Pesachim 87: Dual Loyalties

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 87

To download, click/tap here: PDF

Our new Perek begins with pesukim from the book of Hosea, which leads to a discussion about the place of the Jewish people in the Diaspora.

One of the comments is made by Rabbi Oshaya, who teaches that God was being generous with the Jewish people when he dispersed them among the nations of the world, since their distribution around the world guarantees that they cannot all be threatened together.

Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, exiled Israel among the nations only so that converts would join them.

This leads us to a meditation on the meaning of exile and the notion of dual loyalties as recently as statements made by the former president about Jewish democrats.

Pesachim 86: Table Manners

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 86

To download, click/tap here: PDF

Our Daf tells a story about Rav Huna the son of Rav Natan who visited Rav Nachman bar Yitzhak and behaved in what appeared to be an uncouth manner –

He agreed to sit immediately without first offering a polite refusal

He accepted a cup of wine, again without an initial polite refusal

He drank it in just two sips.

He looked directly at his hosts without diverting his gaze.

When asked how he could behave so poorly, and still call himself a Rabbi, he explained each of his actions based on a statement from the Talmud including the maxim:

You should do whatever the host tells you to do, unless he commands you tzei (leave).

This leads us in an exploration of table manners in the talmud (halacha) and antiquity

Pesachim 85: Nikanor’s Gate

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 85

To download, click/tap here: PDF

For what reason were the insides of the gates of Jerusalem not sanctified? Because lepers protect themselves by sitting under them; in the sun they protect themselves from the sun and in the rain, they sit in the gateway to protect themselves from the rain. Lepers are not permitted to enter Jerusalem. In order to allow them to use the gates of the city as shelter from the elements, the gateways were not sanctified.

A contradiction in the Mishnah regarding the status of the doorjamb is noted. The contradiction is resolved by distinguishing between the gates of Yerushalayim and the gates of the Azarah.

The gate of Yerushalayim is considered outside Yerushalayim, while the gates of the Beis Hamikdash are considered inside the Beis Hamikdash, besides for the gate of Nikanor. The Gemora says that the gates of Yerushalayim were not made holy, because there were lepers and others who used to go under the gateway for shelter.

Who was Nikanor, where did he come from? And what did he contribute to the Temple?

Pesachim 84: Giddin

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 84

To download, click/tap here: PDF

It is a mitzvah to burn any meat that passed its deadline and became nosar. The official time for this burning is only on the morning in which it became nosar. It cannot be burned at night. However, since this burning does not override the laws of Shabbos and Yom Tov, any leftover meat of the korban Pesach along with its sinews and bones are burned in the courtyards of Yerushalayim on Nissan 16, the first day of Chol Hamoed in Eretz Yisrael.

Even though Rav says that sinews are not considered meat, Rebbi Yochanan argues with Rav and says that they are considered meat. Rebbi Yochanan apparently maintains that although they are hard, since they can be softened through boiling they are considered meat, like the ligaments mentioned in the Mishnah.

Why do Rav and Reish Lakish rule that the sinews of the neck are not considered meat, even though they can be softened through boiling? Apparently, Rav and Reish Lakish maintain that cooking the sinews of the neck does not soften them sufficiently, and thus they are not comparable to the Gidin mentioned in the Beraisa which become completely softened through cooking.

What are giddin? Are the sinews of the neck different, we discuss the talmudic account of bones, sinews and tendons, which leads bas to the work of Asaph Harofeh the Person Jewish Physician who cites Hippocrates.

Pesachim 83: Korban Pesach and Gid HaNashe

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 83

To download, click/tap here: PDF

It is a mitzvah to burn any meat that passed its deadline and became nosar. The official time for this burning is only on the morning in which it became nosar. It cannot be burned at night. However, since this burning does not override the laws of Shabbos and Yom Tov, any leftover meat of the korban Pesach along with its sinews and bones are burned in the courtyards of Yerushalayim on Nissan 16, the first day of Chol Hamoed in Eretz Yisrael.

Even though Rav says that sinews are not considered meat, Rebbi Yochanan argues with Rav and says that they are considered meat. Rebbi Yochanan apparently maintains that although they are hard, since they can be softened through boiling they are considered meat, like the ligaments mentioned in the Mishnah.

Why do Rav and Reish Lakish rule that the sinews of the neck are not considered meat, even though they can be softened through boiling? Apparently, Rav and Reish Lakish maintain that cooking the sinews of the neck does not soften them sufficiently, and thus they are not comparable to the Gidin mentioned in the Beraisa which become completely softened through cooking.

What are giddin? Are the sinews of the neck different, we discuss the talmudic account of bones, sinews and tendons, which leads bas to the work of Asaph Harofeh the Person Jewish Physician who cites Hippocrates.

Pesachim 82: Darash

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 82

To download, click/tap here: PDF

If the sacrificial meat of the Korban Pesach is taken out of its permissible area, from where do we derive that it must be burned?

From Lev 10:18, “Behold, its blood was not brought into the Sanctuary within; you should have eaten it in the Sanctuary, as I commanded”

Fro Moshe Rabbeinu’s admonition of Aron

Leading us to the Chatas Aron could not bring because of his animus and the wonderful insights about Moshe’s anxiety? Frustration? Fear ?

The Gemara (Zevachim 101a) praises the fact that Moshe Rabbeinu did not lie and claim he did not hear the halachah that, due to Aharon’s mourning, the korban could not be eaten. Rather, he unabashedly told the truth and admitted that he heard the halachah from Hashem but had subsequently forgotten it.

Pesachim 81: וְשׂוֹרְפוֹ לפְִניֵ הבִַּירָה

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 81

To download, click/tap here: PDF

What is the reason that the Paschal lamb must be burned before the Temple and that those who prefer to burn it elsewhere are not permitted to do so? Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: In order to embarrass them.

Presumably, the reason that most of the offering became impure is because the owners were not sufficiently careful with it. Therefore, the Sages decreed that it be burned in a public place.

This "public place" is the Bira the location of which remains uncertain and subject to to controversy between Reb Yochanan and Resh Lakish.

Pesachim 80: The Dialectic of Impurity

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 80

To download, click/tap here: PDF

The Mishnah states that the Tzitz is not Meratzeh for Tum'as ha'Guf (Tum'ah of the person who offers the Korban, in contrast to Tum'ah of the animal or its blood, or Tum'ah of the utensils used for offering the Korban).

thus if one became ritually impure through impurity of the deep, the frontplate (tzitz) appeases God (ritzui).

this leads us to consider the tuma'ah of the Tehom (deep) and the anthropology of purity laws cross culturally and the work of Mary Douglas.

Pesachim 79: Women and the Passover Sacrifice

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 79

To download, click/tap here: PDF

What level of obligation do women have regarding the korban Pesah?

Although the main discussion of this question takes place in the next chapter of Massekhet Pesahim, as we will see, the point is raised here in the context of bringing the Pesah sacrifice when the community is tameh, or ritually defiled.

Our daf discusses when half the tzibbur is pure and half impure and the difference (in women) between Pesach rishon and sheen.

Which leads us to examine women’s participation in the seder itself, in reclining, and even the halacha of saying korbonos which are a substitute for the sacrificial service.

Pesachim 78: Korban Pesach Today(?)

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 78

To download, click/tap here: PDF

The Mishnah teaches that the Korban Pesach may be offered only if its meat may be eaten. If the meat became Tamei, then the Korban may not be offered, because the purpose of offering the Korban Pesach is to eat it.

When any other type of Korban becomes Tamei, the Korban may be offered as long as even one k'Zayis of meat or fat is still Tahor.

Furthermore in a situation where the majority of the public is ritually impure, in which case everyone agrees that they perform the ritual of the Paschal lamb even in a state of impurity.

These unique halachot regarding impurity lead us to understanding when and why the seder continued without the Korban Pesach after the Hurban

And why there a those in the 19th century who felt we could begin again bringing this unique Korban.

Pesachim 77: What Makes Rosh Chodesh a Woman's Holiday?

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 77

To download, click/tap here: PDF

It could enter your mind to say that since the term appointed time is not written with regard to them, these offerings do not override Shabbat or ritual impurity as do other communal offerings during their appointed times. Therefore, it teaches us that even the New Moon is called an appointed time. Rosh Chodesh is considered a Moed....

The obvious problem with Abaye’s explanation that Rosh Chodesh is also called mo’ed is that we don’t treat it as a festival in other respects.

Which leads us to review as to What makes Rosh Chodesh a woman's holiday?

Pesachim 76: The Aroma of Treif

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 76

To download, click/tap here: PDF

Levi said: That aroma does not cause meat to be forbidden. Even lean kosher meat that one roasted with fatty non-kosher meat is permitted. What is the reason for this halakha? Although the non-kosher meat emits an aroma that is absorbed into the kosher meat, it is merely an aroma, and an aroma is nothing significant.

This Halacha leads us to examine aromas and why the smell of treif might be forbidden, and what is the physiology of olfaction.

Pesachim 75: Ἄλκιμος

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 75

To download, click/tap here: PDF

A macabre comparison is made in our Daf between the mitzvah of roasting the Korban Pesach on a grill and the capital punishment of burning: . Being that the Torah twice said the words “tzli aish,” the emphasis implies that the fire must be present and directly roasting the korban, as opposed to a fire that was put out and the heat remains (or a metal bar that was heated by fire).

Rebbi ruled in a Baraisa that if one slices the Korban Pesach and places it over coals it is considered fire-roasted and is acceptable. R’ Achdavoi bar Ami asks R’ Chisda whether Rebbi actually subscribes to this position, when it seems that a special drasha is needed to equate coals with fire, and this drasha is only found in the case of אש מכות. R’ Chisda explains Rebbi’s rationale, and a discussion ensues regarding the correct method of execution by burning. This applies exclusively to a Bas Cohen.

The Torah teaches that a Bas Kohen who was betrothed and sinned with another man is punished with Sereifah: The RASHASH however points us to Gen Rabba where the story of Yakum Ish Tsroros AKA Alcimus (according to Josephus) committed suicide using all four methods of capital punishment sequentially.

This leads us to a review the last years of the Seleucid rule of Jerusalem under Bacchides who installed Alcimus as High Priest and military leader 162-159 BCE.

Pesachim 74: Eat Your Heart Out

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 74

To download, click/tap here: PDF

The seventh perek of Massekhet Pesahim deals with how the korban Pesah is eaten. Perhaps the most basic rule about the preparation of the sacrifice is that the animal must be roasted whole. One of the concerns raised in the Gemara is the issue of removing the blood from the meat before it is eaten.

The heart contains congealed blood which is unable to be removed through the salting process. This blood is considered blood that contains the life of the animal and hence carries the penalty of Kareis if consumed .

It is customary to cut the foreskin of the heart and to cut the sinews inside of it. The Shach cites Recanati that this is " to remove the impurity from the heart”

This leads us to examine the status of the heart in the kashering process and the intriguing case of

The Heartless Chicken

Pesachim 73: "Mekalkel be-Chabura"

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 73

To download, click/tap here: PDF

One who causes a wound on Shabbat that has no constructive effect but rather is purely destructive in nature has not performed a prohibited labor and is therefore exempt from bringing a sin-offering, how are we to understand the mishna’s ruling that one who slaughtered the Paschal lamb for those who cannot eat it is liable?

What positive outcome did the person who mistakenly slaughters the korban Pesah on Shabbat accomplish? This should be a case of mekalkel – a destructive act – and he should not be obligated to bring the sin-offering!

This leads us to examine the concept of “Mekalkel be-Chabura”

Pesachim 72: אוכלוסא דאינשי Multitudes

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 72

To download, click/tap here: PDF

Our Daf relates that Rav Yitzhak bar Yosef once found Rabbi Abbahu standing among a multitude [okhlosa] of people, and he said to him: What is the meaning of our mishna?

Jastrow has many meanings of okhlosa which leads us to the Tosefta: One who sees multitudes of Israel recites:

"Blessed…Who knows all secrets.” And Ullah’s remark: We hold there is no multitude in Babylonia.

Implying there is no reshus harabim in Bavel. We look at the travels of Ullah…

Pesachim 71: The Core of Joy

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 71

To download, click/tap here: PDF

One of our daf’s concerns revolves around the question of how we can joyously celebrate the first night of the holidays, when any korban that had been brought prior to the Yom Tov cannot be considered part of the joy of that holiday, yet there has not yet been an opportunity to sacrifice the korban hagiga for the holiday!

After examining the halachic ramifications of joy on Yom Tov (first and subsequent days) as well as Shabbes and Yom Tov, and

thinking about how halacha can possibly legislate simchah or joy..... leads us to the chassidic dimension and revolution with joy at its core.

It is as if the correction Chassidus brought to yidishkeit was an inner need to release joy beyond its Halachic constraints.

Pesachim 70: Going South

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 70

To download, click/tap here: PDF

In an attempt to clarify when and how the Paschal lamb will be sacrificed - particularly when the 14 or 15 of Nissan fall on Shabbat - the rabbis compare and contrast this offering to that of the Festival peace-offering. The rabbis disagree about many factors: which should be sacrificed first how they should be sacrificed (roasted, etc.) where they can be slaughtered etc. etc. Steinsaltz explains that one rabbi Yehuda ben Dortai moves with his son far from the Temple to physically distance himself from the rabbinical rulings about the Festival peace-offering on Shabbat - a ruling with which he vehemently disagrees.

The Talmud indicates that Shemaiah and Avtalion were not merely (Pharisaic) leaders but also heads of the Sanhedrin. In our daf a Baraitha relates that Judah ben Dortai said if Elijah were to come and reproach Israel because they did not sacrifice the Hagigah (a private sacrifice) on Sabbath, the answer would be that Shemaiah and Avtalion, great sages and great interpreters (or: preachers) did not tell Israel that the Hagigah took precedence over the Sabbath.

Why did Judah ben Dortai and his son settle in the South? Did he join the Qum-ran sect located there? Does the fact that his wife obviously did not accompany him have any significance? The sources indicate no answer to these questions.

Pesachim 69: Truth and its Consequences

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 69

To download, click/tap here: PDF

R’Akiva and R’Eliezer vigorously dispute the conditions under which slaughter is permissible on the Sabbath, At one point R’Eliezer lashes out: “Akiva! You have answered me irreverently in a matter of slaughter– through slaughter shall be his death!”

R’Akiva explains that his answer had been an attempt to remind R’Eliezer that he himself had taught Akiva the law Eliezer was now apparently refuting. “He held that it was not proper for him to openly correct his teacher.”

The gemara continues, seeking to understand why R’Eliezer holds that sprinkling the Pesach offering on Shabbes is a problem. Rav Yehudah rules in favor of R’Akiva. In the argument R Eliezer curses R Akiva "“Akiva! You have answered me irreverently in a matter involving slaughter, through slaughter shall be your death” leading us to examine truth and its consequences in Talmud.

Pesachim 68: חציו לה' וחציו לכם Ἀπόδοτε οὖν τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 68

To download, click/tap here: PDF

According to Rabbi Eliezer, a person must decide whether he wants to devote yom tov to his personal pleasures like eating and drinking or to God by spending the day learning Torah. Rabbi Yehoshua understands that a person is to divide his holiday in half – part for his own physical pleasure and part devoted to spiritual matters. Chatzi Lashem and Chatzi lachem. This reminds us of the NT quote "render unto Caesar..."