Passover-page 3

Opening up the Temple Gates

OPENING THE GATES

After a while, the kohanim opened up the gates again. It was our turn to enter the courtyard with our lamb!

 

 

Walking a goat to the Holy Temple

PILGRIMS APPROACH THE COURTYARD WITH THEIR OFFERINGS

We weren't the only ones hurrying to get started!

 

Blowing shofarot ans silver trumpets

ENTERING THE COURTYARD

 

The kohanim (priests) allowed us to enter into the Courtyard, one group at a time. When one group was finished, another would enter. All the while, the Levites stood on their platform and sounded blasts from their shofars, (rams' horns), and silver trumpets.

 

The Levitical choir

THE LEVITICAL CHOIR

The Levitical choir also included singers and musicians who played on trumpets, harps, lyres, and cymbals. They sang the festive Hallel songs of thanksgiving. Everyone who had entered with their Passover offering, also joined in and sang along. When we finished the Hallel, we would start all over again!

Restraining the Psssover lamb

THE OFFERING

 

I helped my Saba and my Aba bring the lamb to the place where it would be slaughtered.

 

Slaughtering the Passover lamb

RITUAL SLAUGHTER OF THE LAMB

Now we were ready to perform the ritual slaughter of the lamb.

 

 

The kohanim pass the blood in the mizrak

PASSING THE MIZRAK

 

The kohanim  formed a line so that once the blood was drained into the mizrak, they could pass it from one to the next, all the way to the altar.

Kohen pours blood on altar

POURING THE BLOOD ONTO THE BASE OF THE ALTAR

The last kohen in line would pour the blood onto the base  (yesod) of the altar.

 

CLIMBING THE ALTAR

My Saba and I watched as the kohanim climbed up the altar carrying pieces of our offerings to be roasted on the altar fire.

 

Burining the forbiiden parts

BURNING THE OFFERING

 

The kohen  climbed to the top of the altar, and threw the parts that we were forbidden to eat into the altar fire.

 

Skinning the carcass

SKINNING THE CARCASS

The kohen then took our lamb, and attached it to a special marble post, where he skinned the carcass.

 

Skinning the lamb

PREPARING THE PASSOVER OFFERINGS

 

There weren't enough marble posts for all the pilgrims, so some people used a wooden stick to improvise a makeshift post.

 

Leaving the Temple courtyard with our korban Pesach

LEAVING THE TEMPLE COURTYARD

 

It was a lot of work to prepare our korban Pesach, (Pascal offering), but now Saba and I were on our way to roast our lamb in a specially prepared oven just for this purpose.

Kohanim clean the Temple courtyard

WASHING THE TEMPLE COURTYARD

 

As we rushed back to our courtyard oven, Saba explained to me that after everybody's Passover offering had been slaughtered, the kohanim would need to to wash down the Courtyard with water.

Bringing the Pesach to the courtyard oven

PREPARING TO ROAST OUR OFFERING

 

We carried our offering back to the courtyard where we had prepared the oven for roasting it.