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Committee concerning the Korban Pesach


Main website KorbanPesach.org

"Therefore if the authorities would grant permission to offer the Passover Sacrifice, it should not be avoided." - החזו"א זצוק"ל, אהע"ז ס"ב

Korban Pesach during 2nd Temple times

This committee was given the charter to work out the implementation of the biblical commandment of the Passover Sacrifice in cooperation with all religious, legal, and administrative authorities. Current proposals do not require any change in structures or administration of the Temple Mount, only permission. "Each year, Jews make feverish and intensive preparations for the Passover holiday with the Seder as its centerpiece. However, we are still missing the true centerpiece of the Passover table: namely the Paschal Offering, or Korban Pesach. Korban Pesach is a Biblical commandment of the highest order, with the command repeated and amplified to us in three different places: Exodus 12, 3-12, Numbers 9, 1-13 and Deuteronomy 16. Just as circumcision, the first commandment imposed on an individual Jew, our forefather Abraham brought us into the covenant as individuals, the commandment of Korban-Pesach, the first commandment imposed on the Jewish People as a collective - obligating men, women and even children - brings us into the covenant as a People.

Attempt in 5767 (2007)

The committee organized a delegation of a Shochet (ritual slaughterer), a Cohen of documented lineage, an animal, and a portable stone altar. On the 10th Nissan 5767 (29 Mar 2007), legal documents were sent to the Prime Minister[1], the Supreme Court[2] and the Chief of Police[3]. The Prime Minister did not respond. The Supreme Court appeared to uphold the right to perform the sacrifice, but denied it on grounds of security. This answer was also echoed by the Chief of Police.

On erev Pesach, the delegation appeared at the mugrabi gate (Rambam gate) to the Temple Mount, and waited for several hours in the hopes that the decision would be reversed. There have been many cases where simple visits by Jews to permitted parts of the Temple Mount have been denied for "security reasons" but then approved at the last minute. In this case no permission was forthcoming.

Attempt in 5768 (2008)

This year the committee organized a "demonstration sacrifice" as a joint project of the Sanhedrin, the Temple Institute, and the King David Museum. The demonstration of the Paschal sacrifice is part of a study day scheduled to take place on Sunday, the First of Nissan (April 6), at the Kotel Yeshiva in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. It was originally planned to take place one week later, but the organizers decided to dedicate it to the memory of the eight yeshiva boys murdered in Jerusalem recently, and to hold it on the 30th day after their death. The study day is to include a public sacrifice which is being termed a "general rehearsal" for the actual Pesach sacrifice on the Temple Mount, a ritual prescribed by the Torah but currently forbidden by the Israel government and courts.

In addition the committee sent a formal requests to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter, to allow them to conduct the sacrifice on the Temple Mount, basing their legal argument on "Making the Paschal sacrifice is part of the religious freedom which is a basic human right and a cornerstone of democracy," However it was stressed that the organizers "have no intention of trying to ascend to the Mount without permission from the police."

Animal rights groups have challenges the demonstrational Pesach Sacrifice on the grounds that any use of animals for educational purposes requires prior approval by the Council for Experiments on Animals. "Carrying out a 'general rehearsal' in which a live animal is sacrificed for demonstrational purposes only, while a substitute – like a model of a sheep – can be used, is unjustified and unnecessary,"

The government and legal advisers to the police have asked the Supreme Court to reject the plea. The act of bringing a sacrifice could threaten the general public's safety, they said, citing the Muslim public's “special feelings” for the Temple Mount and the possibility of a violent outbreak.

Legal rulings and opinions to date

See also

Videos

References

  1. Request to Prime Minister to allow Korban Pesach
  2. Request to Supreme Court to allow Korban Pesach
  3. Discussion with Police for Korban Pesach

This committee in the news

  • קורבן פסח וחשיבותו - מצווה מהתורה. יהודים היכן אתם? קרבן פסח הוא ציווי מדאורייתא (מהתורה) ממדרגה ראשונה ולכן חזרה התורה והרחיבה את הציווי בשלושה מקומות. פרוייקט קרבן הפסח יצא לדרך. מי שמעוניין לקחת חלק יכול להירשם באתר קרבן הפסח.הסנהדרין ותנועות המקדש, פנו בתביעה לביהמ"ש המחוזי בי-ם ובערעור לעליון לאפשר קיום מצוות הקרבת קרבן הפסח,בערב הפסח, בהר הבית. קריאה נרגשת של הרב לוי: יהודים היכן אתם? (16.04.2008) (Global Report)
  • Temple Movements Request Passover Sacrifice The groups said allowing them to access the Temple Mount would be a victory for freedom of religion. Forbidding Jews from holding their religious ceremonies on the Temple Mount is racism, they said. (5 Nissan 5768, April 10, '08) (Arutz-7)
  • העתירה נדחתה: "קרבן הפסח" יוקרב בפומבי בית משפט השלום ומאחור יותר המחוזי בירושלים דחו את עמדת "תנו לחיות לחיות" נגד השחיטה הפומבית הערב בירושלים, ופסקו: "הרצון ללמוד ולהעמיק בהלכות הקרבת קרבן הפסח - לגיטימי וראוי". התנאי: הצפייה תותר לבני 18 ומעלה (06.04.08) (YNet)
  • "נעשה דבר חמור מהקרבת כבש" מנכ"ל המכון מגיב לפניית עמותת תנו לחיות לחיות שדרשה למנוע הדגמת הקרבת קרבן פסח, ואמר שבכוונתם לקיים באותו מעמד הקזת דם מתינוק (02/04/2008) (NFC)
  • Animal Rights Group Challenges Instructional Pesach Sacrifice Animal rights group "Tnoo Lachayot Lichyot" ("Let the Animals Live") is threatening to take legal action to prevent an educational demonstration of the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice next week. A formal request was recently sent to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter, to allow them to conduct the sacrifice on the Temple Mount. Glick said, however, that the organizers "have no intention of trying to ascend to the Mount without permission from the police." (26 Adar Bet 5768, April 2, '08) (Arutz-7)
  • "תנו לחיות לחיות": ניאבק בהקרבת קורבן פסחהעמותה מאיימת לנקוט בהליכים משפטיים נגד אירוע השחיטה הפומבי הצפוי להתקיים בשבוע הבא בירושלים. חברי העמותה טוענים: "זהו איסור מדאורייתא וגם עבירה על החוק" (01.04.08) (YNet)
  • לזכר תלמידי "מרכז הרב": יוקרב קורבן פסח במלאת 30 לפיגוע בספריית הישיבה ולקראת חג הפסח, יתקיים בשבוע הבא בירושלים יום עיון בענייני החג, במהלכו תודגם שחיטת הקרבן. וגם: האם מותר לצלות את קרבן הפסח בתנור חשמלי? (31.03.08) (YNet)
  • Jews Revive the Sanhedrin with Plans for a Passover Sacrifice (April 2007) In a donated apartment concealed among the narrow streets of the Jerusalem suburb of Nahlaot, 13 Orthodox Jewish men meet every Tuesday to debate matters of Jewish law. They are the management team of a larger developing Sanhedrin, or religious court, in Israel. (BeliefNet)
  • בג"צ אסר הקרבת קרבן הפסח השופטים דחו עתירה בנושא בטענה כי אין מקום להתערבות בהחלטת מפקד המחוז וכי הסכנה הנובעת מהתלקחות האלימות שם אינה בגדר סכנה מקומית בלבד והיא עלולה להוביל להתלקחות שאופיה יסכן את הביטחון גם מחוץ לגבולות המדינה והאזור 01/04/2007 (NFC)
  • עתירה לבג"צ: לאפשר קיום קרבן פסח בהר הבית נאמני הר הבית ומנויי קרבן הפסח שארגנה הסנהדרין מבקשים כי בג"צ יאפשר חופש פולחן לקיום הקרבת קרבן פסח ולא יתיר לגורמי אכיפת החוק ולדרג הפוליטי למנוע את האירוע 29/03/2007 (NFC)
  • Jews Revive the Sanhedrin with Plans for a Passover Sacrifice As Easter eclipses the last days of Passover this year, Christians will focus again on the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. The Sanhedrin, meanwhile, will literally attempt to resurrect the Passover sacrifice of old. For these Jews, the sacrificial Passover offering is not their redemption per se, yet it is vital to the process. (04/03/2007) (Religion News Service)
  • 'Renew animal sacrifices on Mount' says radical rabbi Member of the Sanhedrin says "we will try to carry out animal sacrifices on the Temple Mount this Passover, as commanded by the Torah... Unfortunately, standing in our way is a hostile regime, the Israeli government, and rabbis who for political interest don't want this to happen." Stein even suggested that Muslims would agree to the project, saying: "The Omar Mosque (the Dome of the Rock), built by Khalif Omar, was actually intended to safeguard the site for the Jews. (03.01.07) (YNet)