Amidst its discussion of the laws of the Korban Pesach, the Torah commands, “Kol Ben Nechar Lo Yochal Bo” (Shemot 12:43), which literally means, “No foreigner may partake of it.” At first glance, it appears that the Torah here forbids gentiles from eating the meat of the Pesach sacrifice. However, tradition teaches that the term “Ben Nechar” (“foreigner”) in this verse refers to one “She’nitnakeru Ma’asav Le’abib She’ba’shamayim” – “whose actions became foreign to his Father in heaven.” Meaning, this refers to a “Meshumad” – somebody who became like a gentile by renouncing Jewish faith and embracing foreign worship. The Torah forbids allowing such a person to participate in the eating of the Korban Pesach. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that the entire purpose of the Exodus from Egypt – the miraculous event which the Korban Pesach commemorates – was for Am Yisrael to “come under the wings of the Shechina,” to commit themselves to the belief in Hashem and to the observance of His laws. Naturally, then, the Torah forbids a person who represents the antithesis of this commitment to participate in the Korban Pesach. The Sefer Ha’hinuch’s comments bring to mind the passage of the Haggadah which instructs us how to respond to the wicked son, who ridicules the observance of Pesach, shouting with contempt, “What is this ritual for you?!” The Haggadah tells us to strongly reject this ridicule, and to tell this son that if he had been alive at the time of the Exodus, he would not have been redeemed from Egypt, because he refuses to commit himself to Hashem’s laws. By the same token, a person who has turned his back on Jewish faith may not participate in the Korban Pesach, which celebrates the special commitment we made at the time of the Exodus, a commitment which he has rejected. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that one who violates this prohibition and gives a portion of the Korban Pesach to a “Mashumad” is not liable to Malkut (lashes), because the forbidden action was done by the “Meshumad” who ate the meat, and not by the Jew who gave him the meat. One is liable to Malkut only for violating a “Lav She’yesh Bo Ma’aseh” – a prohibition transgressed through the performance of a concrete action, and the Sefer Ha’hinuch maintains that facilitating the consumption of the Korban Pesach by a “Meshumad” does not involve a concrete action. The Minhat Hinuch explains that even after one hands the meat to the “Meshumad,” the “Meshumad” could decide not to eat the meat. As such, handing him the meat does not qualify as an act of Torah violation for which one would be liable to Malkut. However, the Minhat Hinuch writes, it would stand to reason that if one placed the meat of the sacrifice directly into the mouth of the “Meshumad,” this would qualify as a “Lav She’yesh Bo Ma’aseh,” since the “Meshumad” cannot then make the decision not to eat the meat, and thus, seemingly, the person who fed him would be liable to Malkut. The Rambam (Hilchot Korban Pesach, chapter 9) rules that this prohibition is violated only by the person who feeds the “Meshumad,” and not by the “Meshumad” himself. Rav Yosef Karo (author of the Shulhan Aruch, 1488-1575), in his Kessef Mishneh commentary to the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, explains the Rambam’s comment by noting that there is no purpose served in directing a command to somebody who rejects Torah altogether. The “Meshumad” has renounced Judaism, and so he cannot be said to be in violation of a particular command, as he does not even acknowledge the authority of the command. The Torah addresses those who accept its authority, and so a “Meshumad,” who fundamentally rejects all of Jewish religion, cannot be described as transgressing a specific Misva. The Minhat Hinuch questions this explanation, noting that even though the “Meshumad” does not accept the Torah’s authority, nevertheless, he is clearly in violation of every command which he transgresses. Moreover, the Minhat Hinuch adds, even if we accept the Kessef Mishneh’s pr