As the recess bell rang, Bassie and Shifra approached their teacher, Mrs. Kramer. "These are our plans for the program," they said, handing her some papers.

Mrs. Kramer glanced at the papers briefly. "I can see you've put work into this," she said.

"Yes!" exclaimed the girls. "We're so excited."

"That's exactly why I had given the class until next Monday to hand in plans," said their teacher, giving them back the papers.

A bit disappointed, Bassie and Shifra looked at each other. "But Mrs. Kramer, aren't you happy that we have it all planned already?"

"Let me explain, girls. It was only yesterday that we spoke about having a Mother-Daughter Luncheon in the school. The principal said that it would be O.K. as long as two eighth graders took responsibility for the program. Taking responsibility for this program is no small task, and that's on top of homework, tests, and the history report that's due soon.

"I was glad that the class got all excited. But I didn't want anyone to present plans right away. I gave the class until Monday because I want to be sure that everything will be considered seriously. A person who makes a quick decision when he is excited has not taken the time to sit down and think clearly about all the details."

Mrs. Kramer paused. "Can you think of an example of this from the Torah?" she added with a smile. "I'll give you a hint. The person had three days to think things over."

"Do you mean Avraham?" suggested Bassie. "From the time HaShem commanded him to do Akeidas Yitzchak until he got to the mountain, three days passed."

"That's right, Bassie. HaShem planned it this way so that no one would say that Avraham went to the Akeidah overwhelmed and overly excited without giving the matter much thought. He had time to consider it seriously, and the decision came from clear-headed thinking.

"We have an example in this week's parshah, as well. When HaShem commanded every Jewish household to take a sheep for the Korban Pesach, tie it to their bed post for four days, and then slaughter and eat it, He was giving the Jews a big decision to make. You see, the Egyptians worshipped sheep and, unfortunately, there were many Jews who were also idol worshipers.

"Fulfilling this mitzvah was no simple task. It meant that a Jew, who until this time had worshipped the sheep, now had to take the animal and slaughter it. The Jews had to seriously decide that they were not going to worship idols any more and that they would serve only HaShem. HaShem didn't want this to be a hasty decision made because of their excitement over the great miracles they had seen. He wanted it to be a clear-headed decision that came from deep inside them. That way, their commitment would be real and lasting.

"For four days the sheep were tied to the bedposts of the Jewish people. This gave them time to change their way of thinking and decide to serve only HaShem."

(Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXVI, p. 119)