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