She shaves her head, modifies her nails, changes her clothes, and mourns her parents for a month in the house of her captor. What is the significance of these requirements? What do they reveal about her transition into a new home?
Pig’s blood, crushed bird heads, animal fats, and fine oils were all used to mark the doorposts and thresholds in the ancient Near East, to protect against a host of dangerous supernatural powers. The Torah repurposes this ritual as a practical sign allowing YHWH to distinguish between Israelite and Egyptian households. An anthropological lens points to yet another layer of meaning in this ritual, carried out on the very night before Israel leaves Egypt.
How Jews responded to the celebration of Jesus’ birth by creating a cynical version of Christmas Eve lampooning him.
