Balancing Individual and Communal
The Passover offering, discussed in this weeks portion, is an anomaly, it does not fit comfortably into any of the categories of offerings.
There are two categories of sacrificial offerings in the Torah. The first is the communal offering; it was offered at specific times on behalf of the entire community. The daily offerings as well as the additional offerings on Shabbat and holidays are examples of communal offerings. The second category is the personal offering, which did not have a specified time when it should be offered, and was brought by an individual on behalf of no one but him/her self. A thanksgiving offering and a sin offering are examples of the personal offering.
The Passover offering defies categorization.
On one hand, the Passover offering had to be offered at a specific time, the afternoon of the fourteenth of the Hebrew month of Nisan; having a specific time is a feature of the public offering. On the other hand, every individual was commanded to join a group, and partake in offering and then the consumption of the Passover offering. This makes it similar to the personal offering.
We became a people at the exodus from Egypt. Thus the Passover offering suggests how we are to define ourselves as a nation.
In general, there are nations whose system of government emphasizes the wellbeing of the collective, even at the expense of the individual citizen. There are other systems of government which emphasize the rights of the individual, even if the individual’s right will encroach on the wellbeing of the group.
The Passover offering teaches us that the Jew must view him/her self as both a member of the collective and as an individual. On the one hand, the Jew cannot only be concerned with his/her own needs. Every individual must view themselves as a vital organ in the body of the collective Jewish people. Hence, the obligation to be a guarantor, for the material and spiritual well being of every Jew. On the other hand, the Jew cannot look around and say “I am just part of a collective, and as such, it is sufficient that the community as a whole is spiritually engaged, I as an individual, am not important”.
The Passover offering teaches us that, from the moment our nation was formed, embedded in our DNA is both an individual and a member of the collective. Yes, I am a member of the collective, just a part of a greater entity, yet, at the same time, I am an individual with qualities, responsibilities, and rights; imbued by G-d with a unique personality, unique gifts and a unique mission.
Balancing these truths is the secret to Jewish survival, the secret of the Passover sacrifice, and the key to Jewish life.
Crisis in Jerusalem
The Talmud tells a story of a historic Passover, when the people had to determine which element of the Passover offering should prevail.
About 2000 years ago, the 14th of Nisan, the day on which we are commanded to bring the Pesach offering, happened to fall on Shabbat. The family who were the leaders of the Jewish people at the time, the children of Beteyra, could not decide whether or not the Pesach offering should be offered on the Shabbat.
The Talmud[1] relates that Hillel, alone amongst the sages, knew the answer to the question. Hillel quoted the verse[2] “The children of Israel shall make the Passover sacrifice in its appointed time”, and taught that the word “in its appointed time” implies that the offering should be brought at it’s appointed time, even if the appointed time is Shabbat.
The Talmud continues to relate, that because he knew the answer, the children of Beteyra resigned from their post as leaders, and “they immediately set him (Hillel) at their head and appointed him leader over them”.
Why was the settling of this question so important, as to motivate the children of Beteyra to hand over the leadership to Hillel?
Only a communal offering is offered on the Shabbat. The question the children of Beteyra grappled with was, which aspect of the Pesach offering is the dominant one? If the personal aspect is dominant, then we should not offer it on Shabbat; if the communal aspect is the dominant one, then we should.
When Hillel proved that the Passover offering should be brought on Shabbat, he did more than answer a specific technical question. This question has ramifications for the basis of the philosophy of what all the law should strive for. Hillel teaches that although we are both an individual and a part of the larger community, the communal aspect should be the more dominant one.
Hillel recognized that balancing both elements is the secret to a wholesome life. That is why he proclaimed, in the ethics of our fathers:
“If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I?”
Based on the teachings of the Rebbe[3]
[1] Talmud, Tractate Pesachim, 66a:
[2] Numbers 8:2.
[3] Lekutey Sichos, Volume 18, Behaalotcha Sicha 2.