MISHNAH PESAHIM CHAPTER 10 - STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

MISHNAH PESAHIM CHAPTER 10

PREPARATION QUESTIONS

Study the mishnayot of the chapter, in order to understand them on a basic
level. Any commentary is acceptable. Then address the following questions.

1. What is the function of mishnah 1 within the structure of our chapter?
a. Explain the halakhic rationale for each of the 3 halakhot of mishnah
1.
1) first halakhah - see Rashi 99b sv lo yochal; gemara 107a-b;
beginning of Yerushalmi to our mishnah (parallel to BT 99b-100a); Tosafot
99b sv ad (cited in Melekhet Shelomoh to mishnah here.
2) second halakhah - see Bertinoro and Tosafot Yom Tov, sv vaafilu ani
3) third halakhah - see BT 112a and Tosafot Yom Tov sv vaafilu min
hatamhui
b. Why do these three halakhot appear together in the first mishnah of
our chapter?

2. Is our chapter describing the seder of Second .Temple times or the seder
of after the hurban (or both)? How do you know?

3. What is the role of the 4 kosot in the seder?

4. Divide the chapter into sections. Justify your criteria for this
division.


DISCUSSION

In order to understand the structure and meaning of this chapter, we will
open with a discussion of the halakhot and the structure of the first
mishnah and utilize this mishnah as a jumping off point for examining more
general themes within Mishnah's presentation of the seder. The first
mishnah serves as a kind of general introduction to the seder. It is
unclear, however, what the three halakhot mentioned in this mishnah - (a)
not eating prior to nightfall, (b) to recline during the meal, (c) the 4
kosot of wine - have in common, and why they were selected to set the mood
for the Mishnah's seder. We may note that these three halakhot are
connected by an interlocking "chain" structure, in which each sentence
shares a point with the previous one. (a) and (b) are linked by the shared
expression: lo yochal ad she... ; (b) and (c) both refer to the ani
shebeyisrael. Clearly the mishnah has carefully selected and arranged these
three halakhot - to what purpose? The latter two halakhot seem to convey a
clear message: the seder makes no allowances for poverty. All Jews,
whatever their financial and social standing may be, participate equally in
a meal which is marked by symbols of high social rank: reclining and
liberal quantities of wine. Indeed these symbols are to be included in the
meal, even though their fictitious nature is apparent: the poor man will
recline, even though he does not possess the appropriate furniture (Tosafot
Yom Tov, sv vaafilu ani); he will be provided with 4 kosot or wine, even
from funds of communal charity, normally not used for such seemingly
frivolous purposes (see BT 112a and Tosafot Yom Tov sv vaafilu min
hatamhui).
How does the first halakhah of this mishnah tie into this pattern? The
gemara offers three explanations for the prohibition of eating between
minhah and nightfall: (1) a general prohibition against having a meal on
erev shabbat or erev hag in order not to spoil one's appetite for the
festive meal (in accordance with the view of R. Yehudah, against R. Yose,
in Tosefta Berachot 5:1 - Yerushalmi and compare BT 99b-100a); (2) in order
not to spoil one's appetite for eating matzah at night (BT 107b and compare
Rashi 99b sv lo yochal); (3) lest one become involved in eating and fail to
bring the korban pesah (BT 107b). Following either of the first two
explanations will enable us to connect this halakhah with the other two
halakhot in the mishnah insofar as all three halakhot involve preparations
for the meal. The first mishnah describes how a person is to gear up for
the seder: he must insure that he will have an appetite, that his furniture
(appropriate or inappropriate) be set up for reclining, and that he have
sufficient wine. The third explanation, however, seems to separate this
halakhah from the rest of the mishnah.
There is, however, a variation on the third explanation which opens up
a new perspective on the structure of this mishnah and, in fact, is
suggestive of an approach to understanding the conceptual structure of the
entire chapter. Melehket Shelomoh (citing Tosafot 99b sv ad) notes a
reading of halakhah a which focuses not on a prohibition against eating in
general but on the eating of the korban pesah: "it comes to teach us that,
even though the slaughtering of the korban pesah is during the day, it is
not eaten during the day as other sacrifices are." The difference between
korban pesah and other sacrifices may be conceptualized as follows: in most
sacrifices, the focus is what is offered on the mizbeah (blood sprinkled
and body parts burned); the eating of part of the sacrifice is an adjunct
to the part offered on the mizbeah - this is implicit in the Talmudic
dictum mishulhan gavoah ka-zakhu (BT Kiddushin 52b). The part of the
sacrifice given for human consumption is, as it were, inviting man to
partake, as a guest, of the "meal" celebrated at God's "table", the
mizbeah, hence the time for eating the sacrifice commences immediately
after the portion of the mizbah has been offered. Regarding the korban
pesah, however, the focus is reversed: the main purpose of this offering
is to be eaten (see, for example, mishnah 7:5), and the eating is a mitzvah
in its own right. Thus there is a separate time for sacrificing (14 Nissan)
and for eating - the seder night.
The foregoing discussion has exposed us to some central issues within the
Mishnah's treatment of the seder. We may note, first, that the first
mishnah focuses on eating and drinking - the seder is, first and foremost,
a meal, not a beit midrash. This idea, we will soon see, is central to
understanding the entire chapter. Second, the explanations of the first
halakhah have centered on 3 different foci of the seder meal: the mitzvah
of simhat haregel (a festive meal - compare Tosefta 10:4), the mitzvah of
eating matzah, and the mitzvah of eating korban pesah. Third, the elements
of the meal which our mishnah focuses on are (mostly or entirely, depending
on the explanation chosen for (1)) not the central mitzvot required by the
Torah, but rather rabbinic requirements - reclining, 4 kosot - which serve
as a framework for the meal, rather than its focal point.

In order to understand the significance of these points and their
interrelationship within the Mishnah's seder, let us address one of the
central questions of our chapter: which seder is being described? Is the
mishnah describing the seder of its own times or the seder of Second
Temple times? This question confronts us in the first two words of the
chapter: arvei (or: erev) pesahim. Tosafot (99b sv erev pesahim) note the
textual variant erev\arvei, assuming that the reading arvei pesahim means
"Passover evenings", whereas erev pesahim would be rendered "evenings of
Paschal offerings". The erev pesahim reading is supported by solid textual
evidence (manuscripts, Tosefta, Bavli and Yerushalmi readings of mishnah),
to which we may add the observation of modern linguistic scholars that the
plural form pesahim in Talmudic sources always refers to the sacrifice
rather than the festival. Hence the "title words" of the chapter already
indicate that the seder about to be described is that of Temple times - the
Mishnah seems not to be terribly interested in "updating" the seder.
Against this conclusion we may note the closing words of m. 3: "and in
the mikdash they would (hayu) bring before him the body of the paschal
lamb" - indicating that the opening of this mishnah refers to present
times. However, here too the weight of textual evidence supports the
reading preserved in the Yerushalmi's mishnah and in Tosefta 10:9, in which
the word hayu is omitted, supporting R. Shaul Lieberman's conclusion
(Tosefta Kifshuta p. 654) that the mishnah is contrasting the seder inside
and outside the mikdash, both taking place during a time when the Temple
stood. Indeed there is only one point in the entire chapter which clearly
refers to post-Temple times: Rabbi Akiva's addition to the asher gealanu
blessing (m. 6), which includes a prayer for the rebuilding of the Temple
and the restoration of the sacrificial service.
Our conclusion, that the Mishnah's focus is on the seder of Temple
times, nudges us in the direction of accepting those understanding of the
first halakhah in mishnah 1 which tie the prohibition of eating to the
korban pesah. Moreover, the above comments suggest an understanding as to
how the different interpretations of this halakhah arose: some explanations
focus on the prohibition against eating in its original context, that of
korban pesah, while other explanations attempt to account for the
prohibition in the context of the post-hurban seder.

The focus of Mishnah's seder on the way in which it was celebrated
during Second Temple times is reinforced by the structure of the chapter.
The chapter divides neatly into three sections (kevatzim):
I 1-3 Introduction + First kos
II 4-6 Second kos
III 7-9 Third and Fourth kosot + Conclusion

In each section the key components are the kosot, which open each section
(in section I, the end of mishnah 1 introduces the theme of 4 kosot,
concluding the introductory halakhot of this mishnah, and then mishnah 2
opens with the first kos): mazgu lo kos x, and the korban pesah, which
closes each section. This structure underscores the focus that the Mishnah
wants us to maintain. The kosot of wine serve as the main structural
feature of the seder. The korban pesah is the focal point of the meal. The
Mishnah teaches us that the main mitzvah of the evening, the korban pesah,
needs to be carried out within the framework of a rabbinic structure, the 4
kosot.
Indeed, the kosot serve as occasion for every stage of the seder. The
first kos introduces the seder, as it ushers in every holy day (at the
opening of the festive meal), with berakhah al hayom. The third kos closes
the meal, as it closes every festive meal, with birkat hamazon (compare
Berakhot Chapter 8, which opens with kiddush and closes with birkat
hamazon). The other 2 kosot occasion the unique verbal content of the
seder: both of them share recitation of the hallel. The second kos also
serves as stimulus for the child's question to his father: "here, upon
pouring the second kos, the son asks his father, what is different about
the current occasion, that we pour a second kos prior to eating" (Rashi to
mishnah on BT 116a). Every festive meal opens and closes with one kos of
wine; the seder opens and closes with 2 kosot of wine: 2 before the meal
and 2 after the meal. The additional kos, both before and after the meal,
underscore the special celebration associated with this meal and serve to
coordinate the meal with the discussion, study, and song which accompany
the meal. The centerpiece of the chapter - mishnah 5 (middle mishnah of the
chapter's 9 mishnayot) - is Rabban Gamaliel's integration of menu with
framework of study: one must not only consume pesah, matzah, and marror,
but elaborate their symbolic significance. Indeed, the original text of the
mah nishtanah of mishnah 4, as preserved in Yerushalmi's mishnah text as
well as manuscript versions (see discussion in D. Goldschmidt's Haggadah
shel Pesah Vetoldoteha, pp. 10-13), contained three questions: 2 tibbulim
(vegetables = marror); hametz umatzah; no roasted meat (= korban pesah).
To sum up: the literary structure of Pesahim chapter 10 serves to
highlight its conceptual structure - the seder focuses on the korban
pesah, which serves as focal point both for the meal itself and for the
discussion, whose main import is to explain the significance of the korban
pesah and of its ancillary mitzvot, matzah and marror. The eating of the
korban pesah meal is enhanced by Hazal's placing it within the setting of
the 4 kosot, which provide for the consumption of this meal a framework
which integrates kedushat hayom, festive joy, study of the Exodus and
explanation of the symbolic significance of the meal and its components,
and hallel.

We may now return to the first mishnah and understand more fully the
significance of its three provisions. The first halakhah not only ensures
that the meal be consumed with hearty appetite, but also underscores the
uniqueness of the korban pesah, whose consumption is the centerpiece of
the seder of Second Temple times. Consumption of the korban pesah must take
place at night because its function is to commemorate - in a way, to
reenact - the korban pesah consumed during the final hours in Egypt
preceding the Exodus and because its consumption needs to function as a
festive meal both commemorating and celebrating the Exodus. The second
halakhah, reclining, emphasizes the significance as well as the ambience of
the meal: a meal whose consumption symbolizes the free-man status of each
and every Jew requires of each Jew to set aside normal fetters of social
hierarchies and distinctions and to eat the meal in a spirit and setting
which emphasize his importance. The third halakhah continues the theme of
social equality and adds the key structural feature of the seder: the 4
kosot. These three elements - korban pesah, spirit of freedom, and 4 kosot
- set the stage for the seder, in which these themes are to be expressed
and developed.


QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. The Mordekhai (Vilnah Shas p. 33b of Rif folio pages) brings in the name
of the Maharam that at the time of the Second Temple the seder recitation
would follow the eating of the korban pesah meal and that the meal was
delayed until after the haggadah only after the hurban (see discussion in
R. M. Breuer, Pirkei Moadot, pp. 182 ff). Is there any indication in our
Mishnah when the meal was eaten? How might this question bear upon issues
treated in our discussion?
a. Some authorities suggest support for the Maharam's claim from the
Tosefta 2:22 (Lieberman edition, p. 150): "From when does one eat them?
From nightfall. If one didn't eat them at nightfall, he may eat them all
night." How? Do you agree and why?
b. Can this Tosefta be cited in support of the reading of our mishnah
(10:1) suggested in the name of the Melekhet Shelomoh? Explain your answer.


2. The following two sources explain two mishnayot of our chapter:
Tosefta 10:9 (p. 198. Relating to dispute recorded in mishnah 6):

Beit Shammai said to Beit Hillel: Did they indeed already depart
(Egypt), such that the Exodus should be mentioned? Beit Hille said to
them: Even if he waits until the cock crows, they did not depart
until the sixth hour of the day - how can he talk of the redemption
when they have not been redeemed?



BT Pesahim 120b (explaining a halakhah in mishnah 8):

"And they shall eat the meat on this night" (Shemot 12:8) - R.
Elazar ben Azariah says: Here it says "on this night" and elsewhere
it says "And I shall pass through the land of Egypt on this
night" (Shemot 12:12) - just as elsewhere it means until midnight,
so too here it means until midnight. R. Akiva said to him: But
does it not say "haste" (Shemot 12:11) - until the time of
"haste" (Rashi - when they rushed to leave, i.e. the morning).

How do these two sources bear upon our understanding of the nighttime
seder as a reenactment of the Exodus? Explain your answer.

3. The number 3 plays a central role in our chapter. How?

4. The hallel is recited at another juncture of the korban pesah ceremony.
Where? How might this double recitation of hallel be explained?
a. How is the double hallel recitation commemorated in our modern
liturgy?

5. What is the central symbol of our seder today, when we have no korban
pesah? How is this reflected in our haggadah and in the structure of our
seder?

6. Compare the following two apocryphal sources with the seder tradition
described in our mishnah:
Book of Jubilees 49:6

And [while the Egyptians were being smitten] all Israel were eating
the Paschal meat and drinking wine and praising and blessing Hashem
the God of their fathers and preparing to depart from beneath the
yoke and bondage of Egypt.

Philo, Special Laws 2:145-148

` On this very day every dwelling house is invested with the outward
semblance and dignity of a temple... The guests assembled for the
banquet have been cleansed by preliminary lustrations, and are there
not as in other festive gatherings, to indulge the belly with wine
and viands, but to fulfill with prayers and hymns the custom handed
down by their father.

a. What does each of these have in common with our tradition as presented
by the Mishnah? Where may you detect points which are added or subtracted
by each of these sources, relative to the Mishnah?
b. Modern scholars see the passage in Philo as a presentation of
differences between the seder and the Hellenistic symposium (see B. Bokser,
The Origins of the Seder, pp. 56 ff.). How may we detect a similar point is
the mishnayot of our chapter? (See R. S. Lieberman's Tosefta Kifshuta, p.
655 and/or Yerushalmi Kifshuto p. 521 for one example - you may found
further examples.)