:15; 1 Peter 1:19), and the communal consumption of the roasted lamb (Exodus 12:8–9), prefiguring participation in Christ's body through the . These elements collectively portray the sacrifice not as mere commemoration but as divinely ordained prophecy realized in Christ's once-for-all offering ( 10:10–14). This typology permeates and , influencing (Pascha, derived from ) observances where Christ's completes the motif begun in Exodus. Theologians maintain that while the rite provided temporal protection, Christ's fulfills it eternally, substituting animal blood with his own for (Romans 3:25). Debates exist on whether the "" strictly denotes the Passover lamb or encompasses broader Isaianic servant imagery (Isaiah 53:7), yet the paschal linkage remains central to patristic and exegesis, prioritizing scriptural intertextuality over later ritual accretions.

Historical and Scholarly Assessments

Evidence from Ancient Texts and Archaeology

The provides the earliest textual attestation of the Passover sacrifice (korban pesach), prescribing in Exodus 12 the selection and slaughter of an unblemished yearling lamb or kid, with its blood daubed on doorposts and lintels, followed by roasting and communal consumption without breaking bones, as a perpetual memorial of the from . This rite is reiterated for annual observance at the central sanctuary in Deuteronomy 16:1-7, linking it to the Feast of and emphasizing slaughter "before the Lord your God." Later biblical passages, such as 2 Chronicles 30 and 35, describe kings like and overseeing mass Passover sacrifices in the Temple, with Josiah's reform involving 30,000 lambs and kids plus 3,000 bulls in the late 7th century BCE. Extrabiblical sources corroborate the biblical accounts. The 1st-century CE historian Flavius Josephus, drawing from eyewitness traditions, reports that during the of 70 CE, 256,500 lambs were sacrificed at the Second Temple to serve approximately 2.7 million pilgrims, with each lamb accommodating ten people, underscoring the rite's scale and centralization in . Josephus further details the procedure in Antiquities of the Jews 3.10.5-6, aligning it with biblical mandates by specifying the lamb's selection on the 10th of , slaughter on the 14th after evening sacrifice, and consumption roasted with bitter herbs. The Dead Sea Scrolls, including the (11QT), outline rituals in a sectarian context, mandating unblemished male lambs slaughtered at the Temple , reflecting continuity with Pharisaic and priestly traditions circa BCE to CE. Archaeological evidence for the Passover sacrifice itself remains indirect, as seasonal mass slaughters leave perishable bone remains that decompose or are cleared ritually, and systematic excavations on the are prohibited. However, faunal assemblages from and Hellenistic Jerusalem sites, including the City of David, yield high proportions of sheep and goat bones consistent with sacrificial practices, with cut marks indicating throat-slitting and dismemberment akin to biblical descriptions. Inscriptional finds, such as "" (offering) ostraca from the , attest to dedicatory sacrifices, while the Theodotus inscription from the (1st century CE) references a built for festival pilgrims, implying infrastructure for gatherings. These artifacts support the historicity of centralized Temple-based animal rites but do not distinguish Passover-specific events from other offerings.

Debates on Origins and Historicity

The biblical account in Exodus 12 describes the Passover sacrifice (Korban Pesach) as originating in , where slaughtered unblemished lambs or goats on the 14th of , applied blood to doorposts to protect against the tenth plague, and consumed the roasted meat with and bitter herbs in haste before departing. This narrative frames the ritual as a foundational historical event tied to divine , but scholarly analysis highlights discrepancies within the Pentateuch itself, such as Deuteronomy 16's requirement for centralized sacrifice at a post-Exodus, contrasting with the decentralized home-based rite in , suggesting composite traditions redacted over time. These tensions indicate that Exodus 12 amalgamates distinct sources, likely Priestly (P) and non-Priestly strands, composed between the 8th and 5th centuries BCE rather than contemporaneous with the purported 13th-century BCE events. No direct archaeological corroborates the specific Passover sacrifice in an Egyptian context, such as mass animal remains with ritual blood markings or sudden disruptions in settlements attributable to plagues or . Egyptian records from the Ramesside period (c. 1292–1075 BCE), when the biblical timeline places the events, mention Semitic laborers like the 'Apiru but lack references to Hebrew enslavement, catastrophic plagues, or a mass slave departure involving livestock slaughter. Broader Exodus historicity debates underscore this absence: surveys of Canaanite highland settlements show gradual indigenous emergence rather than influx of 2–3 million escapees (derived from Exodus 12:37's 600,000 men), with no pottery, dietary shifts, or conquest traces aligning with Joshua's narrative. Minimalist scholars, like , posit the story as etiological mythologizing of smaller migrations or Canaanite origins, while others allow a kernel of truth in expulsion (c. 1550 BCE) or individual escapes, but reject the scale and miracles as unhistorical amplifications. Theories on ritual origins favor pre-Exodus pastoral roots over a purely historical Egyptian event. Many experts reconstruct Pesach as an ancient semi-nomadic spring festival among early Israelite shepherds, involving flock for or apotropaic against demons afflicting newborns, akin to Near Eastern rites where warded off harm. Nahum Sarna and others argue the lamb's selection, roasting intact (mimicking human posture), and family consumption reflect Bedouin-like practices for flock prosperity, later fused with matzot () from agricultural unleavened festivals and retrojected onto Exodus for national identity during the monarchy. Kristine Garroway links it to infant-protecting vicarious , with the lamb substituting for sons threatened by deities, evidenced by and Mesopotamian parallels but no direct Egyptian tie. This view, supported by comparative anthropology, posits the Exodus overlay as a 7th-century BCE Deuteronomistic to centralize worship and forge , rather than verbatim history. Temple-era practices (c. 515 BCE–70 CE) attest to the sacrifice's continuity as a pilgrimage rite with thousands of lambs slain annually, per and , but these derive from codified traditions without independent verification of inaugural origins. Skepticism persists due to methodological challenges: biblical texts prioritize theological over , and academic often dismisses supernatural elements a priori, yet even naturalistic readings find the ritual's nomadic substrate more empirically grounded than the Egyptian plague narrative. Proponents of partial historicity, like Richard Elliott Friedman, suggest cultural memory preserves echoes of real trauma, but concede evidential paucity precludes definitive affirmation.

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