Pesachim ( he, פְּסָחִים, lit. "Paschal lambs" or "Passovers"), also spelled Pesahim, is the third
tractate
A tractate is a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject; the word derives from the Latin ''tractatus'', meaning treatise.
One example of its use is in citing a section of the Talmud, when the term '' masekhet'' () is used ...
of ''
Seder Moed
Moed ( he, מועד, "Festivals") is the second Order of the Mishnah, the first written recording of the Oral Torah of the Jewish people (also the Tosefta and Talmud). Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. The order of M ...
'' ("Order of Festivals") of the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...
and of the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
. The tractate discusses the topics related to the
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...
of Passover, and the
Passover sacrifice
The Passover sacrifice ( he, קרבן פסח, translit=Qorban Pesaḥ), also known as the Paschal lamb or the Passover lamb, is the sacrifice that the Torah mandates the Israelites to ritually slaughter on the evening of Passover, and eat on the ...
, both called ''"Pesach"'' in Hebrew language, Hebrew. The tractate deals with the laws of ''
matza
Matzah or matzo ( he, מַצָּה, translit=maṣṣā'','' pl. matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which ''chametz'' ( leaven and ...
'' (unleavened bread) and ''
maror
''Maror'' ( he, מָרוֹר ''mārôr'') refers to the bitter herbs eaten at the Passover Seder_in_keeping_with_the_biblical_commandment__"with_bitter_herbs_they_shall_eat_it."_(Book_of_Exodus.html" "title="mitzvah.html" "title="isan in the H ...
'' (bitter herbs), the prohibitions against owning or consuming ''
chametz'' (
leaven
In cooking, a leavening agent () or raising agent, also called a leaven () or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An altern ...
) on the festival, the details of the Paschal lamb that used to be offered at the
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...
, the order of the feast on the first evening of the holiday known as the
Passover seder, and the laws of the supplemental "
Second Pesach".
Two reasons are given for the name of the tractate ''Pesachim'' being in the plural: either because the tractate originally comprised two parts, one dealing with the Passover sacrifice, and the second with the other aspects of the holiday, before they were combined into a single tractate named ''Pesachim'' during the
Geonic period
''Geonim'' ( he, גאונים; ; also transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of ...
(by 1040
CE), or, because the tractate deals with the two occasions for offering the Passover sacrifice, namely, the 14th of the
month of Nisan on the eve of the holiday, and one month later, the "
second Pesach" on the 14th of
Iyar
Iyar ( he, אִייָר or , Standard ''ʾĪyyar'' Tiberian ''ʾĪyyār''; from akk, 𒌗 𒄞 itiayari " rosette; blossom") is the eighth month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the second month of the Jewish religious year ...
for those who were unable to offer the sacrifice on the original date.
The basis for the laws
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
included in this tractate are derived from the Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
, largely from the Book of Exodus
The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through ...
, in , , and , as well as , and , and .
The tractate consists of ten chapters and has a Gemara – rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah – in both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
. There is also a Tosefta
The Tosefta ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah.
Overview
In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
for this tractate.[
Apart from the ]Passover sacrifice
The Passover sacrifice ( he, קרבן פסח, translit=Qorban Pesaḥ), also known as the Paschal lamb or the Passover lamb, is the sacrifice that the Torah mandates the Israelites to ritually slaughter on the evening of Passover, and eat on the ...
, the Jewish religious laws derived from this tractate regarding Passover have continued to be observed, with minor variations according the interpretations of later halakhic authorities, by traditional Jewish communities since ancient times until the present. The observances include the prohibitions on eating, benefiting from or possessing any leaven, and the sale or search for and removal of leaven from the house before Passover; the practices of the Seder night, including eating matza and bitter herbs, drinking four cups of wine, and reciting the Haggadah
The Haggadah ( he, הַגָּדָה, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the mitzvah to each J ...
recalling the Exodus from Egypt
The Exodus (Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the Bible), namely Ex ...
; as well as the observances of the entire holiday, including the eating of matza and the recitation of the Hallel prayer.
Etymology
The name of the tractate ''Pesachim'' is the Hebrew plural of the name of the Passover festival ''Pesach'', and there are two explanations given for this:
Firstly, the tractate contains two distinct parts, which were originally separate, until combined into a single tractate during the Geonic period
''Geonim'' ( he, גאונים; ; also transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of ...
(by 1040 CE). Until then, the tractate was divided into two parts called ''Pesaḥ Rishon'' ("First Passover" or "Passover I") and ''Pesaḥ Sheni'' ("Second Passover" or "Passover II"). After the two parts were combined, the tractate was called ''Pesachim'', in the plural.[
One part, now comprising chapters one to four and chapter ten, addresses the laws of Passover that apply always and everywhere, such as the removal of chametz from the home, the eating of matzah, and the Seder on Passover night. The second part, now chapters five to nine, concern the laws of how the Passover sacrifice was offered and eaten at the ]Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...
while it existed. This part is more relevant thematically to '' Seder Kodashim'', the order of the Mishna concerned mainly with the sacrificial offerings in the Temple.
In the only surviving manuscript that contains the complete text of the Babylonian Talmud, known as the Munich Codex, the current tenth chapter appears as the fourth, so that the chapters concerning the practical observances of the festival follow one another consecutively.[
The early medieval Jewish commentators, known as the '']Rishonim
''Rishonim'' (; he, ; sing. he, , ''Rishon'', "the first ones") were the leading rabbis and '' poskim'' who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, , "Set Table", a ...
'', also refer to the first part of the tractate as "''Pesach Rishon''", and the second part about the sacrifices as "''Pesach Sheni''". The Meiri (1249–1315) states clearly in his introduction to the tractate that during the immediately preceding Geonic period
''Geonim'' ( he, גאונים; ; also transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of ...
, ''Pesachim'' was divided into two tractates. This distinction is also marked explicitly in the Vilna edition
The Vilna Edition of the Talmud, printed in Vilna (now Vilnius), Lithuania, is by far the most common printed edition of the Talmud still in use today as the basic text for Torah study in yeshivas and by all scholars of Judaism.
It was typeset by ...
in the Hadran at the end of the fourth chapter () and ninth chapter () of the tractate.[
A second reason given for the plural name of the tractate is that there are, in fact, two Passovers: the " second Pesach" on the 14th of ]Iyar
Iyar ( he, אִייָר or , Standard ''ʾĪyyar'' Tiberian ''ʾĪyyār''; from akk, 𒌗 𒄞 itiayari " rosette; blossom") is the eighth month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the second month of the Jewish religious year ...
was instituted a month after Passover for those who were unable to offer the Passover sacrifice on the eve of the holiday on 14th of the month of Nisan, in accordance with . Accordingly, the title of the tractate in the plural recognizes this, although the Mishnah almost entirely concerns the first or "Great" Passover.
Subject matter
The subject matter of this tractate covers the various laws of all the aspects of the Passover holiday. The Mishna follows a mostly sequential order, beginning with the search for '' chametz'' (leaven) on the evening of the thirteenth of Nisan, the day before Passover, and the prohibition of leaven in all its aspects; the details of the Passover sacrifice
The Passover sacrifice ( he, קרבן פסח, translit=Qorban Pesaḥ), also known as the Paschal lamb or the Passover lamb, is the sacrifice that the Torah mandates the Israelites to ritually slaughter on the evening of Passover, and eat on the ...
on the eve of the holiday; and the laws of matzah
Matzah or matzo ( he, מַצָּה, translit=maṣṣā'','' pl. matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which ''chametz'' ( leaven an ...
and bitter herbs with which the sacrifice was to be eaten, during the ritual meal on Passover night, known as the Seder
The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of [isan in the Hebrew c ...
, with which the tractate concludes.
The topics discussed in this tractate are derived from the Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
in the Book of Exodus
The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through ...
, , , and , as well as , and , and .[
Other Biblical references to the subject matter are found in , , , , , and .][
]
Structure and content
In all the editions of the Mishnah, Pesachim is the third tractate of the order Mo'ed. The tractate comprises ten chapters and 89 paragraphs (''mishnayot''). It has a Gemara – rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah, of 121 folio (double-sided) pages in the Babylonian Talmud and 71 folio pages in the Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
. There is a Tosefta
The Tosefta ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah.
Overview
In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
of ten chapters on this tractate.[
Tractate Pesahim can be divided into three sections: The first four chapters dealing primarily with laws concerning the removal of leaven (''chametz''); the next five chapters dealing with the ]Passover sacrifice
The Passover sacrifice ( he, קרבן פסח, translit=Qorban Pesaḥ), also known as the Paschal lamb or the Passover lamb, is the sacrifice that the Torah mandates the Israelites to ritually slaughter on the evening of Passover, and eat on the ...
and the tenth and final chapter describing the procedure for the Seder
The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of , the meal on the first night of the Passover festival.
An overview of the topics of the chapters is as follows:
* Chapter 1 deals with the Search for Leaven">search for leaven (''bedikat chametz'') and its removal, when and where it is necessary, and how and when ''chametz'' is to be destroyed, and the time limit for eating leavened food on the day before Passover; it describes the signal on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to notify the people when they were required to destroy their ''chametz''; and concludes with regulations about burning unclean sacred food.[
* Chapter 2 continues the subject of ''chametz'', such as the time from which any benefit from leavened food other than eating it is forbidden, the status of leaven which was kept until after Passover, including the status of leaven pawned or as pledges for monetary loans to non-Jews; it then discusses the making of the ]matzah
Matzah or matzo ( he, מַצָּה, translit=maṣṣā'','' pl. matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which ''chametz'' ( leaven an ...
, plants that can be used as ''maror
''Maror'' ( he, מָרוֹר ''mārôr'') refers to the bitter herbs eaten at the Passover Seder_in_keeping_with_the_biblical_commandment__"with_bitter_herbs_they_shall_eat_it."_(Book_of_Exodus.html" "title="mitzvah.html" "title="isan in the H ...
'' and the circumstances under which they may be eaten, and means to prevent substances becoming leaven
In cooking, a leavening agent () or raising agent, also called a leaven () or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An altern ...
during the festival.[
* Chapter 3 lists various foods regarded as ''cḥametẓ'', and which are not chametz themselves but contain leaven and for which a person failing to destroy them is guilty of transgressing the Biblical prohibitions, the search for leaven and its removal when the eve of Passover occurs on a Sabbath, cases in which travelers, who have set out on a journey and remember that they had not destroyed leavened food at home must return to do so; and by association, cases in which a pilgrims returning home from Jerusalem, discovers that they are carrying sacrificial meat, must go back to burn it at the ]Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...
.[
* Chapter 4 begins with the statement that refraining from work on the eve of Passover depends on local custom (''minhag'') and discusses the strength of local customs in making and determining law; it then digresses to discuss various laws which depend on local customs and the binding force of customs in several different matters, and references practices of which the Rabbis did not approve and the extent to which they were able to stop them.][
* Chapter 5 begins the discussion of the ]Passover sacrifice
The Passover sacrifice ( he, קרבן פסח, translit=Qorban Pesaḥ), also known as the Paschal lamb or the Passover lamb, is the sacrifice that the Torah mandates the Israelites to ritually slaughter on the evening of Passover, and eat on the ...
and other aspects of the sacrificial service at the Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...
, including the timing of the daily sacrifice (''tamid'') on the eve of Passover, and time for the sacrifice of the Passover sacrifice and circumstances which disqualify a lamb for use as the Passover sacrifice; it continues to describe the ceremonies in the Temple accompanying the slaughtering of the Passover sacrifice, the rows of priests, the accompanying music, and the three groups of the people who are required to recite the ''"Hallel
Hallel ( he, הַלֵּל, "Praise") is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving.
Holy days
Hallel consists of six Psalms (113–118), which ...
"'' and finally, the manner of slaughtering the sacrifice when the eve o Passover falls on a Sabbath, and further preparation of the paschal lamb.[
* Chapter 6 continues to discuss the sacrificial arrangement when Passover falls on a Sabbath, and with related issues such as when another animal must be sacrificed together with the paschal lamb, animals used for this sacrifice, and cases in which slaughtering the Passover sacrifice on the Sabbath is forbidden.][
* Chapter 7 begins with the methods for roasting the Passover sacrifice, and examines problems regarding ]ritual impurity
Ritual purification is the ritual prescribed by a religion by which a person is considered to be free of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification may ...
(''tumah'') affecting a person participating in the sacrifices, including those sacrifices which a person who is in a state of ''tumah'' may offer but not eat; the position when either the community or the sacrifice or parts of it become ritually impure; the time when the inedible parts of the offering such as the bones, and other remnants of the sacrifice must be burned, what part of the animal can be eaten, and the regulations about separate groups eating their sacrificial meat together in the same location.[
* Chapter 8 considers the questions of who may offer the Passover sacrifice on behalf of another, the position of women, slaves, mourners, and the ritually impure in respect of the Passover offering, and the requirement of registering for a particular sacrifice and being permitted to eat only of that sacrificial animal’s meat, and by association with this, other laws of registration are also discussed.][
* Chapter 9 begins with the regulations for those who are ritually impure or on a distant journey and unable to observe the Passover sacrifice at the proper time and are required to observe the ]Second Passover
Pesach Sheni (Hebrew language, Hebrew: פסח שני, translation, trans. ''Second Passover'') occurs every year on 14 Iyar. This is exactly one month after 14 Nisan, the day before Passover, which was the day prescribed for bringing the ''Korban ...
a month later, the difference between the first and the second Passover and the difference between the Passover which was celebrated in Egypt during the Exodus
The Exodus (Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the Bible), namely E ...
and all subsequent Passovers; the chapter transitions to discuss a variety of other problems, such as the exchange ''(" temurah")'' of a Passover sacrifice, offering of a female animal, mixing of the Passover sacrifice with other sacrifices, and cases in which the animal designated as a Passover sacrifice has been lost or exchanged.[
* Chapter 10 reviews the arrangements and regulations for the Passover night meal, ]the Seder
The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of ,_in_detail,_including_the_four_cups_of_wine,_and_the_Berakhah">blessings_recited_over_them,_the_questions_asked_and_the_narrative_response_to_them_(from_which_the_Haggadah_
The_Haggadah_(_he,_הַגָּדָה,_"telling";_plural:_Haggadot)_is_a__Jewish_text_that_sets_forth_the_order_of_the__Passover_Seder._According_to_Jewish_practice,_reading_the_Haggadah_at_the_Seder_table_is_a_fulfillment_of_the_mitzvah_to_each_J_...