Shabbat, First Day Pesach: Exodus 12:21-51 Maftir Reading: Numbers 28:19-25
Haftarah: Joshua 3:5-7, 5:2-6:1, 6:27
Sunday, Second Day Pesach: Leviticus 22:26-23:44 Maftir Reading: Numbers 28:19-25 Haftarah: 2 Kings 23:1-9, 21-25 - April 16 and 23, 2022
The Torah reading for the first day of Pesach tells of the night we were liberated from Egypt: each family sacrificing a lamb, spreading its’ blood on the doorpost and lintels of the house; the Lord passing over the houses as the Egypt firstborn were struck down at midnight. Pharaoh finally relenting, telling us to leave Egypt; taking our dough before it could rise and asking the Egyptians for gold and silver. It is an ordinance to observe this feast forever, explaining it to our children when they ask...
The reading instructs that Passover must be observed once the people are living in the land (12:25); the haftarah tells the story of the first Pesach celebration that took place in the land of Israel. Exodus instructs that any male wishing to participate in the Pesach celebration must be circumcised (12:48); the haftarah relates that, though the generation that left Egypt were all circumcised, none of those born in the desert had been circumcised (verses 4-6). Therefore, once they arrived in the land, Joshua told them to do so right away (v. 2-3). They then offered the Passover sacrifice on the fourteenth day of the first month (v. 10), eating unleavened bread and the produce of the land. On that day the manna finally ceased (v. 11-12). Finally, Joshua received an angelic visitor who told him, “remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy” (v. 15). The wording calls to mind the language used by God at the burning bush; thus, Joshua was validated is the successor of Moses in leading the nation.
The Torah reading for the second day of Pesach begins with the command not to sacrifice an animal during the first seven days of its life, and thereafter not in the same day as its mother. This is followed by a listing of the holy days that God commands us to keep: every seventh day (Shabbat); the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread; another feast seven weeks later; in the seventh month a memorial of blowing horns, a convocation of afflicting our souls, a seven day holiday when we dwell in booths and take the fruit of goodly tree with palms, willows, and boughs of thick trees, culminating in an eighth day of convocation.
The haftarah recounts the story of King Josiah calling the nation’s elders to the Temple in Jerusalem for a public reading of the scroll that had been found there (which is believed to have been the book of Deuteronomy). He and all the assembled people entered the covenant “with all their heart and soul” (v. 8). He then removed and burned all the items that had been used in idol worship (v. 4-7). Finally, he commanded that the nation observe the Passover that was described in the scroll (v. 21-23); we are told that the festival had not been observed during the time of the judges or the kings. Finally, the text says that there was no other king like Josiah, either before or since (v. 25). Thus, the importance of the Pesach celebration is emphasized, as well as commitment to the covenant with God.
submitted by
Rabbi Margie Cella
WLCJ Educator
