The Lintel and the Doorposts

This week in synagogue, after the reading of the regular weekly Torah portion, we read the special portion of “Parshat Hachodesh” (“The portion of ‘The month’ ”) from a separate Torah scroll. “Parshat Hachodesh” is the last of the four special sections that are read (in addition to the regular weekly portions) in the weeks surrounding the holidays of Purim and Pesach (Passover). The reason for its name “Hachodesh” (“The month”) is because it starts off with the command of sanctifying the new month. However, the Torah only spends 2 verses on this command; the last 18 verses of the portion concern the commandment of the special paschal lamb that the Jews were to bring upon their evacuation from Egypt. It is very fitting that we read this portion at this time of year, because we are approaching the holiday of Pesach, which celebrates the redemption from Egypt.

The laws of this sacrifice were very unique, mostly due to the fact that it was not offered in the Tabernacle or Temple (which didn’t exist yet), but rather in every Jewish home in the land of Egypt. The Jews were commanded to slaughter the lamb, and place its blood around the doors of their home. A brief and superficial explanation of this ritual was in order for it to be a “sign” to God, upon his smiting of the firstborn of Egypt, to exclude all the firstborn children who were found in a home with blood placed around the door. The animal itself was then roasted and eaten.

Concerning the placing of the blood, the Torah describes God’s words:

“They (the Jewish nation) shall take some of its blood and place it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they will eat it” [Exodus: 12: 7]

This was the commandment issued by God to Moses, in order for Moses to convey it to the Jewish nation. Upon relating it to the Jewish people, the Torah describes Moses’ words concerning the placement of the blood:

“…touch the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood…” [Exodus: 12: 22]

It is well known that the customs and rituals that are practiced in the code of Jewish law are meant to be very exact. All the laws that we have been commanded to observe until this very day follow a strict order and set of rules. It therefore seems strange that if God told Moses clearly to place the blood on “the two doorposts” and then “on the lintel”, why would Moses switch the order!? Why did Moses issue the commandment to the Jewish people in a manner contrary to which he heard it from God!?

I believe the Torah is trying to convey a message to us, and it can be realized if we understand the difference between the “lintel” and the “doorposts”. The “lintel”, clearly, is the part of the door that is above us; The “doorposts” on the other hand are slightly harder to describe. They can either represent the part of the door that connects the lintel to the ground, or that connects the ground to the lintel. Where are we going with this?

We must understand that the relationship between God and us, the Jewish people, is one of true love. True love is attained by always placing the other companion's concerns before our very own. God only wants what is best for us, and ideally we should want only what’s best for God. Before every action He takes, God, so to speak, puts us first; He does everything for our benefit. Likewise, before every step that we take in our lives, we have to first ask ourselves “is this what God wants?”

So when God was commanding Moses about the paschal lamb, He was, so to speak, thinking about the Jewish people; putting us first. This is why He mentions the “doorposts” first and then the “lintel”. In this order, it implies that the doorposts are the part of the door connecting the ground to the lintel. As Jews, we are meant to follow this pattern. We are made from the “dust from the ground” (Genesis: 2: 7), we are merely creatures of the earth, living in a physical world and in a physical body. But our mission in life is to connect with something above this world; to establish a relationship with God. We are the “ground” that is meant to connect to the “lintel”, the lowly physical beings that are meant to connect to God. This is why God chooses His words in such a manner, because He is issuing the commandment with his beloved (us) in mind.

On the other hand, when Moses transmits the commandment to the Jewish people, he is only thinking about God. He therefore mentions the “lintel” first and then the “doorposts”, implying that the doorposts are that which connect the lintel to the ground. This represents God. He is infinite, beyond anything we can ever imagine; He is above this world to an endless degree. Nevertheless, He also dwells amongst us in this world, watching and guiding our every move and thought! God follows the exact inverse of the pattern we follow. He is the “lintel” that connects to the “ground”, the supreme and eternal being that connects with the earth, and with us. Moses therefore puts God first, and he chooses his words in the opposite manner, issuing the commandment with our beloved (God) in mind.


The same idea connects to the holiday of Pesach even further. In the Torah, God calls the holiday “Chag HaMatzot” (“The holiday of Matzah”), whereas we call it “Chag HaPesach” (“The holiday of Pesach”). God, who only seeks our benefit, refers to the holiday according to the “Matzah”, which represented our act of love towards Him. We were so eager to leave Egypt and unite with God that we didn’t even give ourselves enough time to bake our bread completely, resulting in Matzah. To commemorate this act of love, God therefore calls the holiday “Chag Hamatzot”. We, on the other hand, describe the holiday in a way that reminisces God’s act of love towards us. “Pesach” literally means to “pass over”. It was God who so kindly and lovingly “passed over” our houses during the plague of the firstborn, saving us. To commemorate this act of love, we therefore call it “Chag HaPesach”.

May we all approach the holiday of Pesach with this idea in mind and not only apply it to the love we share with God, but to the love we share with the others around us. May we sincerely establish a true loving and giving relationship with our loved ones by putting them before us.


Good Shabbos,

NZL