Mishnah Pesachim
by Jonathan Wolf

(Chapter 5 of 10)

Chapter 5

The next four chapters deal with the laws of the Paschal sacrifice. In this chapter, laws concerning the times of the sacrifice are discussed. It was the obligation of a Jew to slaughter the offering on the afternoon before Pesach and then eat the roasted meat during the evening of the first seder.

The mitzvah of the korbanot pesach is stated in the Torah(Shemot 12:1-14, 43-49; 23:18; 34:25; Vayikra 23:5; Bamidbar 9:1-3; 28:16; Devarim 16:2-3). The first verses from Shemot are quoted below:

"And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying: This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; the first shall it be to you of the months of the year. Speak unto all the congregation of Israel saying:

In the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household be to little for a lamb, then shall he take it and his neighbor who is next to his house, according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year shall you have; from the sheep, or from the goats, shall you take it. And you shall have it in keeping until the fourteenth day of this same month; and there shall you slaughter it. The whole assembly of the congregation of Israel at dusk. And they shall take of the blood, and they shall put it upon the two sideposts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; its head with its legs and with t he inwards thereof. And you shall let nothing of it remain until morning; but that which remains of it until morning, you shall burn with fire…"

The laws of sacrifices are more fully explained in tractate Zevachim. Two additional aspects that pertain to Pesach are the avodah hadam (service of the blood) and the concept of lishma (proper intention). In any Temple sacrifice, the service of the blood was divided into four parts: shechitah (slaughtering the offering), kibalah (receiving the blood in a specially designated bowl), holachah (transporting the blood to the altar), and finally z’rikah (throwing the blood on the altar). Each component had to be performed by the correct person (a Kohen), in the correct order, and at the correct time. The blood was to be collect straight from the incosion into a bowl. The blood was not allowed to congeal and could not be spilled and recollected. Additionally, the Kohen had to have the proper intention. Two intentions were vital to the validity of the offering: lishma (for its "designation" or "name") and lishem ha-baalim (for "its owner"). The Kohen had to call out the act he was peforming so that the people would know that he had proper intention.

If a person missed the opportunity to offer the Pesach on the fourteenth of Nisan, he had a second chance on the fourteenth of Iyar (one month later). This was known as the "second Pesach".

Mishnah 1:

The afternoon daily offering is usually slaughtered at eight and a half hours and offered at nine and a half hours. On the eve of Pesach it is slaughtered at seven and a half hours and offered at eight and half hours, whether it is a weekday or the Sabbath.

If the eve of Pesach fell on the eve of the Sabbath, it is slaughtered at six and a half hours and offered at seven and a half hours. The Pesach sacrifice is offered after it.

Commentary:

Our three daily prayer services are called shacharit (morning), mincha (afternoon), and maariv(evening). These correspond to the sacrifices offered in the days of the Temple. On the Sabbath, and additional musaf sacrifice was offered. Addtionally, there were offerings for peace, thanksgiving, sin, guilt, atonement, and of course for Pesach.

The gemara states that one hour was allowed for the process of slaughtering the animal, draining its blood, removing the sacrificial parts and then offering it up (with fire) on the altar by the kohen

Mishnah 2:

The Pesach offering that one slaughtered for some other designation, or the kohen received, transported, or threw its blood, for some other designation, or for its own designation and then for some other designation, or for some other designation and then its own designation, is invalid.

What is an example of "for its own designation and then for some other designation?" For the designation of a Pesach offering and then for the designation of a peace offering. What is an example of "for some other designation and then for its own designation?" For the designation of a peace offering and then for the designation of a Peach offering.

Commentary:

The examples stated here show what can invalidate the offering even if the actual physical sacrifice is valid. If the kohen calls out "I do this for a peace offering" while he throws one portion of the blood and then realizes his mistake and calls out "I do this for a Peach offering", the whole procedure is invalid. It is the same if he says the converse.

Since we have made mention of tractate Zevachim, it is worthwhile to look at a few mishnayot from that area to further clarify our mishnah:

(Zevachim 1:1): "All sacrifices which have been slaughtered not under their own name are valid, but they are not credited to the owner in fulfillment of his obligation, save a Pesach offering and a sin offering. This applies to a Pesach offering at its appointed time and to a sin offering at any time…."

(Zevachim 2:1): "All sacrifices are invalid if their blood be received by a non-priest, or by a priest who is a mourner, or by a priest who immersed himself because of uncleanness the same day, or by a priest who is not clothed in the correct raiment, or whose atonement is incomplete, or by a priest who had not washed his hands and feet, or by a priest who is uncircumcised, or unclean, or who ministers while sitting, or while standing on an object, or on the back of a beast or on the feet of his fellow. If he received the blood in his left hand, the sacrifice is invalid, but Rabbi Simon declares it valid. If the blood were poured out on the pavement and the priest gathered it up, it is invalid. If the priest sprinkled it on the ramp and not against the base of the altar, or if he sprinkled bleow what should have been sprinkled above, or if he sprinkled above, what should have been sprinkled below, or if what should have been sprinkled against the Golden Altar he sprinkled against the outside Temple court altar, or vice versa, the offering is invalid…" (note that Rabbi Simon’s view is rejected)

(Zevachim 4:6): "Six matters must be borne in mind when the sacrifice is slaughtered: the category of the sacrifice, the category of the offerer, the Name of G-d, the category of the altar fires, the category of the odor, and the category of the sweet savor, and a seventh matter in the case of a sin offering or a guilt offering; the nature of the guilt…"

Mishnah 3:

If he slaughtered it for other than those who can eat it, for other than its registrants, for uncircumcised or contaminated persons, it is invalid. If he slaughtered it for those who can eat it and for those who cannot eat it, for its registrants and for other than its registrants, for circumcised and for uncircumcised persons, or for contaminated and for uncontaminated persons, it is valid.

If he slaughtered it before noon it is invalid because it is said, "In the afternoon"(Shemot 12:6). If he slaughtered it before the daily afternoon offering it is valid, provided someone stirs its blood until the blood of the daily offering is thrown; yet if it was thrown, it is valid.

Commentary:

There are some additional disqualifications for the Pesach offering. The main one being that the persons offering it must be the ones who eat it. This contrasts with the laws of other sacrifices which do not specify who must eat them. It is also interesting that people can register to be counted as part of the offering. An individual is not required to purchase and slaughter his own sacrifice. Only those who registered on a sacrifice may eat it. The act of slaughtering must be performed on behalf of all of those registered. This goes back to the previous mishnah where proper intent was discussed.

Mishnah 4:

One who slaughters the Pesach offering with chametz in his possession is in violation of a negative commandment. Rabbi Yehudah says: Also the daily offering.

Rabbi Shimon says: If one slaughters the Pesach offering on the fourteenth under its own designation, he is liable. But if under some other designation, he is not liable. And for all other sacrifices whether slaughtered for their own designation or under some other designation, he is exempt. And if one slaughters the Pesach during the festival, under its own designation, he is exempt, under some other designation, he is liable.

While if he slaughters any other sacrifice whether under their own designations or under some other designations he is liable, except for the sin offering which he slaughtered under some other designation.

Commentary:

The first part of this mishnah relates to the following verse from Shemot(34:25): "You shall not slaughter with chametz the blood of My offering."

According to the gemara, the chametz is in the possession of either the slaughterer or one of the registrants. It does not matter where the chametz is located.

According to Rabbi Yehudah, the additional offering cannot be slaughtered with chametz in his possession either. If this is taken literally, then one would never be able to slaughter the daily offering during the year! It is clear, therefore, that Rabbi Yehudah is referring to the daily offering during the time when it is prohibited to possess chametz.

Rabbi Shimon disagrees with the authors of the first part of the mishnah. He extends the prohibition to all sacrifices. The gemara states that he deduces this from the repetition of the of the same phrase in the Torah (Shemot 23:18 and 34:25). However, in the repetition, one verse refers directly to the Pesach and the other to "sacrifices". Therefore, Rabbi Shimon believes that the torah is teaching us that the two prohibitions are not identical (since the Torah could have stated the prohibition once and included all sacrifices). Thus, when one prohibition is in force (say for the Pesach offering on the fourteenth), the other prohibitions are not in force.

Mishnah 5

The Pesach offering was slaughtered in three groups-for it is written:

"And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall slaughter it". The verse mentions "assembly", "congregation", and "Israel".

The first group entered and the Temple courtyard was filled. They closed the gates of the Temple courtyard. They sounded a tekiah, a teruah, and again a tekiah. The Kohanim stood rows upon rows, and in their hands were silver bowls and golden bowls. One row was altogether of silver, the other row was altogether of gold. They were not mixed up together. Nor did the bowls have bases, lest they set them down and the blood congeal.

Mishnah 6:

An Israelite slaughtered it, and the Kohen received it, and he would hand it to his fellow and he to his fellow. He would accept the full one and return the empty one. The Kohen nearest the altar would throw it with one toss opposite the base.

Commentary:

We need to picture a huge assembly line of Kohanim each carrying a bowl. The blood was drained from the incision directly into the designated bowl. The incision was in the neck and if any blood spilled onto the floor, the sacrifice is invalid. The gemara states that the Kohen would accept the bowl with the right hand and hand back the empty bowl with his left. This continued down the line until the last Kohen was reached.

Mishnah 7:

When the first group left, the second group entered. When the second group left, the third entered. Like the procedure of the first, so was the procedure of the second and of the third.

The recited Hallel. If they finished it, they repeated it, and if the repetition was completed they would recite it a third time, although they never did recite it a third time. Rabbi Yehudah says: the third group never reached as far as " I Love, for Hashem hears…"(Pslams 116:1) because its people were few.

Mishnah 8:

Like its procedure on weekdays, so was its procedure on the Sabbath except that the Kohanim rinsed the Temple courtyard without the consent of the Sages. Rabbi Yehudah says: He would fill a cup with the mixed blood and throw it once upon the altar. But the Sages did not agree with him.

Commentary:

The procedures outlined in the mishnah are fairly straight forward. Hallel are Pslams of praise sung on the major festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot. Portions of Hallel are also sung on Rosh Chodesh as well.

Mishnah 9:

How did they suspend and flay them? Iron hooks were fixed into the walls and into the pillars, on which they suspended and flayed the Pesach offering. Anyone for whom there was no room to suspend and flay his animal, there were thin smooth staves there, which he placed upon his shoulder and upon the shoulder of his fellow and so hung the offering and he flayed it.

Rabbi Eliezer says: If the fourteenth fell on the Sabbath, he placed his hand on his fellow’s shoulder, and the hand of his fellow rested on his shoulder, and thus he suspended and flayed it.

Mishnah 10:

He tore it open and removed its sacrificial parts, put them in a plate and burned them upon the altar. The first group went out and remained on the Temple mount, the second group in the Chel, and the third group remained where they were. After dark, they went out and roasted their Pesach offerings.

Commentary:

In mishnah 10, the sacrificial parts included the fats, the kidneys, parts of the liver, and the tail of a sheep. Together these parts are called emurin.

In the Temple area, there was a low wooden partition called the soreg. It was ten cubits distance from the courtyard The area between the courtyard and the soreg was called the chel . They had to remain until after dark since roasting the Pesach does not override the Sabbath.