Mishnah Pesachim
by Jonathan Wolf

(Chapter 4 of 10)

Chapter 4

This chapter is concerned with the ruling that when one is visiting another town, one should follow the rules of his native town. However, to avoid conflict, if someone moves to a new town, he should adopt the customs of the new town. The Sages gave this law of customs a high priority.

The Sages, in their wisdom, deduced the laws of maintaining customs from the Torah. In Devarim 19:14 we are forbidden to move a neighbor’s boundary marker that has traditionally been set. From this verse, the Sages infer the power of maintaining the customs laid down by the previous generation.

In the Midrash, the Sages write that when Moses ascended to heaven to receive the Torah, he didn’t eat or sleep for forty days and nights since the angels did not sleep or eat. On the other hand, when the angels appeared to Abraham before destroying Sodom and Gemorrah, they ate a meal with him (having assumed human form). In English, there is a saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans". This aspect has been elevated to the level of halachah by the Sages of the Talmud. It should be noted that not every mishnah in this chapter deals with Pesach.

Mishnah 1:

Where it is customary to do work on the eve of Pesach until midday, we may do work; but where it is customary not to do work, we may not do work.

If one goes from where they do work to where they do not do work, or from where they do not do work to where they do work, we lay upon him the stringencies of the place which he has left and the stringencies of the place to which he has gone. But let no man deviate from local custom to avoid conflict.

Commentary:

All commentators agree that if the person has the intention of remaining in the new location, he must follow the custom of his adopted land. If not, what should he do?

The simple emaning of the mishnah is that we aplly the most stringent law. If he is goes to a place where they do work, then he shouldn’t work. If he goes to a place where they don’t work, then he shouldn’t work either. In all cases, however, the mishnah states that one should avoid conflict (machlochet). In the case of a town where everyone works, if he doesn’t work, this will not create a conflict. The townspeople will just assume that he doesn’t have anything to do.

Mishnah2:

Similarly, one who transports crops of the Sabbatical year from a place where they have been exhausted to a place where they have not been exhausted, or from a place where they have not been exhausted to a place where they have been exhausted, is required to remove them. Rabbi Yehudah says: We say to him: "Go out and bring for yourself".

Commentary:

The Sabbatical year was proclaimed as a year of rest by the Torah in Vayikra 25:1-7:

"…When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in the produce thereof. But in the seventh year a Sabbath of solemn rest shall be for the land, a Sabbath unto the Lord; your field you shall not sow and your vineyard you shall not prune. That which grows of itself of your harvest, you shall not reap and the grapes of your undressed vine you shall not gather…And the Sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you and for your animals…"

Produce that grows by itself or from seeds sown before the Sabbatical or Shemittah (release) year, may be eaten. However, the aftergrowth, which are formed from seeds that inadvertently fell during the previous harvest may not be eaten. The difficulty in the law is that the Talmud adds that once the food is growing, it must remain in a state of abandonment known in Hebrew as hefker; this must remain available to all and cannot be "owned" by the farmer. That is, he cannot put a fence around it as a sign of ownership.

Towns must therefore rely on the available food stored during the sixth year. As long as the animals in the field can find food, a person can feed it to his domestic animals. When the outside food runs out, a person may not feed the remaining Sabbatical produce to his domestic animals. These people are obligated, by the Sages, to remove the food from their homes. One of the things he may do with the food is bring it to a place where the outside food has not been exhausted. Thus it will not be wasted. Note that the people are removing all of their food in order to starve! Mishnah 2 is similar to the first mishnah in that we apply the most stringent law to him.

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Mishnah 3:

Where it is customary to sell small livestock to Gentiles, we may sell; where it is customary not to sell, we amy not sell; but in all places, we may not sell them large livestock, calves, or foals, healthy or maimed. Rabbi Yehudah permits selling in the case of a maimed one. Ben Beseira permits selling in the case of a horse.

Commentary:

The concern here is that the transaction might coincide with the Sabbath or, in the case of a large animal, the Gentile may work the animal on the Sabbath. The Torah in Shemot 23:12 forbids the working of an animal, owned by a Jew, on the Sabbath. This is especially true if the animal is loaned or leased. If sold, it most certainly does not belong to the Jew anymore. Nevertheless, the animal is entitled to its Sabbath rest, just like any other creature. The Sages therefore forbid the selling of large animals to gentiles. The prohibition against selling small animals is a local custom since some Rabbis feared that the selling of small animals might lead to the selling of large ones.

Mishnah 4:

Where it is customary to eat roast meast on the nights of pesach, we may eat it; Where it is not customary to eat roast meat, we may not eat it.

Where it is customary to kindle lamps on the nights of Yom Kippur, we may kindle them; where it is not customary to kindle lamps, we may not light them. But in all places we light lamps in synagogues, houses of study, dark alleys, and for the sick.

Mishnah 5:

Where it is customary to do work on the Ninth of Av, we may do it; where it is customary not to do work, we may may not do it; but in all places scholars are idle. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: A man should always adopt the behavior of a scholar. But the Sages say: In Judea they used to do work on the even of Pesach until midday, while in Galilee, they did not work at all. As for the night, Beis Shammai forbid work, while Beis Hillel permit it until sunrise.

Mishnah 6:

Rabbi Meir says: Any work which one began before the fourteenth, he may finish on the fourteenth; but he may not begin it initially on the fourteenth even if he can finish it before midday. But the Sages say: Practitioners of three crafts may work on the eve of Pesach until midday; they are tailors, barbers, and launderers. Rabbi Yose bar Yehudah says: Also shoemakers.

Mishnah 7:

We may set up coops for chickens on the fourteenth. If a brooding hen escaped, we may return her to her place; if she died, we may set another in her stead.

We may sweep away from under an animal’s feet on the fourteenth, but on the festival we may only clear it away to the sides of the stall. We may take utensils to, and bring them back from, the house of a craftsman, even though they are not needed for the festival.

Commentary:

Mishnah 4 deals with the custom in some communities not to eat roast meat at the seder. The reason for this is based the commandment to eat the paschal sacrifice in Jerusalem. Since the Temple was destroyed, this custom has gone out of favor. The prohibition of lighting lamps on Yom Kippur (unlike Shabbat where it is encouraged) involves a fear of (in the words of the Sages) "cohabitation". The Sages felt that having the house lit at night might arouse desires in a man and his wife on Judaism’s most holy day. Others argue that lighting lamps will discourage such an activity. In all cases, lamps for safety and security are always permitted.

In mishnah 5, there is no strict rule about doing work on Tisha b’Av. In some cases, the sages felt that while the memory of the destructions of the Temple is profound, its distance in years is so far removed that one can perform work. Others disagree and feel that the commemoration should include abstention from work. All commentators agree that Torah Scholars should abstain from work. The controversy between the schools of Shammai and Hillel follow this pattern. Beis Shammai follow the stricter interpretatin forbidding all work while Beis Hillel are more lenient (allowing work only until sunrise; this is similar to rules about intermediate festival days).

The last two mishnayot in this grouping discuss the type of work that may be peformed before Pesach but only until midday (recall mishnah 1 in this chapter). The Sages decided on these three (or four if you include shoemakers) craftsmen since the same group are permitted to do work during the intermediate festival days. It is important to remember that the work must be necessary for the festival. The Talmud rules that a person returning from a long journey or just released from prison, may cut his hair and clean his clothes on intermediate festival days (called chol hamoed). The last mishnah reminds us that our ancestors were agriculturally based and needed to maintain stables and stalls.

Mishnah 8:

The citizens of Jericho did six things. For three things they (the Sages) have reproved them and for three things they have not reproved them. And these are the things for which they have not reproved them: They graft palms all day (on the fourteenth of Nisan); they "wrap" the Shema; and they reap and stack prior to the omer, but they have not reproved them.

And these are the things for which they have reproved them. They permit the branches which were sacred property for personal use; they eat the fallen fruit from beneath the tree on the Sabbath; and they give peah from vegetables, and the Sages have reproved them.

Mishnah 9:

King Hezikiah did six things. Concerning three they agreed with him and concerning three they did not agree with him. He dragged the bones of his father on a bier of ropes, and they agreed with him. He crushed the brazen serpent, and they agreed with him. He hid the Book of Remedies, and they agreed with him.

Concerning three they did not agree with him. He cut the doors of the Temple and sent them to the king of Assyria, but they did not agree with him. He stopped up the waters of the upper Gichon, but they did not agree with him. He intercalated Nisan in Nisan , but they did not agree with him.

Commentary:

These last two mishnayot seem to be out of place. The Rambam, in his commentary on the Mishnah, states that these were actually baraita (extraneous rulings not incorporated by the editor of the Mishnah, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi) since some editions of the Talmud do not show these as part of the mishnah. Other commentators disagree since there exist some very old copies of the mishnah that include these two.

Clearly, the two mishnayot are related since they concern six things done by people (three of which were approved by the Sages and three which were not). The difference in language is striking. In mishnah 8, the word "reprove" is used. This suggests to the commentators that the Sages did not feel the actions performed were acceptable even thought hey were not technically forbidden. On the other hand, in mishnah 9, the word "agreed" is used indicating clear allowance of the acts.

In mishnah 8, the grafting mentioned involved (according to the gemara) attaching a male branch from a palm tree to a barren female palm tree. This enabled the female palm tree to bear fruit. Grafting within the same species of tree is permitted by the Talmud but it is forbidden to graft different species (compare with the law against mixing seeds or mixing wool and linen; shatnetz). While working past midday on the fourteenth is forbidden, it is necessary in this case because there is a limited window of opportunity when the grafting process can take hold.

The "wrapping" of the Shema is explained in the gemara by Rabbi Yehudah as alluding to the fact that they would not pause at the end of the Shema and draw out the final word echad as one is supposed to. The omer concerns the offering on the second day of Pesach. The Sages ordained that grain from a new crop cannot be eaten until the omer is offered. One may not pile up the crop in prevent accidental eating. The people of Jericho ignored this ruling but were not reproved since they did not violate a scriptural ordinance.

The three items involved which were reproved involve violations of scriptural ordinances. The use of sacred property (hekdesh) incures the sin of me’ilah. Eating fruit that falls on the Sabbath is forbidden. Since one cannot be sure if the fruit fell before or during the Sabbath, the Talmud deduces that it is forbidden to eat the fruit based on a scriptural ordinance. Peah is the corner of one’s field left for the poor. Vegetables are exempt from peah since they will quickly rot. Peah is exempt from tithes but ordinary gifts are not..

In mishnah 9, we observe that the Sages agreed with three things done by King Hezikiah. Since his father worshipped idols, Hezikiah denied him a proper burial by dragging his bones after he died. The serpent made by Moses which will cure illness when gazed at, became a fixture in Hezikiah’s time. He felt that like the golden calf, the people were beginning to see the serpent as an idol and so he destroyed it. The Book of Remedies was a mystical book that some say was written by King Solomon. Hiding the book was considered a righteous act, since he wanted people to trust in God for help and not rely solely on themselves. In both of the first two cases of disapproval, the Sages felt that the King should have shown faith in God that Jerusalem would be saved. In the last item, only the month of Adar could be intercalated so that Pesach remains in the spring. Hezikiah could not institute his own method of calculations.