Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Exodus 12:5/אבן עזרא על שמות י״ב:ה׳
אשה תמים. שיהיה בלא מום גם שה יקרא כל אחד משני המינים ששם הצאן כוללם וככה שה כשבים ושה עזים (דבר' יד ד), א"ר משה בן עמרם הפרסי, כי השה חיוב פסח מצרים, ובארץ ישראל שה או פר, וראייתו "וזבחת פסח לה' אלהיך צאן ובקר" (שם טז ב) שהוא פסח דורות ולא דבר נכונה כי כל פסח דורות הוא זכר לפסח מצרים, ואין ראוי לשנות, רק "וזבחת פסח לה' אלהיך צאן חיוב, ובקר לשלמים לאכול בחג מבושל במים וכמוהו, ושמחת בחגך אתה ובנך ובתך (שב שם יד), אתה חייב, ובנך ובתך רשות, והעד שכתוב בדברי הימים ששחטו יום ארבעה עשר כבשים ופרים, ושם כתוב הכבשים לפסחים, והפרים לשלמים, בשלו אותם בדודים ובסירות רק לבד הצאן בשלו באש כמשפט, א"ר ישועה, כי יש הפרש בין בן שנה, ובין בן שנתו, כי בן שנה עלתה לו שנה ובן שנתו כמשמעו, והנה בקרבן הנשיאים כבש אחד בן שנתו (במד, ז כא), ובאחרונה כתוב, כבשים בני שנה (שם שם כג):
1YOUR LAMB SHALL BE WITHOUT BLEMISH. It shall be without any deformity. The word seh (lamb) also applies to the two kinds182 take in two kinds but the word seh also takes in two kinds. taken in by the term tzon (flock).183 (the seh) from the sheep, or from the goats. Sehkhevasim ve-seh izzim (the sheep and the goat) (Deut. 14:4) is similar. Rabbi Moses ben Amram Ha-Parsi184 says that the obligation to offer a lamb only pertains to the Passover brought in Egypt. However, in the Land of Israel one could sacrifice a lamb or a bull. He offers as proof, And thou shalt sacrifice the passover-offering unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd (Deut. 16:2), which applies to the Passover to be offered in all future generations. However, he did not speak correctly. All future Passover offerings are in memory of the paschal lamb offered in Egypt, and one should not deviate from it. The meaning of the aforementioned verse can only be: And thou shalt sacrifice the passover-offering unto the Lord thy God of the flock as an obligation; and of the herd, bring peace offerings to be eaten cooked in water. Similarly, And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter (Deut. 16:14) means thou art obligated;185 thy son and thy daughter are permitted to do so. Proof of the above is found in the book of Chronicles.186 We read there that on the fourteenth day187 they slaughtered lambs and bullocks.188 It is written there that the lambs were for Passover offerings189, 35:7. and the bullocks which served as peace offerings were cooked in pots and caldrons.190 Only those sacrifices which came from the flock were roasted in the fire according to ordinance.191 Rabbi Joshua says that there is a difference between ben shanah (of the first year)192. and ben shenato (of the first year). A ben shanah193. has lived a year and ben shenato means exactly what Scripture says.194 literally means of its year, i.e., during its first year of life. Now with regard to the sacrifices offered by the princes it first states, keves echad ben shenato leolah (one he-lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering) (Num. 7:15) and then states, kevasim bene shanah (he-lambs of the first year) (Num. 7:87).195 for a burnt offering. Scripture then gives the number of burnt offerings as kevasim bene shanah shenem asar (he-lambs of the first year twelve). We thus see that the terms ben shanah and ben shenato are one and the same. Therefore Rabbi Joshua is incorrect. I might add that both Krinsky and Weiser missed I.E.’s point. Both indicate that I.E.’s proof is from the five he-lambs of the first year (bene shanah) brought as peace offerings. However, there is no proof from the latter because the peace offering differs from the burnt offering, and one can argue that Scripture required a lamb under a year for a burnt offering and a lamb over a year for a peace offering.