The Whole Assembly of Israel Slaughtering the Passover

"And they shall slaughter it" (Exodus 12:6). But do all of them slaughter? Rather, this teaches that a person's agent is like himself. "And they shall slaughter it": whether on a weekday or on the Sabbath. And how do I uphold "those who profane it shall surely die" (Exodus 31:14)? Regarding all other labors, except the slaughter of the Passover. Or perhaps even the slaughter of the Passover, and how do I uphold "and they shall slaughter it"? On all other days except the Sabbath? Scripture teaches, "and the children of Israel shall perform the Passover in its appointed time" -- even on the Sabbath; these are the words of Rabbi Yoshiyah. Rabbi Yonatan says: from this we have still not heard it proven. Rabbi Yoshiyah said to him: it says, "command the children of Israel and say to them, my offering, my bread" and so on (Numbers 28:2). If this comes to teach that the daily offering overrides the Sabbath, has it not already been said, "and on the Sabbath day two lambs a year old" (Numbers 28:9)? So why does Scripture say "in its appointed time"? Rather, to liken it for the rule of a verbal analogy: "in its appointed time" is said here and "in its appointed time" is said of the Passover; just as there it overrides the Sabbath, so too here it overrides the Sabbath. "And they shall slaughter it." Rabbi Eliezer says: from where do you say that if Israel has only a single Passover lamb, all of them fulfill their obligation with it? Scripture teaches, "and they shall slaughter it." "All the assembled congregation of Israel": from here they said, the Passover is slaughtered in three groups -- "assembly," "congregation," and "Israel." Rabbi Yitzchak said: the Passover is slaughtered only in three groups of thirty people each. He is in doubt whether this "assembly, congregation, and Israel" means all at once or one after another. Therefore fifty suffices: thirty enter first and slaughter their Passover offerings, then ten of them go out and ten new ones enter; for if he means them together, here they are, and if he means one after another, here are ten new ones, which constitute a "congregation." The first group entered and the Temple court was filled. They locked the doors of the court. They sounded a long blast, a tremolo, and a long blast. The priests stood in rows, and in their hands were basins of silver and basins of gold -- a row of silver entirely silver, a row of gold entirely gold; they were not intermixed. And the basins had no flat bottoms, lest they set them down and the blood congeal. An Israelite slaughtered and a priest received the blood and gave it to his fellow, and his fellow received the full one and returned the empty one; the priest nearest the altar sprinkled one sprinkling toward the base. Who taught that the Passover is by sprinkling? It is Rabbi Yose the Galilean, for it is taught: Rabbi Yose the Galilean says, it does not say "its blood" but "their blood," it does not say "its fat" but "their fat" -- this teaches concerning the firstborn, the tithe, and the Passover that they require the placing of blood and the burning of the fats upon the altar. From where do we learn "toward the base"? "Sprinkling" is derived from "sprinkling" of the burnt offering, and as for the burnt offering itself, from where? The verse says, "to the base of the altar of the burnt offering," teaching about the burnt offering that it requires the base.