It's been quite a long time. I've not been hiking, being completely absorbed in other projects, but hope to change that. In the meantime, here's something I saw today.
Arguably, the most important sacrifice in Judaism is the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice. Men, women, children and slaves are all obliged to partake. It commemorates our nation's birth from Egypt. Unfortunately, since the Romans destroyed the Temple, we can't bring sacrifices. But we can prepare for the time when the Temple will be rebuilt. Groups like the Temple Institute are working on this constantly. Rav Yehuda Glick is involved in this effort-he was shot by an Arab terrorist a few months ago but made a miraculous recovery.
One of the things they do is to have a practice Pesach sacrifice. This has been going on for several years. It's not an actual sacrifice-it's practice. But it is a significant step towards the rebuilding of the Temple. Notably, there were leftist protesters outside this year, but no Muslim ones.
There were some speeches before the event by Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, the Chief Rabbi of the holy city of Tzfat, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and Rav Glick. The actual slaughter took place behind a curtain. The Kohanim, who are on stage, passed the blood and poured it on the practice altar, then burned the helev, the fatty portions, after which the entire sheep was roasted.
I was quite interested in the faces of the people there. It was very inspiring to see Jews with their families, small children, teenagers, Ashkenazim, Sepharadim, Yemenites, Chassidim, Litvaks, Religious Zionists and secular Jews, all come together for this. Something about their expressions makes me think that in my lifetime, before I am old, I will have the merit to see hundreds of thousands of Jews in a rebuilt Temple, bringing real sacrifices.
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Arguably, the most important sacrifice in Judaism is the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice. Men, women, children and slaves are all obliged to partake. It commemorates our nation's birth from Egypt. Unfortunately, since the Romans destroyed the Temple, we can't bring sacrifices. But we can prepare for the time when the Temple will be rebuilt. Groups like the Temple Institute are working on this constantly. Rav Yehuda Glick is involved in this effort-he was shot by an Arab terrorist a few months ago but made a miraculous recovery.
One of the things they do is to have a practice Pesach sacrifice. This has been going on for several years. It's not an actual sacrifice-it's practice. But it is a significant step towards the rebuilding of the Temple. Notably, there were leftist protesters outside this year, but no Muslim ones.
There were some speeches before the event by Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, the Chief Rabbi of the holy city of Tzfat, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and Rav Glick. The actual slaughter took place behind a curtain. The Kohanim, who are on stage, passed the blood and poured it on the practice altar, then burned the helev, the fatty portions, after which the entire sheep was roasted.
I was quite interested in the faces of the people there. It was very inspiring to see Jews with their families, small children, teenagers, Ashkenazim, Sepharadim, Yemenites, Chassidim, Litvaks, Religious Zionists and secular Jews, all come together for this. Something about their expressions makes me think that in my lifetime, before I am old, I will have the merit to see hundreds of thousands of Jews in a rebuilt Temple, bringing real sacrifices.
