The Passover seder has its origins in the ritual meal described in the Pentateuch, in which families consume the meat of the paschal sacrifice together with matzah and bitter herbs. In the text of the Haggadah itself, there are a few reminders that the entire seder is, in the absence of the Temple, nothing more than an imitation of that sacrifice. And that leads Yosef Lindell to ask a question: why did the authors of the Haggadah choose to focus on the retelling of the story of the Exodus rather than on the details of the paschal offering? An alternative view, Lindell observes, is actually discussed in Tosefta, a talmudic-era work of Jewish law containing numerous rejected and non-authoritative teachings. (Lindell’s essay was first published in 2023.)

“A person must engage in the laws of the paschal offering all night, even if it is just him with his son, even if it is just him by himself, and even if it is just him and his student.” [The Tosefta] then cites a story supporting this position: “Once, Rabban Gamliel and the elders were reclining in the house of Boethius ben Zonin in Lod, and they were occupied in studying the laws of Pesah all that night, until the cock crowed. They lifted the table, made themselves ready and went to the house of study.”

If this story sounds familiar, it’s because it is quite similar to the one in the Haggadah about the five rabbis in Bnei Brak who “were telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt that whole night, until their students came and said to them, ‘The time for [reciting] the morning sh’ma has arrived.’” But in the Haggadah, it is those who discuss the story at great length who are praised, not those who study the paschal offering’s laws. The Haggadah thus makes its rejection of the Tosefta’s position rather explicit.

But I also think that the reason we do not talk more about the paschal offering is because telling the story of the Exodus is actually a meaningful way of putting the Temple front and center. In other words, . . . we focus on the story at the seder precisely because we are now in exile and telling about the miracles of the Exodus gives us hope for the future. Surely, if God redeemed us once, He can do it again. Focusing on the story instead of the sacrifice does not diminish the Temple’s centrality.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.