Not according to one Torah tradition. Passover commanded to be practised at home or at Jerusalem? Tomorrow we'll tackle the isse of circumcision.
http://contradictionsinthebible.com/is-passover-celebrated-at-home-or-at-jerusalem/
Can an uncircumcised celebrate and eat the Passover?
by srd 1 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
Bobcat
In the spirit of there being two sides to every coin, the following is material from the NAC-Deuteronomy commentary (Eugene H. Merrill, p.252) regarding the difference between Exodus 12 and Deuteronomy 16 in the place of the Passover (at home vs. Jerusalem).
Actually "at home vs. Jerusalem" is somewhat of a misnomer. "Jerusalem" should more properly be "in the place he [God] will choose as a dwelling for his Name" (NIV). Eventually, Jerusalem became that place. For some time before that, Bethel was the location of the ark. While Israel was in the wilderness (for the most part, before the writing of Deuteronomy), the ark was at the center of the Israelite encampment.
[Start of quote]
16:1-2 . . . First of all is the reminder that the Passover animal . . . must be sacrificed "at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling place for his Name" (v. 2). This allusion to the central sanctuary as the Lord's dwelling place is, of course, unique to Deuteronomy (cf. 12:5, 11, 13, etc.) as is the general notion of the Passover being part of a pilgrimage by the whole community to a common place. The reason for the modification is evident. On the first occasion of the ceremony of the Passover and Unleavened Bread, the setting was in private homes in Egypt where individual families offered the sacrifice and gathered around their own tables (Exod. 12:1-14). Following the exodus and the formation of the tribes and clans into a covenant community, the festival was held at the tabernacle, the center of community life (Exod. 23:15; 34:18-20; Lev 23:5-8). There was no need to insist on pilgrimage to a central site in such a cohesive and geographically close-knit society, for in the desert of preconquest times the entire camp was already oriented around the tabernacle (cf. Num. 1:1 - 2:34).
16:3-4 The nature and composition of Israel as envisioned in Deuteronomy was quite another matter, however. It presupposed conquest and occupation that would result in widespread settlement. So great would be the distances from far-flung parts of the nation to any central place that long journeys would be required. This lies beneath the emphasis on a central sanctuary in the first place (Deut 12:1-5; 9-1) and the special measures that must be taken about what could and could not be done in local villages as opposed to that to be done at the tabernacle or temple (cf. 12:15, 20-28; 14:24-26).
Otherwise, the same Passover regulations remained in force . . .
[End of quote]
Note that the quotes chosen were only to cover the location aspect of this issue.
Take care