הכתב והקבלה — לא תשחט על חמץ דם זבחי

Q — 'לא תשחט על חמץ דם זבחי' — Chazal and Ramban work hard to explain why both שחיטה and דם are mentioned; their answer: the verse extends the prohibition from slaughter to זריקת הדם. HaKtav re-conceives the whole phrase.

A — HaKtav VeHaKabbalah reads 'דם זבחי' not as a description of the offering ('the blood OF my offering') but as a *proper name* of the korban Pesach itself — a second name parallel to 'פסח.' The two names mark the two sides of that night. 'פסח' (from 'פסוח והמליט,' Yeshayahu 31:5) commemorates the *mercy* on Bnei Yisrael — Hashem's passing-over. 'דם זבחי' commemorates the other half: the *slaughter* (זבח = טבח מלחמה, cf. 'זבח לה' בבצרה,' Yeshayahu 34:6) inflicted that night on the Mitzri firstborn. The same night was, from one angle, mercy for Yisrael, and from the other, the blood-shed of judgment on Mitzrayim. The korban carries both names because it commemorates both faces.