Blood is sacred. Blood is life and soul

Pesach always brings back images of blood — blood as a sign on the doorpost, that is.

The Shakh, in his commentary on Parshat Bo, claims the blood that was placed on the doorposts was a combination of the blood of the lamb and blood gathered in a major circumcision festival that was necessary to allow people to partake of the Korban Pesach (Paschal lamb). He specifically identifies the blood from the circumcision as coming from the act of circumcision and the removal of the mucosal membrane (no mention of the act of metzitzah!).

Of course, in that context, the blood served as a “reminder” (so to speak) to G-d of the covenant that connected our people to Him for eternity. The sign was significant for the people as well, because their own blood was in it. (Maimonides, Guide 3:46, quoting the teaching from Yechezkel 16:6)

In our parsha, we see one of the Torah’s many revisits to the prohibition against consuming blood. We are all familiar with the idea that blood must be removed from the meat of any animals we eat. The Torah states, “For the soul of the flesh is in the blood, and I have therefore given it to you [to be placed] upon the altar, to atone for your souls. For it is the blood that atones for the soul.” (17:11)

The blood of offerings is meant to bring about atonement for people. How it does that — the mechanism, etc. — is G-d’s business.

Rabbane Bachaye quotes Maimonides and creates a picture we can hopefully utilize to understand this. Maimonides writes (Guide 3:46) that the prohibition against consuming blood is meant to create a distance, so that a person not involve oneself in the craft of demonic work — for when the Israelites left Egypt, they were experts in this craft, having learned it from the Egyptians. Part of their necromancy was to sprinkle blood, and when they wanted to divine into the future, they would consume the blood.

The Torah prohibited the eating of blood in an effort to change the mindset of the people, and to channel the use of blood towards sprinkling on the mizbeach to achieve atonement.