Pesachim 96 - The very first Seder

The very first Seder happened in Egypt on the eve of the Exodus. How was it different from the Seder that occurred every subsequent year?

First, one had to designate the sheep to be eaten at the Seder early, three days in advance. There was a special procedure of sprinkling its blood on the lintel and the two doorposts using a hyssop bundle. In Egypt, this was to distinguish between the Jewish homes and the Egyptian homes, which would not apply to subsequent years.

The first Seder was conducted in haste, dressed and ready to go. Anybody who has been at the Seder nowadays knows that "whoever prolongs it is praiseworthy."

Art: Sheep and chickens in a barn  Eugene Verboeckhoven

Pesachim 95 - Compare first and second Passover

The second Passover is one's second chance. It happens a month after the Passover, and its laws are somewhat relaxed. On the first Passover, he cannot eat chametz, cannot own it, and cannot benefit from it. On the second one, one can happily own both chametz and matzah at the same time.

There is also a difference in prayer: the first Passover celebrates the miracle, and one recites the Hallel as giving thanks. But on the second one, it is a chance to make it up, not a celebration of what happened earlier. Surely, they say the Hallel while bringing the sacrifice on both occasions.

The cooking instructions on the second Passover are the same: the meat is roasted and is eaten with matzah and better herbs. Here too, the sacrifice is brought even on Shabbat.

Art: The Basket of Bread by Salvador Dali

Pesachim 94 - Distances

Earlier, we said that being far from the Temple means being at the distance of Modiin, five mil,  or 10,000 amah (steps). A person walks forty mil a day. From here, we can calculate many other distances.

For example, Egypt is four hundred parsah by four hundred parsah (where parsah is eight thousand square amah), Kush is sixty times larger, the world is sixty times larger than Kush, and Eden is sixty times larger than the world.

What do all these numbers mean, and why do they matter? They are hints to spiritual journeys. For example, when earlier we learned about a one who was impure on the first Pesach, it is a hint that he made his soul impure on his first reincarnation. Now he needs to come back again (this is his second Pesach). For a righteous person, mistakes in learning are considered intentional errors. However, he is free from punishment if he fails to bring his Passover offering. The more one learns the more one understands these hints.

Art: A Scholar in His Study by Salomon Koninck

Pesachim 93 - How far is far?

We learned that if one happens to be far away from the Temple on Passover and cannot bring and eat a Passover offering, he can do it thirty days later, on Pesach Sheni. We also said that "too far" is the distance one can travel on foot on Passover's eve, starting out in the morning and arriving at the Temple in the afternoon.

In practical terms, this is the distance from Modiin to the Temple. Then you draw a circle with the Temple Mount as a center and with this radius. In real life, one would have to consider different opinions of understanding this rule, not just measure. 

Rabbi Eliezer disagrees: as long as one is outside the Temple Courtyard, that is already too far, and one is exempt from punishment for not bringing a Passover offering. Rabbi Yosi offers support for it: in the Torah scroll, there are dots above the word "distant." Such dots usually indicate a doubt. In this case, he is just somewhat distant from the Temple, that is, outside the Courtyard.

Art: Couple on a Walk by Gustave Caillebotte

Pesachim 92 - Pesach Sheni

If someone was prevented from participating in the Passover celebration and could not bring and eat the sacrifice - he gets a second chance thirty days later. This second chance is called Pesach Sheni, or Second Passover. What could be the circumstances?

"If someone contracted corpse impurity or he was far away from the Temple" are the two reasons given by the Torah. While corpse impurity is well-defined: one touches a corpse or happens to be under the same roof with a corpse, other impurity types lead to discussions; for example, we discussed one who will become pure by the Seder time. But what does it mean to be far away? The simple understanding is that it is the distance one can travel on foot on Passover's eve, starting out in the morning and arriving at the Temple in the afternoon. 

But what if he has a fast horse or a car? Rabbi Nachman says that if he asked someone to bring a sacrifice for him, it is definitely valid. Not only that, he deserves a special blessing for his desire to do a mitzvah. Rav Sheshet, however, says that being too far away is similar to being ritually impure: both are barred from the Passover sacrifice this time, and both will have to make up for it thirty days later.

Art: Galloping Horse by Edvard Munch

Pesachim 91 - Integrity

Earlier, we saw cases where people were not ritually pure in the afternoon when the Passover sacrifice was brought but would become pure at night when its meat was eaten at the Seder. So it was allowed to bring a sacrifice on their behalf.

Now, we will see cases where the people may become impure by nighttime. The priests will still slaughter the lamb for them anyway. But, since there was a chance of them becoming impure, they would need to be combined with others who were definitely pure - or else the meat might have no eaters at all.

For example, take the case of a rescue worker who is clearing a house's debris where someone may have been trapped. He may find and save a person or find a corpse, touch it, and become impure. Or it could be someone who was promised a release from prison - because the jailers may change their minds.

In the last case, Rabbi Yochanan commented that if it is a Jewish prison, he can rely on their promise because the Jewish courts have integrity: "The remainder of Israel will not perform iniquity and will not speak lies."

Art: The Prisoner by Vladimir Makovsky

Pesachim 90 - Just-in-time purity

The time to bring the Passover sacrifice is the afternoon just before the Holiday of Passover. If one is ritually impure in the afternoon but will be pure the next day, that is, when evening comes and the Holiday of Passover begins, they can slaughter a sacrifice for him. Even though he is not pure now, he will be pure when he sits down to eat it at the Seder.

What could be an example of this? A zav (a special kind of male impurity) who experienced two discharges must count seven days without discharges and immerse himself in a flowing spring. After that, he is pure once the night begins. So, that is exactly the case we are talking about if today he counted his seventh day. Even if this zav had three discharges, which obligates him in an additional offering - they can still slaughter the Passover lamb for him. He will be pure at night, and he will bring the additional offering later on, but he can come to the Seder and eat.

Art: Waterfall in Telemark by August Cappelen