Temple Institute rehearse Passover sacrifice
GETTING READY: PUBLIC PRACTICE PASSOVER OFFERING REENACTMENT MADE IN ANTICIPATION OF THE UPCOMING HOLY TEMPLE PILGRIMAGE FESTIVAL
On Monday, April 18th, the Temple Institute, along with the 'Joint Staff of Temple Organizations,' held a public practice reenactment of the Korban Pesach, (the Passover offering), which G-d commanded Israel to perform every year on the 14th of Nisan, (this upcoming Friday), the eve of the Passover holiday. The offering commemorates the exodus from Egypt of the Hebrew slaves - the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel. The offering of each lamb is to be made alongside the Holy Temple altar, upon which the blood from the lamb is poured. The lambs are then to be taken by their owners and eaten on the night of the 15th of Nisan, the Seder night, within the city limits of Jerusalem.
Yesterday's reenactment, the organizers stressed, was only a practice ceremony, for educational and inspirational purposes. It was not intended to be a real offering, which can only be done on the Temple Mount, a situation that the government of Israel does not permit, despite the annual petition made by Temple Mount activists.
The reenactment took place outside the Beit Orot Yeshiva (Torah Academy) on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Temple Mount from the east. Kohanim (Temple priests), descendants of Aharon, the first Kohan Gadol (High Priest) and brother of Moshe, performed the reenactment. The Kohanim receive their training at the Temple Institute's Nezer HaKodesh School for Kohanim, and were outfitted, for the purpose of the reenactment, in priestly garments produced by the Temple Institute.
Seminars were held throughout the day, leading up to the offering ceremony, which took place late afternoon. Among the many speakers who addressed the crowd was Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, who emphasized the significance of the daily prayers recited for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple.
“When we talk of the Temple we’re talking about something practical and not something imaginary. In order to feel how practical this is we are doing this Passover offering ceremony. All Jews, every day for 2,000 years pray three times a day that this will be practical.”
Jerusalem city council member Arieh King also spoke, as did former Knesset member Moshe Feiglin and current Likud Knesset member Miki Zohar.
Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, head and founder of the Temple Institute also addressed the crowd, which numbered over 700. Rabbi Ariel introduced a special guest, King Ayi of Togo, a small west African state. King Ayi has made a number of visits to the Temple Institute in recent months. While in exile, the King presides over a large number of tribes which make up the population of Togo, and which traditionally claim to be descendants of the tribes of Israel. King Ayi sees his recent trips to Israel and his interest in the work of the Temple Institute, as expressing his desire to greater familiarize himself with Jewish Torah traditions.
The practice offering included the slaughtering of a lamb, the sprinkling of the blood and the burning of fats and other parts of the lamb on the altar, and the blowing of trumpets by the Kohanim.
Following the slaughter of the lamb, the singing of Hallel, the collection of Psalms prescribed to accompany the Passover offering made at the Holy Temple, was performed. The singing of Hallel was punctuated with blasts from the silvers trumpets fashioned by the Temple Institute.
The meat from the slaughtered lamb was distributed to the participants for the Seder plate which forms the focal point of the Passover night Hagadda, the telling of the exodus from Egypt and the miracles performed by G-d on Israel's behalf. When the actual Passover offering is made in the Holy Temple it is an obligation of all attending the Seder to eat a small portion of the lamb before the meal concludes. Temple Institute