Pesachim 89 - A guest who ate too much

If one invites his friends to the Seder and registers them to eat of the Passover sacrifice - all without consulting the other members of the group - they can tell him, "Take your portion and eat it together with your friends." That is because they invited him originally to make sure that all meat is properly eaten - but not to bring other personalities into the picture, even if they give him his due portion. 

Now a question: if one of the guests just eats too much and too fast, can the guests at the Seder tell him, "Take your due portion and leave?" Can they find the precedent in the earlier case of one inviting more guests, or can he argue back and say, "You accepted me!" The Talmud goes through a few possible precedents until it finds convincing proof that the glutton can be asked to leave.

A similar story happened to Rav Pappa and Rav Huna, who sat together (not on Passover) to eat bread. While Rav Huna ate one piece, Rav Pappa ate four. So Rav Huna wanted to separate, but Rav Pappa argued that "You accepted me!" They went through all the precedents mentioned above until Rav Huna quoted a decisive one and separated from Rav Pappa. He then joined with Ravina, but Ravina ate two times faster than even Rav Pappa. So Ran Huna exclaimed, "Give me a hundred Pappas and not one Ravina!"

Art: Peasants' Dinner by Diego Velazquez

Pesachim 88 - Half-slave

A slave of two masters is a common theme in the Talmud. On Passover, if both owners registered him to eat of their sacrifice, he cannot eat of either. Similarly, a half-slave cannot eat the sacrifice because it is assumed that the master only wanted to register his part of the slave, not the free part. (A half-slave is a hint to a person who is governed both by his good inclination and his even inclination.) If so, why did we learn in another source that the slave can eat the sacrifice? - That is talking about the case when the slave's two owners are at peace with each other.

If one sent his slave to slaughter a sacrifice for him but did not tell which we wanted, a young goat or a lamb, he can eat whichever animal the slave chose. We can presume that he relies on the choice of his slave.

If the slave slaughtered both a young goat and a lamb, the master eats what was slaughtered first. However, this rule is only for a king and queen who absolutely do not care what to eat because they have everything. Other people do have at least some preference, and since we cannot ascertain what it is, we cannot allow them to eat of any.

Art: Carcass of Beef by Chaim Soutine

Pesachim 87 - A woman in her husband's house

Everyone who participates in a Seder should be registered for the Passover sacrifice beforehand. Sometimes, one may even be registered for two lambs. How?

Consider a woman who has recently married and lives with her husband in his house. She did not say whose sacrifice she wanted to eat, but we can assume she will eat her husband's lamb. So, if her father also slaughtered a sacrifice for her, she would eat her husband's one. However, if she goes back home for the first Seder (as was often the custom) and her husband and father slaughter a lamb, she eats whichever she chooses. 

The last rule sounds strange. It tells us that the wife's later decision affects the earlier sacrifice. This is called retroactive designation, and it is usually not allowed. It's like saying that this is what she wanted all along - even if she did not know it. So the Talmud changes the circumstances and says, "You know when she chose it? - Before the slaughter!"

By association, the Talmud talks about God's love for the Israeli nation as for a beloved.

Art: A young married couple by Jacob Jordaens

Pesachim 86 - Two groups of people, two Seders

To eat a Passover lamb, people had to register for it first. Once they are registered and the time to eat it comes, they cannot change their minds. They must eat it in the house where they started and cannot change this either. However, before starting the Seder, if they decide to separate into two groups, they are perfectly allowed to do so.

There was a custom to dilute the intense wine served at the table with hot water. The water would come from a kettle, and the kettle could be positioned between the groups - again, this separation created no problem. However, the waiter who would be pouring this water had to be careful to eat with only one group. When he is serving the other group members, he keeps his mouth shut until he returns to his own group. A bride who is at the Seder with her new family for the first time can turn the face away, not observing the rules of the waiter.

Rav Huna once came to a new place. His actions seemed unusual to the people there, and they questioned him about every one of them. For example, he said that his name was Rav Huna. That seemed presumptuous - just give you name, no "Rav!" - He said, I was called Rav Huna since childhood. When he drank, he did not turn his face away. That looked immodest to them. He said: "We learned - only a bride needs to turn her face away!"

Art: Young Man Drinking a Glass of Wine by Jan van Bijlert

Pesachim 85 - The doors and the windows of Jerusalem

The Passover sacrifice has to remain within the walls of Jerusalem (Old City). If it is taken out, it becomes disqualified, cannot be eaten, and has to be burned.

What happens if a part of the sacrifice protrudes outside this boundary? His problem is that he cannot chop the protruding portion off because he cannot break the sacrifice bones. Therefore, he cuts into the flesh until he reaches the bone, then peels the flesh away until he gets to the join, and now he can cut off the entire bone. He does not have to take such precautions for other sacrifices but just chops it with a cleaver.

What about the doors (which, in an ancient city, could have significant depth)? The doorway, which is also called "doorjamb," is considered as outside of Jerusalem. By contrast, the windows are considered inside. Why such a difference? They should all be considered as inside Jerusalem. However, when the city was originally consecrated, the gateways were not included on purpose. A metzorah (ritual leper) could take refuge there, in the summer - from the sun, and in the winter - from the rain.

Art:  Blue Door by Andrew Wyeth

Pesachim 84 - Take the meat but leave the bones

At the Seder, there should be enough meat of the Passover sacrifice for everybody. "Enough" means the volume of an average olive. But what is considered "meat?" - Any part that will be tender enough to eat in a grown-up animal is considered "meat." But any part that will harden in a grown-up ox is not considered meat towards the olive volume.

We already mentioned that one is not supposed to break the bones of a Passover sacrifice. One can even be punished for doing so (of course, the usual rules of giving him a warning not to do it, within a few seconds before the act, apply). However, one is not punished for another prohibited action - leaving the meat over till morning. Why not? Some say - because you cannot punish for not doing. Others - that anytime something is prohibited but a correction is suggested - here, by burning it, you can't punish for it.

Art: Butcher's shop by Annibale Carracci

Pesachim 83 - The leftovers from the Seder

The leftover parts of the sacrificial meat that was served at the Seder also require special care. Take, for example, the bones. "Do not break any of its bones," said the Torah. Therefore, the marrow inside the bones cannot be removed." But any edible part of a sacrifice becomes notar, or leftover, on the next day and has to be burned. So leftover bones must be burned.

The same is true for the sinews and leftover meat of the sacrifice. They all must be burned on the next day after the Seder. If that day fell out on Shabbat, they wait till yet the next day. Although it is a mitzvah, the burning of the leftover does not override either Shabbat or the Holiday.

Art: Still Life with a Goat Head  Jusepe de Ribera