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Week 24 - Friday - 12 May 2000

PESACHIM: CHAPTER 10: MISHNA 5

Rabban Gamliel used to say, Whoever has not said these three things on Pesah has not fulfilled his obligation and they are: Pesah, matzah, and bitter herb. Pesah, - because the Omnipresent passed over the houses of our ancestors in Egypt. Matzah - because our ancestors were redeemed in Egypt. Bitter herb - because the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors in Egypt. In every generation a man must regard himself as if he had come out of Egypt, as it is written, "And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I went out of Egypt" (Ex. 13:8). Therefore, we are obliged to give thanks, to praise, to laud, to glorify, to exalt, to honor, to bless, to extol, elevate and acclaim Him who performed all these miracles for our fathers and for us; He brought us forth from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, and from mourning to festivity, and from darkness to a great light, and from servitude to redemption. So let us say before Him Halleluyah.

Kehati

Rabban Gamliel used to say, Whoever has not said explained the reason for - these three - following - things on Pesah - night - has not fulfilled his obligation - of narrating ("And you shall tell your son"); according to another interpretation, the obligation of recounting the details of the Exodus, And they are: Pesah, matzah, and bitter herb - the three things we are obligated to eat on the Seder night.

Pesah - because the Ominpresent passed over the houses of our ancestors in Egypt - as it is written, "That you shall say, 'It is the pesah for the Lord because he passed over the houses of the Children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians and saved our houses'" (Ex. 12:27); the Sages deduced from the wording "That you shall say" the obligation to say "This pesah that we eat is because the Omnipresent passed over"; and matzah and bitter herb were compared to the pesah (Tosafot).

Matzah - because our ancestors were redeemed in Egypt - Another version reads, "from Egypt," and adds, "as it is written, 'And they baked the dough which they brought out of Egypt as matzot for it had not leavened'" (Ex. 12:39). Rambam cites another version: "Because the dough of our fathers did not have sufficient time to leaven until the Holy One, blessed be He, was revealed to them and redeemed them immediately, as it is written, 'And they baked the dough which they brought forth from Egypt' (Hil. Hametz u-Matzah 8:4). Rabbeinu Asher also cites this version of the mishnah.

Bitter herb - because the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors in Egypt - as it is written, "And they embittered their lives with hard labor, with mortar, bricks and through every sort of labor in the field" (Ex. 1:14). In every generation a man must regard himself - the version of Rambam reads, "to show himself," as if he himself - had come out of - the servitude of - Egypt - now (Rambam), as it is written, "And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I went out of Egypt'" - this is the basis for the text of the Haggadah: "The Holy One, blessed be He, did not redeem only our ancestors, but also redeemed us together with them, as it is written, 'And he brought us out from there that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He swore to our fathers'" (Deut. 6:23). The Holy One, blessed be He, commanded us regarding this in the Torah: "And you shall remember that you were a slave" (Deut. 5:15) - i.e., as if you yourself had been a slave, and you went out to freedom, and were redeemed (Rambam, ibid.). He continues, and says:

Therefore we are obliged to give thanks, to praise, to laud, to glorify, to exalt, to honor, to bless, to extol, elevate and acclaim Him Who performed all these miracles for our ancestors and for us; He brought us forth from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, and from mourning to festivity, and from darkness to a great light and from servitude to redemption. So let us say before Him, Halleluyah - the section of Hallel, which begins with the word "Halleluyah." This prayer of thanksgiving is a prelude to the Hallel; as has already been taught, the korban pesah must be eaten with praise (9:3, above). The Gemara states that the Hallel is recited on Pesah night because the following five things are mentioned in it: (1) the Exodus from Egypt ("When Israel came out of Egypt"); (2) the parting of the Red Sea ("The sea saw it and fled"); (3) the giving of the Torah ("The mountains skipped like rams") (4) the resurrection of the dead ("I shall walk before the Lord in the lands of the living"): (5) the birthpangs of the Messiah ('Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your Name give glory"). PESACHIM: CHAPTER 10: MISHNA 6

Until where does he recite? Bet Shammai say, Until "As a joyful mother of children": and Bet Hillel say, Until "The flint into a spring of waters." And he concludes with redemption. Rabbi Tarfon says, "Who has redeemed us and redeemed our ancestors from Egypt," and he would not conclude. Rabbi Akiva says, "So may the Lord our God and the God of our ancestors bring us to future festivals and pilgrimages which approach us in peace, rejoicing in the building of Your city and joyful in Your service, and may we eat there from offerings and from the pesah sacrifices" until "Blessed are You, O Lord, the Redeemer of Israel."

Kehati

Until where does he recite - the Hallel before the meal? Bet Shammai say, Until "As a joyful mother of children" - only one chapter from the Psalms, so that the children will not fall asleep; And Bet Hillel say, Until "The flint into a spring of waters" - since the Exodus from Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea were not mentioned in the first chapter, they also recite the chapter beginning "When Israel came out of Egypt" (Ps. 114). The Tosefta states: "Bet Shammai said to Bet Hillel, 'Have they already exited, that they should mention the Exodus from Egypt?'" (for they came out only at the midpoint of the night; therefore they recite "When Israel came out" only after the eating of the korban pesah which is close to the midpoint of the night). "Bet Hillel said to them, 'Even if he were to wait until the cock crows this would be insufficient, for they did not come out until six hours of the day; how can you recite the passage referring to redemption when they were not yet redeemed?'" Rather, since he began to recount the Exodus from Egypt, he completes the narrative of the redemption (Jer. Talmud.).

And he concludes - the Haggadah, with - a blessing - redemption. The Tannaim disagree regarding the text of this blessing: Rabbi Tarfon says, He blesses, "Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has redeemed us and redeemed our ancestors from Egypt - and who has brought us to this night," and he would not conclude - with a blessing, for it is similar to the blessing over fruit and mitzvot which begin with "Blessed" but do not conclude with "Blessed" All this is one expression of thanksgiving and one reciting it does not add to it supplications for the future (Rashbam, Tosafot).

Rabbi Akiva says, "So may the Lord our God and the God of our ancestors bring us to future festivals and pilgrimages which approach us in peace, rejoicing in the building of Your city and joyful in Your service, and may we eat there from the offerings and the pesah sacrifices" - "from the offerings" precedes "from the Pesah sacrifices" because the "offerings" are the haggigah of the fourteenth," which is eaten before the korban pesah, because the korban pesah is eaten only when satiated, until "Blessed are You, O Lord, the Redeemer of Israel" - the halakhah is in accordance with Rabbi Akiva.

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