Pesachim 72 - Circumcision and Passover on Shabbat - what's the difference?

Similar to the Passover sacrifice, if the circumcision day (eighth after birth) occurs on Shabbat, the circumcision is performed even though by doing it, one creates a wound. 

Let's say one had two babies that he needed to circumcise, one on Friday and the other one on Shabbat. He messed up and circumcised the Friday baby on Shabbat. He violated Shabbat but did the mitzvah. You can say that he was negligent. So why does Rabbi Yehoshua exempt him here but obligates him in a sin-offering in the Passover offering case that we saw earlier?

The answer is in the additional details. First, he circumcised the Friday baby. So he was still preoccupied with the remaining Shabbat baby. This explains his error and exempts him from the sin-offering. In the case of Passover, he already did the mitzvah the wrong way and had no other mitzvah to distract him, so there Rabbi Yehoshua makes him liable.

Art: Two Sleeping Children by Peter Paul Rubens

Pesachim 71 - Trying to do a mitzvah but failing

One should slaughter a Passover lamb on the Passover day, even if it falls out on Shabbat - when the slaughter is usually forbidden. However, if his slaughter is invalid, he has transgressed Shabbat, albeit retroactively, and now he needs to atone for it by bringing a sin-offering after the Holidays. For example, this happens when he takes a Passover offering and brings it for the sake of peace offering, which makes it completely invalid.

However, if he takes a peace offering and slaughters it as Passover, he has done at least some sort of a mitzvah, and Rabbi Yehoshua says that he does not need to bring a sin-offering. 

If the animal had a blemish (which invalidates any offering), he should have checked it before the slaughter. That is negligence, and even Rabbi Yehoshua says that he is liable to a sin-offering. But if it is invalid due to an animal's internal defect, then everybody agrees that there is no sin-offering because it was like an unavoidable accident. The meat is not kosher and cannot be eaten, but he is not to blame.

Art: Butcher’s Stall by Pieter Aertsen

Pesachim 70 - What is the difference between a knife and a cleaver

On the previous page, we said that the Festival offering called Chagigah is different from the Passover offering: it is eaten for two days and a night in between, it can be boiled and not roasted, and so on. However, Ben Beteira thinks differently and holds that it is exactly the same as Passover offering in most respects. Even though Ben Beteira's view does not become the accepted law, the Talmud spends significant effort investigating what Ben Beteira thinks about various aspects of Passover.

An even more special situation is found in the next rule that talks about finding a knife and a cleaver right before Passover. The knife is for the Passover offering where, by the way, the bones are not allowed to be broken. The cleaver is for Chagigah, the Festival offering, where there is no such prohibition. But the only situation when the two will be treated the same is when the community was pure on the day before Passover and suddenly became impure the next day. And the only situation where that can happen is when the head of the Sanhedrin, de-facto spiritual ruler, was on the verge of death before Passover. The community was all pure, but there was an all-too-real possibility that they will all go to his funeral the next day and thus become impure. The Talmud does not comment if this combination of events ever occurred in history.

Art: Carcass of Beef by Rembrandt

Pesachim 69 - More meat for the Seder

Since the Passover offering should be eaten in a kingly manner - in abundance and not in hunger - another offering to provide more meat was often brought. This other offering is called "chagigah," or the festival offering. 

However, this chagigah had more conditions attached to it than the Passover offering. The chagigah was brought only on the Passover that fell on a weekday, not on Shabbat. Chagigah was also not brought when there was enough of the Passover lamb anyway, such as few invitees in the group.

The chagigah could be a sheep, a cow, a goat, male or female, and, unlike Passover, it could be eaten for two days and one night.

Art: Landscape with a Goat and Sheep by Philipp Peter Roos

Pesachim 68 - Where is the resurrection of the dead in the Torah?

It says in the Torah, "I put to death and I make live,"  and it continues, "I have wounded, and I will heal." You could say that some people die while some other people come alive. However, just as healing only applies to the person who had been previously wounded, so too, life applies to that one who had previously died. Incidentally, we also see the order of the events: at first, "what I had put to death, I will make live," and then - "what I have wounded, I will heal." Who will be doing the resurrection? - It's the righteous, with their staffs, hinting at the staff of Elisha who "placed it on the face of the boy."

The page also deals with removing a wart, which represents a temporary blemish on the Passover sacrifice.

Art: St Anthony of Padua Healing a Youth by Sebastiano Ricci 

Pesachim 67 - Pesach sheni and community that is not pure

If one is not pure with the dead's impurity and does not have the time to purify himself - since this requires seven days - he will be celebrating a repeat, called Pesach Sheni, a month later. However, if the whole community is not pure, then the Passover offering is brought nevertheless. Where is this in the Torah?

It said, "Any person who would be impure from a corpse...celebrates it a month later". This tells us that any individual is barred from bringing the sacrifice, but the community is not. That was the suggestion of Rabbi Yochanan. However, his student, colleague, and constant opponent Resh Lakish suggested that it could mean the following: an individual has a way out by celebrating Pesach Sheni, but a community has no way out at all. The Talmud goes through a string of proofs and confirms our rule.

Art:  The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David

Pesachim 66 - How Rabbi Akiva has set up Rabbi Eliezer

When Passover eve - time to bring the Passover sacrifice - falls out on Shabbat, it is still permitted to bring this sacrifice even if this violates Shabbat laws. One can do the slaughter, throw the blood on the Altar walls, and remove the intestines and the waste. However, roasting the meat can and should be done after Shabbat.

Likewise, such acts as carrying the sacrifice on one's shoulders to the Temple or bringing it from afar do not override Shabbat rules. Here Rabbi Eliezer disagrees and says that they do override Shabbat because, in his view, the love of the mitzvot tells us to violate Shabbat in preparing for a mitzvah that will be done on Shabbat.

As Rabbi Eliezer got carried away defending his position, Rabbi Akiva prepared a trap for him. He constructed a logical argument that seemed to uproot the teachings of the Torah. He said, "Look at the mitzvah of purifying one for the Passover - it did not become permitted on Shabbat even though it was needed! So, Rabbi Eliezer, don't be surprised that the Torah did not allow the Passover sacrifice to be brought on Shabbat."

Rabbi Eliezer fell for it and exclaimed, "Akiva! You are ruining what the Torah said! It told us to bring the sacrifice at the appointed time!" Now Rabbi Akiva countered, "Please show me where the Torah says the appointed time for those other acts that you allow."

Art: Vendor of Roast Meat by  Pietro Longhi 

Pesachim 65 - Passover sacrifice blood on the Temple floor

If the time to bring the Passover sacrifice fell on Shabbat, it proceeded as on weekdays - because the Torah said to bring it at "its appointed time" - even on Shabbat. The Kohanim priests would even wash the floor on Shabbat, but here the Sages disagreed with them - because washing the floor wasn't for the sacrifice's needs.

Since some blood would inevitably spill on the Courtyard's floor, Rabbi Yehudah recommended scooping a cup from the floor and throwing it on the Altar walls. Otherwise, that sacrifice for which the blood spilled would be invalid. The Sages disagreed because the minor amount of blood that spilled would be nullified in all other blood. Rabbi Yehudah answered that like does not get nullified in like.

Art:  The Floor Scrapers by Gustave Caillebotte

Pesachim 64 - The order of Passover sacrifice

All the people who came to slaughter their Passover sacrifices were divided into three groups, one entering the Courtyard after another. Why three? - In the phrase "the entire community, assembly of Israel," each word indicates a group. The group comes in, the gates close, the Levites blow the trumpets. The Kohanim priests stood ready in rows. Some rows had all golden vessels and some - all silver.

The sacrifice owner would slaughter it (if he knew how), and a Kohen would receive the blood and pass it to the next Kohen in line. This continued until they reached the Kohen closest to the Altar, who would then throw the blood on the Altar's wall. Everybody sang the Hallel. If they had to, they would repeat it, but Kohanim were fast, and they seldom had to repeat the Hallel, and definitely not sing it the third time.

There were hooks on which they could suspend and flay the offerings. For those for whom there was not a hook, there were planks of wood. One could set the plank on his and his friend's shoulder and flay it.

Three groups of people were a requirement, but the third was called "the lazy group." This agrees with Rabbi Yehudah's philosophy that "The world needs perfume makers and leather makers (which is associated with bad odor). But one should strive to be among perfume makers."

Art: Potpourri by Herbert James Draper

Pesachim 63 - Clean up your act

On Passover, one should not own any chametz. If he is slaughtering the Passover offering while he still has some chametz, he is kind of adding insult to the injury and thus transgresses a separate prohibition of "you should not own any chametz while offering a sacrifice."

Now we get into some disagreements over the details. Rabbi Shimon qualifies that he only transgresses if he has the right intentions for the sacrifice. Otherwise, his sacrifice is invalid, and according to Rabbi Shimon, any slaughter that is not valid is not considered slaughter at all. Thus, he is not liable for an additional prohibition of slaughtering while owning chametz.

Furthermore, Resh Lakish says that the chametz must be with him in the Temple Courtyard. Why is that? - To be liable for any prohibition, one must receive a warning just before the act. If this chametz is not with him but is at his home, the witnesses giving the warning can never be sure that the chametz indeed exists in his possession. Therefore, their warning will be conditional, like "keep in mind that if you have chametz - then..." and conditional warnings do not count.

Art: Slaughtering by Jan Stobbaerts

 

Pesachim 62 - How to use 'since'

We have seen the principle of since again and again, but now Rav Chisda is using it in a novel way. The Passover offering must be brought, having in mind the people who can eat it, who have signed up for it, and who are circumcised. What if he brought it for someone who has not signed up for this lamb and who is not circumcised? The uncircumcised person cannot eat the Passover, and he is not even part of the Seder! He is so far removed from it that slaughtering it for him does not invalidate the sacrifice. Right? - Wrong, says Rav Chisda. Since he could circumcise himself, it is as if he can eat it now.

But wait, Rav Chisda! You yourself did not agree with the principle of since. When we talked about baking at the very end of a Holiday, Rav Chisda did not allow the logic of "since guests might still come and eat it on a Holiday, let's bake!" Here is the answer: Rav Chisda would not allow using since for leniency (like to permit baking). He would allow the reasoning of since for stringency, like to declare the sacrifice invalid.

Art: Woman baking bread by Jean-Francois Millet

Pesachim 61 - Who comes to the Seder?

People used to eat the Passover offering in groups. These groups had to be designated beforehand. When one was slaughtering the offering, he needed to have the invitees in mind. Also, the people in a group needed to have other qualifications: they had to be healthy enough to eat a piece of meat as big as an olive, they had to be circumcised, and be ritually purified by going to a mikveh. 

If one slaughtered the sacrifice for people who could not eat it, being sick or too old, or for people otherwise disqualified, the sacrifice itself became invalid. However, if he had both categories of people in mind, qualified and disqualified, the sacrifice remained valid. 

If he slaughtered the sacrifice too early, before midday, it would become invalid because it had to be "in the afternoon." However, if he slaughtered it before the afternoon tamid (daily) offering, it remained valid - provided that someone stirred the blood so that it did not congeal until the time come to throw it. In fact, even if he threw that blood before this time, the sacrifice would remain valid.

Art: Old Man in a Cap, by Rembrandt

Pesachim 60 - When did you change your mind?

On the previous page, we saw that while bringing a Passover offering, one must have the right intention in mind. We also saw that if one changes from the right intention to the wrong one, he invalidates the offering. The question that remained was this: when did he change his mind? For example, when he said, "This is a Passover offering, a peace offering," did he change his mind during a single service, such as the slaughter of the sacrifice, or did he think or talk about Passover offering during slaughter and about peace offering during subsequent walking to the Altar with the blood in the vessel?

This depends on how we understand his statement, "This is a Passover offering, a peace offering." If we take both parts of his statement seriously, we say that he really wanted to change his mind. He, therefore, invested the sacrifice with both qualities. Since this is impossible: it's either Passover or peace offering, he ruined it completely - at least, as far as offerings are concerned. Practically, the animal has to graze in the pasture until it accidentally gets some blemish (for example, in the foot or tail), making it invalid as a sacrifice, and then it is sent home. That is actually the view of Rabbi Yosi.

But if we say that we only listen to the first part of what he is saying, and do not recognize the second part of his statement, then the animal is still a valid sacrifice. The change of mind must have happened on another step of the service. That would agree with Rabbi Meir's view.

The Talmud tries to decide when he changed his mind - completely inside a certain step of the service or between two steps - and remains unable to do so.

Art: The Return of the Flock by Anton Mauve 

Pesachim 59 - What did you have in mind?

In bringing an offering in the Temple, there were four steps: slaughtering the animal, receiving its blood in a vessel, carrying the blood in the vessel to the Altar, and throwing the blood on the Altar. If the sacrifice owner was knowledgeable in slaughter laws, he could do it himself, but the remaining three steps had to be done by a kohen priest.

For each step, one needed to have the proper intention. If he is bringing a Passover offering, he should have in mind that he is slaughtering the animal as a Passover offering, receiving the blood for a Passover offering, and so on. If he says, "This is a Passover offering, a peace offering," the offering becomes invalid, and its service should be discontinued. This means that to have the Seder tonight, he will need to bring another animal sacrifice.

Thus, one can disqualify an offering with a wrong statement. Some say that even a wrong thought can ruin an offering. As a practical matter, the kohanim priests were instructed to be silent and have in mind that they are bringing the sacrifice for the right purposes without specifying what it was.

Art: Agnus Dei, by Francisco de Zurbarán

Pesachim 58 - The Passover sacrifice schedule

Every day of the year, there were two permanent (tamid) sacrifices in the Temple. The first one was brought in the morning, the other one - in the afternoon. Other offerings had to be brought between the morning and the afternoon permanent (tamid) sacrifices.

This rule is based on the play of words. All other offerings should be brought on it, that is, on the first permanent offering. Other offerings were often peace offerings, "shlamim". The word for peace (shalom) also has the connotation of completeness, "shalem." Thus, one should complete all other offerings after the first but before the second tamid.

Passover offering was the only exception to this rule: it had to be brought after the afternoon tamid. Since the Passover offering required time and had to be ready for the Seder, the tamid was brought an hour earlier. If the Passover sacrifice day fell out of Friday, they needed all the time they could get - for slaughtering the sacrifice and roasting - which could not be done on Shabbat. Therefore, on such an occasion, they brought the second tamid soon after midday, and then they would follow with the Passover.

Art: Still Life with a Cut of Meat by Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin

Pesachim 57 - Bad priests, good priests

When a sacrifice was brought in the Temple, the hide remaining from it belonged to all the Kohanim (priests). They used to leave these hides in a special chamber in the Temple for later distribution. However, the bullies among the Kohanim would take the hides by force. They tried to push the hide distribution to the end of the week, hoping that bullies would not misbehave in the presence of multitudes. But now, the high-ranking Kohanim would appropriate the hides. Since nothing helped, the owners dedicated the hides to the Temple treasury. As a result, the treasury gained much money, and soon the Sanctuary was covered with gold plates. These beautiful plates were then displayed for the pilgrims on the Holidays.

Sometimes, the Temple courtyard itself cried out in anguish because of the wrongdoings. The first was "Depart from here, the sons of Eli, the High Priest!" The second was because of Issachar from Barkai - who wore silken gloves while doing the services. This invalidated the service, which has to be done with bare hands. But for a High Priest Yochanan ben Narbi, the courtyard proclaimed, "Raise your heads, O gates!" He generously served his guests three hundred calves for dinner, three hundred wine barrels, and the volume of mikveh of meat of young birds for dessert. As a result, there were never sacrifice meat leftovers.

Art: Weaning the Calf by Winslow Homer

Pesachim 56 - Things that the people of Jericho did

Jericho was often a place of discord. In our case, the people there did three things that they got away with, and three other things that the Sages took umbrage with. The people grafted palm trees even in the afternoon before Passover (Jericho was the city of palms, after all). They said the Shema prayer too quick and skipped some words. They would also harvest their grain before the day when all fresh grain products (chadash) became permitted for consumption. They got away with it because it was not such a big deal. For example, they could promise not to consume the harvested grain.

However, they got into trouble for the following. They would permit for personal use new branches that grew on trees dedicated to the Temple. True, one was not liable for a penalty for using these branches, but they nevertheless were prohibited for use. They would make it easy for the poor to come on Shabbat and collect fruit under the trees. The Sages forbade it so that the people would not start picking the fruit from the trees directly, which would be prohibited on Shabbat. Thirdly, Jericho's people were wont to leave over the pe'ah (corner of the field) from vegetables. The people thought that was an act of extra charity since vegetables do not have this law. However, it led to another problem. Since the pe'ah was not really required, one had to separate the tithe. The poor would assume that the tithe was already separated from the vegetables and eat this, thus inadvertently eating produce not tithed.

Art: The Apple Gatherers, Frederich Morgan, 1880

Pesachim 55 - Working or not on the eve of Passover

The day before Passover is the 14th of the month of Nissan. In the late afternoon of this day, the Israelis used to bring the Passover lamb sacrifice in the Temple. And since the day of bringing a sacrifice is a personal holiday, the 14th of Nissan would acquire a Holiday character when work is not done. How much of a Holiday it was depended on who you ask.

Rabbi Meir said that a job started before the 14th day could be completed on the 14th. But the Sages say that this permission applies only to the following three crafts: tailors, barbers, and launderers. Why these? Tailors - because even during the seven days of Passover, sewing will be allowed if done non-professionally. Barbers and launderers - because even during the Holidays, people who just returned from an overseas journey or who just got out of prison would be allowed to be cut their hair and launder their clothes.

Today, in the absence of the Passover sacrifice, these limitations are largely removed, although it is still recommended to spend the 14th preparing for the Passover holiday.

Art: Chardin. The Laundress. 1733