Bo

They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they are to eat it. They shall eat the flesh that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs.

12:7 – 8

Using or abusing the lamb was forbidden in Egypt on pain of death. Now the tables would be turned. Jews openly committed blasphemy on Egyptian deities, enslaved them, i.e. imprisoned their Passover lamb for four days in public, tied such lambs to their bed posts, and no Egyptian seemed able to do a thing about This lamb was slaughtered in full daylight, its blood smeared on the door posts of the homes of the Israelites…

Yitzchak Arama (15^th Century)

The idolatry practiced by Israel in Egypt consisted of (among other things worshipping lambs)…In order to cancel out, abolish such acts, Israel had to perform some actions that would demonstrate that they had abandoned such heinous pagan practices by defying death threats by the Egyptians, putting the blood of the lamb on the upright posts and lintels of their doors…They had to prove themselves also by performing positive deeds, such as circumcision involving their blood, i.e. a symbol of life, as well as the act of slaughtering the lamb, using its lifeblood to indicate their loyalty to God.

Moshe Alshich (16^th Century)

This means on the inside. You say on the inside; but perhaps it means only on the outside? The Torah says, however “And when I see the blood (12:13), that is, the blood seen by Me and not by other. These are the words of Rav Shimon. Rav Natan says: this means on the inside…”That blood will be to you a sign” a sign to you, not a sign to others…

Malbim (19^th Century)

Many say that the purpose of placing the blood on the window and on the two side-posts was to demonstrate publicly that they slaughtered the abomination of Egypt, since…the Israelites were no longer afraid of being stoned. Now if this was the case then the blood should have been placed on the entrance to the courtyard. However, the blood was placed in secret, for they closed the gate of the courtyard. Furthermore they slaughtered the lamb at dusk, so that no one would see them…the reason the blood was smeared on the window was to make atonement for all those eating in the house…

Ibn Ezra (11^th Century)

The blood, mark of a new involvement in the world of God’s laws, is entirely within the house, its capacity to signify, therefore, is all oriented within. “it is a sign to you, but not to Me, to you and not to others.” God penetrates surfaces, perceived an intimate inscription of commitment that makes Him leap over this house. He responds not to daubs of blood, but to the human meanings that they represent.

Aviva Zornberg (Contemporary)

The components from which God sought to build up His people were not to be free and independent individuals …free and independent households, formed on the basis of blood ties or of free personal choice. Only within the framework of the family, formed by the free will of its members, can the individual mature so that he will be able to derive enjoyment from his own personality. This thought is to be expressed symbolically by having the blood of the lamb taken up and put upon the doorposts and lintel of the house within which the lamb is to be consumed by the same people who offered it…The function of the house is to separate its occupants from the rest of human society…

Samson Raphael Hirsch (19^th Century)

God was planning to establish a covenant between the people and God when they reached the wilderness, but the people had not yet achieved a sufficient degree of inner unity (to leave Egypt) for this to take place. Therefore, He reintroduced this ancient meal, giving it new meaning. Two ancient spring agricultural feasts – the farmer’s celebration of the harvest (matzot) and the shepherds’ festival of the new born lambs (Pesach) were turned into the festival of freedom…they all eat at the same time, a single meal unites them into a community

Martin Buber (20^th Century)