Daf Corner

singing “Morrie put yer mask on”. Bella Fielding’s reproachful mother nagging her longsuffering son, the ever-busy Alex Stuart, for not ringing her. All deliciously silly! And who will ever be able to forget Avril Kormornick’s hilarious repeat performance from last year’s Ryan MacAir flight attendant? This same chummy Irish chatterbox reappears in a “call centre”, working from bed, her phone ringing non-stop while she earns lucrative bonuses from her cruise line employers by ignoring the phone rather than giving disgruntled callers their cancellation refunds.

The musical number which ended the show would have undoubtedly and resoundingly brought the house down, had there been a live audience. This was a marvellously spirited and Topol-perfect rendering of “If I Were a Rich Man” delivered in his richly tuneful voice by Rabbi Boruch Boudilovsky. It was animated with all the familiar gestures, fists balled, arms and elbows outspread, and he even included Topol’s original earpiercing screeches and squawks! After so many challenging and difficult months, it seemed fitting that our Rabbi lent his unique talents to enriching the overall gaiety and enjoyment of this memorable Purim Spiel as he brought our fun-filled communal celebration to a close. A

Have You Registered? How About Serving On The Assembly Line?

by Rabbi Ozer (Edward) Feigelman

During the past half year of the current pandemic, we have been encouraged to register weekly for a seat at the Shabbat Minyan of our choice. Just imagine registering for the Korban Pesach, the Paschal Lamb offering, without a computer or WhatsApp. Just imagine being assigned to a lamb less than a year old chosen from the “lamb day care” which had been running around with many similar lambs, like children in the Gan.

Our Daf Yomi Shiur has recently been learning the details of the Korban Pesach. The Talmud in Tractate Pesachim (beginning with chapter 5) tells us that when the Beit Hamikdash stood, the Korban Pesach had specific regulations as to when it could be eaten, who could eat it and how it must be eaten. The Korban Pesach could only be roasted. It could not be eaten raw, nor could one break any of its bones. It had to be eaten between nightfall and midnight following its slaughter, and it had to be eaten together with Matzah and Maror.

Other requirements of the Korban Pesach relate to its Shechitah. The Paschal lamb had to be slaughtered on Erev Pesach afternoon, even on Shabbat. Participation in the Paschal lamb sacrifice required complete kavannah (forethought and planning). Only those people who registered with a particular group prior to the Korban being slaughtered could participate. Just like our Minyan registration, there was some leeway to change groups before the deadline, the time of Shechitah. Registering to be able to eat a specified lamb was thus crucial to fulfill the Mitzvah of Korban Pesach.

We can understand the importance of registering. So what is the Assembly Line all about? When one thinks about Assembly Lines, he may be thinking how foods are processed in their massive production plants. Perhaps one may think about the Assembly Line of the Industrial Age or of the automotive industry. What does this have to do with Pesach?

The Assembly Line is not a relatively new concept. It dates back to the Talmud, Tractate Pesachim, chapter 5. Both the Mishnah and Gemara describe the Assembly Line as well as the pageantry, the pomp and circumstance surrounding the bringing of the Korban Pesach with multitudes of people in the Beit Hamikdash. Most of you who are reading this are from the UK and can definitely relate to pomp and circumstance.

To accommodate all the people, the operations of the Temple were modified to streamline processing of all the Paschal lambs offered. An Assembly Line approach was implemented. Ephraim Diamond, in the “Introduction to Mishnayot 5-7” section of his article “Selection of Mishnayos Relating to Korban Pesach, Seder Night and Korban HaOmer with Running Commentary” (Sefari) adds: “In order to prevent overcrowding in the Azarah (Courtyard), the Kohanim would divide the people into three groups, …three groupings of Korbanot with each group consisting of no less than thirty people…It was rare that the final, third group would fill the Azarah.” These three groups were like