Our ancestors in Egypt caused on uproar when (as we'll read Shabbos morning in Shul) they took lambs and tied it to the doorposts of their home in preparation for the Paschal sacrifice to take place four days later.
But instead of the SPCA, it was actually the Egyptian religious authorities that took issue with this sacrilegious tradition; you see in Egypt of old the lamb was considered a G-d, a divine deity to be worshiped, not made into lamb chops for the Seder.
While there is no documentation of talk shows in Egypt, the public outcry demanded to know; (although there was not any cruelty inflicted on the lambs, as cruelty to animals is a prohibited as a Universal Mitzvah in the Torah) "Why are you doing this to our God?"
Good question. Why did they have to do this? Does God need our little lamb?
The Midrash implies that they needed to do this in order to merit redemption. But wasn't our departure from Egypt part of the script even before we left? G-d promised it to Abraham 190 year before we even rocked up to Egypt.
The Rebbe says that perhaps the reason for them to bring this sacrifice was for their own freedom. Yes, they would have left Egypt regardless of the Paschal Braai, but would " Egypt" have left them?
They were slaves. Not only slaves to the Egyptians. They were slaves to their habits, to their inhibitions, to their lack of belief in a better tomorrow. They were slaves to a materialistic and immoral mindset of the perverted philosophies of Egypt. They had to break loose.
The idealism and strength of character that would soon define them as G-d's chosen people had been frozen to death over the years of backbreaking labor building the pyramids of commerce and trade for the Egyptian idols.
They had to free themselves from the symbolic G-d's of Egypt so that they could express themselves as a truly free people to serve and embody the infinite potential of the divine soul within them.
So the paschal sacrifice wasn't for G-d. It was for them; to allow them to see beyond the primitive goal of survival and see the opportunities that lay ahead for them.
No, I'm not implying in any way that we should be sacrificing lambs on our front lawn. But we should be eliminating society's God of material and personal self gratification.
Let's see the opportunities that await us tomorrow if we only free ourselves from our inhibitions of today.
Wishing you a Shabbat of freedom,
Rabbi Chaim
ChabadTexas.org Editor
P.S. This Monday, I will join thousands, of all waks of like, to visit the Ohel - the resting place - of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, o.b.m in commemoration of "Yud Shevat". You may submit your Hebrew name, your mother's Hebrew Name and anything in particular you would like me to pray for, and I will mention you as part of my prayers at the Rebbe's grave on Monday.