Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
When the Torah describes the laws of the קָרְבַּן פֶּסַח (korban pesah, pesah offering), it emphasizes that a גֵּר (ger, stranger) must also be included:
(מח) וְכִֽי־יָג֨וּר אִתְּךָ֜ גֵּ֗ר וְעָ֣שָׂה פֶ֘סַח֮ לַיהוה הִמּ֧וֹל ל֣וֹ כׇל־זָכָ֗ר וְאָז֙ יִקְרַ֣ב לַעֲשֹׂת֔וֹ וְהָיָ֖ה כְּאֶזְרַ֣ח הָאָ֑רֶץ וְכׇל־עָרֵ֖ל לֹֽא־יֹ֥אכַל בּֽוֹ׃ (מט) תּוֹרָ֣ה אַחַ֔ת יִהְיֶ֖ה לָֽאֶזְרָ֑ח וְלַגֵּ֖ר הַגָּ֥ר בְּתוֹכְכֶֽם׃
If a ger who lives with you makes a pesah offering to God, all their males must be circumcised. Then they can approach and make it, and they will be like citizens of the country. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it. There shall be one Torah (law) for the citizen and for the ger who lives among you.
This midrash wonders about the purpose of this second pasuk, which seems to repeat what came before.
"תּוֹרָה אַחַת יִהְיֶה לָאֶזְרָח" לָמָּה נֶאֱמַר?
וְהַלֹּא כְּבָר נֶאֱמַר "וְהָיָה כְּאֶזְרַח הָאָרֶץ", וּמָה תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר "תּוֹרָה אַחַת יִהְיֶה לָאֶזְרָח"?
לְפִי שֶׁהוּא אוֹמֵר "וְכִי יָגוּר אִתְּךָ גֵּר" אֵין לִי אֶלָּא פֶּסַח שֶׁהִשְׁוָה בּוֹ הַגֵּר לָאֶזְרָח, שְׁאַר כָּל מִצְוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה מִנַּיִן?
תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר "תּוֹרָה אַחַת יִהְיֶה לָאֶזְרָח" - בָּא הַכָּתוּב וְהִשְׁוָה אֶת הַגֵּר לָאֶזְרָח בְּכָל מִצְוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה.
“There shall be one Torah...” (verse 49) Why is this written? Didn’t the Torah already say that a ger who becomes circumcised must be treated “like a citizen” (verse 48)? What do we learn from “there shall be one Torah”?
Without “there shall be one Torah,” we would only have learned that a ger who becomes circumcised is equal to a citizen for the pesah offering. But how do we know this is true for all other mitzvot in the Torah? This is why it says, “there shall be one Torah”—to teach that a ger and a citizen are equal for all the mitzvot in the Torah.
- Can you think of reasons that people might think that an outsider or newcomer should not be included in the korban pesah?
- Why do you think it’s important for the Torah to emphasize that there is “one Torah” for everyone?
-------------------
-------------------