The 14th Nisan - One of Our Greatest Festivals!

Josephus (d. 100 CE) - Antiquities of the Jews: Book 11, Chapter 4

"And as the Feast of unleavened bread was at hand, in the forst month...Nisam, all the people ran out together of the villages to the city and celebrated the festival, having purified themselves, with their wives and children, according to the law of their country; and they offered the sacrifice which was called the "Passover", on the fourteenth day of the same month and feasted seven days...."

Philo of Alexandria (d. 50 CE) - Laws 1.96

"Multitudes of people from a multitude of cities flow in an endless stream to the Holy Temple for each festival... from the east and west, from the north and south" (On Laws 1:96).

1. Preparing for the Festival

• At the beginning of Adar. notice is served to the public that they are to prepare their half-shekels for contribution when they get to the Temple
• These are given to the Temple Treasurers
• People prepare their offerings to be brought to the Temple

2. Preparing the route to Jerusalem (Mishna Shekalim 1.1)

• A month before Pesach (just after Purim), labourers check and restore weather beaten roads
• They dig and repair wells for drinking water as well as Mikvaot (ritual baths) which were needed to be used before entering the Temple. This is overseen by a Temple appointed official
• They also whitewash graves that are discovered, so that travellers will avoid them to avoid contamination with the dead

3. Caravans make the journey

• Pilgrims spend the nights in certain designated cities which are scattered throughout the country
• Caravans arrive at these sites and the travellers sleep outside in the streets
• In the morning, the designated person calls out "Arise and let us go to Zion, to the house of the Lord, our Gd

4. Modiin - the central way-station on the road to Jerusalem

• Pilgrims from the coastal towns travelled eastwards to Modiin (near to the current city)
• Talmud reports of "Traffic Jams" of caravans and convoys there!
• They would continue to Beth Horon (the route of the current Route 443) and on to Jerusalem

5. Entering Jerusalem

• The Assistant Kohanim, Levites and Temple Officials would come out to greet the arriving pilgrims.
• The tradesmen even left their work to stand and greet them as they entered the gates of the city. They would shout out "Our brothers from such and such a place, welcome and peace to you!"
• The Jerusalemites would spread a towel over the entrances to their houses to indicate that there was lodging available in that house
• If the towel was removed, there was no longer consent to enter!
• If the 14th Nissan was a Shabbat, they would stay within the confines of the Temple until Shabbat had finished, before returning to the homes they were staying in (as they couldn't carry their sacrifices)

6. Eyewitness report by a Roman Commissioner

From “The Book of Our Heritage, Volume 2 (revised)”, Kitov, E, Feldheim,1978 pp 236-239

[compare with Mishna Pesachim, Chapter 5 and Messechet Pesachim 64b]

In the book 'Shevet Yehudah' (Solomon ibn Verga wrote it in the 1520s), mentioned by Rav Ya’akov Emden (the Yavetz) in his Siddur (1745-48), there is an eyewitness description of the ceremony of the Pesach Sacrifice, written by a Roman official who was stationed in Jerusalem during the period shortly before the destruction of the Second Temple.

His account corresponds to all of the details laid down in the Torah and elaborated upon by our Sages. He describes the beauty of the ceremony and the impression it made on him.

”When the beginning of the month, which they call Nissan arrives, couriers and messengers are sent out by order of the king and the judges, to all of the areas surrounding Jerusalem, that whoever possesses sheep and cattle should hurry to bring them to the Capital so that there should be a sufficient supply for the pilgrims, both for their sacrifices and for their food.

If anyone did not obey this order, his money would be confiscated for the use of the Sanctuary.

All owners of cattle would hurry to obey and, on the way to Jerusalem they would bring their herds through a river to cleanse them of any dirt. When they reach the mountains around Jerusalem. they are so numerous that the grass cannot be seen. It appears to have become completely white because of the many sheep there. The sacrifice is offered on the fourteenth, so when the tenth of the month comes, everyone goes to buy his sacrifice which they call ‘the Pesach’.

It is a rule amongst them that no one asks another to let him go first, even if it were King David or King Solomon. When I suggested to one of the Cohanim that this was not polite, he told me that before the Omnipresent, there is no greatness and in His service, all are equal.

When the fourteenth of the month arrives, they go up a high tower of the Temple which they call the ‘Lul’ - it has a platform made like our canapario - and blow on three silver trumpets. Then they make a proclamation: “Oh people of Gd harken! The time has come to slaughter the Pesach offering for the One who causes His presence to dwell in this great holy House. When the people hear this announcement, they put on their festive attire, for, from midday onwards, it is a festival for the Jews, since that is the time for the sacrifice.

At the entrance of the great courtyard, twelve Levites stand outside with silver sticks in their hands. Inside stand another twelve with golden sticks. Those outside, are to keep the pilgrims in order that they do not harm one another in their great haste and so that they do not enter in confusion and cause quarrels. It once happened on Pesach, that an old man and his offering were crushed by the pressure of the crowd. The Levites who stand inside, have to keep order among those who are leaving the courtyard. These are also used to close the gates of the courtyard when enough people have entered.

At the place where the offerings are slaughtered, there are several rows of Cohanim with silver spoons and some with golden spoons in their hands. The Cohanim in one row all have silver spoons and those in another row all have golden ones, so that it looks most beautiful.

The Cohen at the head of each row receives a spoon of blood from the slaughtered animal and passes it to his neighbour and he to his neighbour until it reaches the altar. The one standing nearest the altar would send the spoon back empty and this would be passed from hand to hand until it reached the other end of the row. This was done in such a way that each Cohen received a full vessel with one hand and an empty one with another. There is no delay in this procedure. The men were so nimble that it seemed as if the vessels were flying like arrows from the bow of a trained marksman. They used to practice this for thirty days before the required time so there should be no mistakes and they would know their task perfectly.

At the same place, there are two high platforms on which stand two Cohanim with trumpets of silver. These are sounded whenever a new group of pilgrims begins to bring sacrifices so that the Levites who are standing on their platforms should know that they must now sing the Hallel prayer with joy and thanksgiving, accompanied by all the musical instruments which they possess.

The owner of the offering also says Hallel and if all of the offerings have not yet been slaughtered, then Hallel is repeated. After the slaughtering (is completed), the pilgrims go to the courtyards.

Here, all the walls have iron teeth and prongs so that the offerings can be hung up and skinned. There also bundles of sticks so that if there is no hook vacant, a person will suspend a stick from his shoulder to that of his friend and skin the lamb on it. The parts that are to be offered on the altar are given, and then the owner goes away joyfully, like a victorious warrior returning from battle. For it is considered a great disgrace among the Jews if one does not bring the Pesach offering at the correct time.

While the Cohanim are engaged on this task, they were short red tunics reaching to their thighs. These are red so that any blood which is spilt does not show. They stand barefoot and their sleeves reach only to the elbow so that they should not be hampered while they work. On their heads they wear a small hat with three cubits of cloth wound round it into a turban. People have told me that the Cohen Gadol has a white turban made of forty folds of cloth.

The ovens on which they roasted their sacrifices were at the entrance to their houses and they told me that this was to demonstrate their faith and also to rejoice even more. They sing joyfully while they eat and their voices can be heard from afar. No one locks his door that night in Jerusalem out of respect for the many strangers passing through the streets.”

7. Destruction of the Second Temple and Passover Sacrifice

• Even without a Temple, sacrifices continued to be offered on the Temple Mount for at least 65 years after the destruction of the Temple.

• This can be deduced from the Mishnah that states that “one may offer sacrifices [on the place where the Temple used to stand], even though there is no House [Temple]” (M Eduyyot 8.6).6 – Rabbi Yehoshua said: I heard that we may sacrifice even without the Temple and eat the holy sacrifices even though there are no curtains, and [eat] the regular sacrifices and second tithes even though there is no wall [surrounding Jerusalem] because the first sanctification sanctified [the area] for its time and for the time to come.

• From the time of the destruction in 70 until the end of the Bar Kochba rebellion (135 CE) and the destruction of Beitar in 135, one of the altars on the Temple Mount remained standing on its original site and Paschal sacrifices were offered on it every year [Ha’emek Davar commentary on Leviticus 26.31]

• According to most authorities, now it was no longer possible to offer sacrifices, but Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Chayot (1805, Galicia1855, Russia) thought it likely that the Pascal sacrifice continued to be offered as late as the reign of Emperor Justinian (482–565) [Ha’emek Davar commentary on Leviticus 26.31. 8 Responses nos. 2 and 76, as well as ch.2 of his Darkei Hora'ah.

8. Conclusion – Modern Times

• The fast of the firstborn – brought forward from the 15^th as we don’t fast on Yom Tov and memory of the plague that saved Jewish firstborn sons from death.

• One should avoid working after noon, to focus on getting ready for the Seder and to remind us of the festival of the fourteenth, where everybody offered up a Korban Pesach – from noon onwards. It was a national holiday which we now remember – even though we don’t have a Temple!