From: Temple Mount Faithfull 
To: 
Subject: Pesach Sacrifice 5760 (2000)
Date: Sunday, 09 April, 2000 11:01

Pesach Sacrifice 5760 (2000)

On the day before the start of Pesach, Wednesday 18th April, The Temple
Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement and other groups will hold a
Pesach sacrifice for the third time since we renewed this practice in 1998.

According to the Word of G–d in the Torah, the Pesach sacrifice should be
performed on the Temple Mount. Our goal this Pesach is to perform this
sacrifice on the Temple Mount. We have asked the authorities for permission
to perform it on the Temple Mount and we hope and pray that this year the
Israeli authorities will have the courage and vision to allow us to do it
there and, in this way, to open a new era in the life of Israel and all the
world. 

A very old tradition since the destruction of the Second Temple and
according to a great rabbi who lived in Jerusalem in the early part of the
Twentieth century, rabbi Tokotchinsky, once the first Pesach sacrifice is
performed on the Temple Mount the completion of the redemption of Israel
will occur, the temple will be rebuilt and Mashiach ben David will come.
Thus we are doing everything possible to convince the authorities to allow
us to perform the sacrifice on the Temple Mount. We continue to hope that
it will be on the Temple Mount but, if not, we are determined to perform it
anyway and in this case it will be done on the hill of Hananiah, the hill
on  which the high priest used to live in temple times. This hill is to the
south-west of the Temple Mount and from there the location of the temple
and the Holy of Holies can be clearly seen.

The Pesach sacrifice can be performed on the Temple Mount even before the
temple has been rebuilt but it has to be performed by a priest done on an
altar which we shall have built on the Temple Mount. The sacrifice is one
which is performed for an individual and his family and so can be performed
without the existence of the temple.

In the case that we are only allowed to do it on the hill of Hananiah, it
will be only a symbolic sacrifice and will be performed without an altar.
In all other aspects it will be a real Pesach sacrifice and a forerunner
for the one which should be performed on the Temple Mount. We decided to
perform this sacrifice in any case firstly to fulfill the commandment of
G–d Who commanded the people of Israel to perform this sacrifice especially
when they are in the land. Secondly we want to say to the people of Israel
and all the world that G–d expects Israel to perform the sacrifice and that
we are living in the right time for it to be done. Thirdly we decided to
renew all forms of worship which are connected to the temple in preparation
for it being rebuilt. We feel that it should be performed and that our
generation is missing an important commandment of G–d and event which was
an important part of the life of Israel for thousands of years. We know
that in this way we shall open the gates of the Temple Mount for the key
event of the rebuilding of the temple and the renewal of the worship of the
G–d of Israel in this most holy place.

The Pesach sacrifice has a very deep significance in the life of Israel
throughout the history of Israel since the exodus from Egypt. It symbolises
the first great godly redemption of Israel when the G–d of Israel redeemed
the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt through great miracles and took
them to the Promised Land. It is connected to a very old memorial in the
history of Israel when G–d made Israel a nation and appeared to them and
their enemies in Egypt in all His strength and glory and showed everyone
that only He controls the destiny of Israel and forever. The Pesach
sacrifice is connected to the tenth plague when G–d killed all the
firstborn sons of Egypt as a terrible punishment because they had
persecuted the children of Israel and did not allow them to go back to the
Promise Land and because Pharaoh did not listen to the G–d's warnings to
him through Moses and continued to persecute the children of Israel. In the
same day G–d commanded the children of Israel to perform the Pesach
sacrifice and to put the blood of the sacrifice on the lintels and
doorposts of their houses so that when He came to punish the Egyptians He
would pass over all the houses on which the blood had been placed. For
thousands of years the Israelites very carefully observed this sacrifice,
both in the wilderness and n the Promised Land. After the destruction of
the Second Temple in 70 C.E., the Israelites tried again and again with a
special dedication and devotion to go up onto the Temple Mount and to
perform the Pesach sacrifice. Initially on a few occasions some them
succeeded but later on when the enemies of Israel who controlled the land
and made every effort to close the gates of the Temple Mount to the Jews it
was impossible. Despite this Jews continued to come from the exile to the
land in secret ways and to try to perform the sacrifice on the Temple Mount. 

These special efforts, even when they were impossible, show the major
importance of this sacrifice which is deeply connected to the childhood of
the people of Israel, to the appearance of the G–d of Israel to this nation
through great miracles an to the religious and national dreams and desires
over thousands of years. A great biblical scholar in Israel, Prof Ysrael
Eldad, stated that this sacrifice will never be cancelled and will continue
to be a major memorial and event in the life of Israel and their exciting
relationship with G–d. 

In many places in the Torah, G–d commanded Israel to remember this event
and sacrifice and to observe it year by year and forever. In Exodus, G–d
says this very clearly to Israel through His great prophet, Moses. "And the
Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month
shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the
year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth
day of this month they shall take every man a lamb, according to the house
of their fathers, a lamb for a house; And if the household is too little
for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next to his house take it according
to the number of the souls; according to every man's eating shall you make
your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the
first year; you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats; And
you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the
whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and
on the upper door post of the houses, in which they shall eat it. And they
shall eat the meat in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread;
and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat it not raw, nor boil with
water, but roast it with fire; its head with its legs, and with its inner
parts. And you shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that
which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire. And thus
shall you eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your
staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste; it is the Lord's
Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will
strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and
against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment; I am the Lord. And
the blood shall be to you for a sign upon the houses where you are; and
when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be
upon you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. And this day
shall be to you for a memorial; and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord
throughout your generations; you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance
forever. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread; the first day you shall
put away leaven out of your houses; for whoever eats leavened bread from
the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from
Israel. And in the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and in the
seventh day there shall be a holy convocation to you; no kind of work shall
be done in them, save that which every man must eat, only that may be done
by you. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for in this
same day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt; therefore
shall you observe this day in your generations by an ordinance forever. In
the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall
eat unleavened bread, until the twenty first day of the month at evening.
Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats
that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of
Israel, whether he is a stranger, or born in the land. You shall eat
nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall you eat unleavened bread.
Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said to them, Draw out
and take a lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And
you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the
basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is
in the basin; and none of you shall go out from the door of his house until
the morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and
when he sees the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord
will pass over the door, and will not let the destroyer come into your
houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing for an ordinance to
you and to your sons forever. And it shall come to pass, when you come to
the land which the Lord will give you, according as he has promised, that
you shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children
shall say to you, What do you mean by this service? That you shall say, It
is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed over the houses of the
people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians, and saved our
houses. And the people bowed their heads and worshipped. And the people of
Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did
they. And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord struck all the
firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on
his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon; and all
the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his
servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for
there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses
and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get out from among my people,
both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have
said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone;
and bless me also. And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send
them out of the land in haste; for they said, We shall all be dead men. And
the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs
being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the people of
Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed from the
Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and garments; And the Lord
gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent
them such things as they required. And they carried away the wealth of the
Egyptians. And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth,
about six hundred thousand on foot, who were men, beside children. And a
mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, and very
many cattle. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they
brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were
thrust out of Egypt, and could not remain, neither had they prepared for
themselves any provision. Now the sojourning of the people of Israel, who
dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at
the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even on that very day it came
to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It
is a night of watchfulness to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of
Egypt. This is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of
Israel throughout their generations. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
This is the ordinance of the Passover; No stranger shall eat of it; But
every man's servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him,
then shall he eat of it. A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat of
it. In one house shall it be eaten; you shall not carry anything of the
meat out of the house; neither shall you break a bone of it. All the
congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a stranger shall sojourn
with you, and will keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be
circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one
who is born in the land; for no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. One
law shall be for him who is native born, and for the stranger who sojourns
among you. Thus did all the people of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses
and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass the same day, that the Lord did
bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies."
(Genesis 12)

This important commandment of the G–d of Israel was carefully kept
throughout the history of Israel over the almost 2000 years since the
destruction of the Second Temple. The memory of the Pesach sacrifice and
the hope and prayers to perform it again was in the midst of the festival
of Pesach. The Pesach Seder, this family event of the first evening of
Pesach when all Jewish families sit around the table and read the Hagadah
of Pesach and share the godly story of the miracles that the G–d of Israel
performed for His people in Egypt, is a memorial and a continuation of the
same seder that the Israelites held in the time of the temple when they ate
the Pesach sacrifice together on the Temple Mount or in Jerusalem and
shared the story of the miracles of G–d in Egypt. In the midst of the Seder
table every family places  in the Pesach plate a piece of meat and it is
called Korban Pesach - Pesach Sacrifice - in order not to forget the
commandment of G–d to do everything to perform the Pesach sacrifice again
in the temple and as a memorial for this important event and a message to
never forget it.

In the midst of the Seder and during all the seven days of the festival of
Pesach there is the Matzot - another important commandment of G–d as a
memorial for G–d's miracles at the time of the exodus from Egypt. During
these seven days bread is not allowed to be eaten nor anything else which
contains yeast. Everywhere where Jews live are very carefully cleaned in
order to ensure that all traces of yeast are removed and burned.

Since I was a small child in Jerusalem this festival and its special
commandments and traditions fulfilled an important part in my life as in
the life of all Jews. At least one month before Pesach my mother started to
clean the house, to repaint the walls and to prepare the special crockery
and cutlery for Pesach which is used only at that time and contain no
traces of yeast. I remember how she used to hide all the cutlery and
crockery used during the year so that nobody would see them. On the night
before when the house was completely clean, after my father had checked all
the corners of the house to see if any yeast had ben missed, she would take
out the special cutlery and crockery for Pesach. In the early morning my
farther would take the last parts of yeast which he had put out of the
house and would burn them while praying special prayers and blessings to
G–d. Then we washed ourselves, dressed in special Pesach clothes, went to
the synagogue for the Pesach prayers and, in the evening, celebrated the
Pesach Seder which was one of the most delightful evening of the year. All
this was observed during the seven days of the festival and always our
eyes, hearts, emotions and minds were directed to one place - the Temple
Mount - to the direction of the Holy of Holies with prayers to G–d that the
next year we would be in the temple and fulfil the Pesach sacrifice and the
festival in the right place, the house of G–d. Throughout the seven days of
the festival we felt the wonderful presence of G–d and His spirit in the
houses, the streets and in our hearts. It was an important factor in my
life which influenced my unlimited love for the G–d of Israel, my spirit,
my mind, my emotions and my personality. The same, together with all other
Israelis, I now do in my home with my family and always everything in our
feelings and emotions are directed to the Temple Mount, to the Holy of
Holies, with a great desire and prayer to see the great godly fulfilment.

On many occasions, friends from outside Israel have shared the Seder with
us and it was again a special sign that we are living in the redemptional
end-times. They came with a great love fro the G–d and people of Israel and
to show their desire to again meet their very roots. This year some of them
will join us when we perform the Pesach sacrifice. Everyone who will be in
Israel is welcome and invited to join us when we perform the sacrifice from
9:30AM whether it will be on the Temple Mount or Givat Hananiah. 

My call to everyone in the world at this special festival and event is to
be with the G–d and people of Israel at this special time with their
hearts, emotions, minds and prayers and to remember that G–d called Israel
to fulfil an eternal godly mission for themselves and especially for all
the nations and that this great festival which recalls all the great
miracles for his people, Israel, in front of all the nations is performed
in the month of spring in the middle of the end-time redemption of Israel
and all the world when Israel, more than at any time in the past, needs the
help and love of everyone in the world to accomplish the major redemptional
process which G–d started 52 years ago when he re-established the State of
Israel in 1948. This event cannot go back, only forwards. We know that we
should expect major godly events with Israel and great miracles in the near
future. Let us act for this with all the devotion and have the privilege to
be a part of it. This Pesach will open a wonderful godly spring, not only
in the life of Israel, but in the life of all mankind.

Amen. In G–d we trust.