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In this week's Parsha, Parshat Bo, Bnei Yisrael are given their first set of rules from Hashem as a nation. Since this is the first time that Hashem is imposing anything upon the people, one would expect some grandiose mitzvot, like the Aseret Hadibrot, or mizvot that were not so technical. Instead, the two first mitzvot they are commanded to perform are the commandment of Rosh Chodesh, and that of Korban Pesach. Korban Pesach takes up many pesukim in the beginning of the twelfth chapter of Shemot, detailing the way the people should perform the mitzvah. The people must take a perfect male lamb on the tenth day of the month, and watch it until the fourteenth of the month. Then the people must cook the lamb in a precise way, and fully consume it by the morning. In addition, the people are given instructions for how to eat the feast, as it says "And this is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste it is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord.(Shemot 12:11)"

This is a very detailed mitzvah that does not seem like it is for "beginners" as clearly the Jewish people were. They had not been practicing the mitzvot during the slavery, and even to the well practiced Jew, this seems like a difficult, time consuming mitzvah. So my question on this week's Parsha is why Hashem gave the people something so intricate to begin their journey as a nation in the desert.

The first answer to this question is that I think Hashem specifically assigned this mitzvah because of its difficulty. I think Hashem was trying to send a message to the people that this religion that they are a part of is not going to necessarily be easy, but it will be worth it. I think this can be seen in the Torah. Right after Hashem assigns the mitzvah, and the people perform it, Hashem takes the Jewish nation out of Egypt. The people can clearly see the correlation of doing what Hashem wants, and He in turn helping out the nation.

The second answer, as stated by Nechama Leibowitz, is that "action shapes character." The peopled needed to be actively engaged in doing mitzvot in order to feel connected to Judaism. The Sefer Hachinuch states that a person is influenced by the actions he does. If a person engages in righteous things, even if he himself is not righteous, eventually he will become a good person because he has been influenced by his actions. The opposite is also true. If a person engages in sinful acts, even if he himself is a good person, he will eventually turn into a sinful person. This can be seen when Bnei Yisrael accepted the Torah and they said "Naaseh VaNishmah." We will do and we will listen. The doing comes before the listening and understanding. Here, in regard to the fastidiousness of the Korban Pesach laws, I think Hashem wanted the people to be engaging as much as possible in Torah observance, so that they would come to follow the Torah.

The Korban Pesach may seem like an unusual choice to give the nation as one of their first official commandments, but I think Hashem is trying to teach the Jewish people a lesson in addition to performing the mitzvah. Judaism is not always the easiest thing to follow, but when adhered to, Hashem helps out his people, and two, that one should always try and do the right thing so as to be influenced by it.

Lauren attended Frisch High School last year and will study at the Macauley Honors Program of Queens College in the fall. Her favorite part of AMIT is knowing the impact you have on the children at Beit Hayeled.