Mishnah Pesachim
by Jonathan Wolf

(Chapter 8 of 10)

Chapter 8

We learned previously, that a person is required to register on the sacrifice of the Pesach. This chapter deals with various situations involving different aspects of this registration status.

Mishnah 1:

A woman, during the time she resides in her husband’s house, if her husband slaughtered a Pesach on her behalf and her father slaughtered a Pesach on her behalf, she eats from the Pesach of her husband. If she went to spend the first festival in her father’s house, if her husband slaughtered on her behalf and her father slaughtered in her behalf, she may eat in whichever place she desires.

An orphan for whom guardians slaughtered may eat in whichever place her desires. A slave belonging to two partners may not eat from either one. One who is half slave and half free may not eat from his master’s.

Commentary:

After the marriage ceremony, a woman is considered a Nesuah. This contractually establishes the woman’s place of residence as that of her husband’s. Thus, it is assumed that the woman would prefer to be included in her husband’s Pesach offering. However, during the first year of marriage, it was customary for the bride to spend the first festival with her father. The mishnah affords her the choice of which Pesach offering to eat.

Wth regard to the orphans, minors are not usually included in the registration process. However, the Torah forbids the eating of the Pesach unless one is registered on it. It is also forbidden to feed prohibited food to children. The Sages maneuver around this by appealing to Chinuch, that is mitzvah education for children.

The slave mentioned in the last part of our mishnah refers to a Jewish slave. It is assumed that for a slave to be "half slave and half free", one of the partners released him from bondage. He must then eat his portion on the basis of his "freed" half and not the bonded half!

Mishnah 2:

One who says to his slave: "Go out and slaughter the Pesach offering for me", if he slaughtered a kid (goat) he may eat of it, if he slaughtered a lamb, he may eat of it. If he slaughtered both a kid and a lamb, he must eat of the first.

If he forgot what his master told him, what should he do? Let him slaughter a lamb and a kid and say: "If my master told me to slaughter a lid, let the kid be his and the lamb mine; and if he told me to slaughter a lamb, let the lamb be his and the kid mine." If his master forgot what he had told , both go forth to the place of burning. And they are exempt from participating in the second Pesach.

Commentary:

The master can appoint his slave to act as his agent. If instructions have been given, then the slaughter is valid and they may both eat the Pesach even if the slave forgot the instructions. If no instructions were given the sacrifice is valid, but they cannot eat the Pesach. It must be burned and has the same status as leftovers.

Mishnah 3:

If one says to his sons, " I will slaughter the Pesach for the first among you to reach Jerusalem," then as soon as the first one has put his head and the greater part of his body inside, he has acquired his portion, and he acquires his brothers’ portions for them.

We may always be registered for it as long as there is at least an olive’s volume for each one. They may be registered or withdraw from it until it is slaughtered. Rabbi Shimon says: Until the blood is thrown for it.

Commentary:

The father is encouraging his sons to act zealously in the performance of a mitzvah. The concept of zerizut is one dealt with by many commentators in the area of mussar (character development). The Torah speaks of Abraham, after his self circumcision, as running out to greet the three strangers who came to visit him. The assumption in the last part of the mishnah is that the brothers agree ahead of time to be registered on the one who reaches the boundary first. Thus, the first to arrive acquires his own portion as well as the portions of the others. That is, they have a right to receive their portion from the first brother. One may withdraw from the offering until the sacrificial blood is thrown on the altar.

Mishnah 4:

If one registers others on his portion, then the members of the company are permitted to give him his portion, and he eats his and they eat theirs.

Commentary:

All people registered on a sacrifice are considered a chavura, a company. If someone now, without permission, decides to include others on his own portion, the members of the company have a right to exclude the others. In that case, they give the registrant his portion and have him eat separately . He can then do with his portion whatever he wants.

Mishnah 5:

A zav who experienced two discharges, they may slaughter on his behalf on the seventh day. If he experienced three, they may slaughter on his behalf on the eighth day.

A woman who observes a day against a day, they may slaughter on her behalf on the second day. If she experienced discharges for two days, they may slaughter on her behalf on the third day. And the zavah, they may slaughter on her behalf on the eighth day.

Commentary:

The laws of ritual purity (tohorot) are very complex and go beyond the scope of this commentary. The Torah in Vayikra 15:16 states that a man having a seminal discharge (keri) becomes impure (tamei). He may immerse himself in a mikveh immediately, but he is still considered tamei until the next evening. This is in regard to touching or eating sacrifices or terumah, or entering the Temple.

A zav is similar but different with regards to status. The word zav means "seepage or flow" from the word zivah. This type of impurity is mentioned in Vayikra 15:1-15. The details of the difference involve the color and texture of the discharge when examined by a Kohen. If he experiences two discharges in one day or one two consecutive days, the purity process is much more involved. He must count seven clean days. He then immerses himself in a mikveh and is considered cleansed on the following evening.

A zavah is different since it involves menstrual discharges during an eleven day cycle. Based on the number of days of actual menstruation, the process for purification differs. Again, she must wait at least seven days before ritual immersion in a mikveh. Not only is she forbidden to her husband during this time, but she is also forbidden to have contact with ritual objects and sacrifices just as the zav. The phrase "observes a day against a day", refers to a discharge on one day followed by a clean one. Our mishnah deals with the circumstances of registering a zav or zavah on a Pesach offering.

Mishnah 6:

An onain, and one who clears away a pile of rubble, likewise one whom they have promised to release from prison, and a sick or an aged person able to eat the volume of an olive, they slaughter on their behalf.

For any of these they may not slaughter for them alone, lest they cause the Pesach offering to become invalid. Therefore, if any disqualification befall them they are exempt from participating in the second Pesach, except for the one who was clearing a pile of rubble, for he was found to be contaminated retroactively.

Commentary:

An onain is a person who has lost a relative (mother, father, brother, sister, spouse, son, or daughter) but has not yet buried the corpse. This extends from the moment of death until nightfall on the day that the laws of mourning take effect. The restrictions extend beyond the normal laws of mourning in that the onain is not permitted to partake of offerings (Vayikra 10:19). These prohibitions are by Rabbinic ordinance, and so the Sages waived this restriction for the onain with regards to the Pesach offering.

The fear of the person clearing rubble is that they will come in contact with a corpse and become tamei. Since a body has not been found, we assume that the trapped person is alive and the person clearing the pile is still fit to perform the mitzvah of the Pesach.

Mishnah 7:

They may not slaughter the Pesach offering for an individual; these are the words of Rabbi Yehudah. But Rabbi Yose permits this. Even if a group consists of a hundred people, if they are unable to eat the volume of an olive, we may not slaughter on their behalf. We may not form a group solely of women, slaves, and minors.

Mishnah 8:

An onain immerses himself and eats his Pesach offering in the evening, but may not eat other offerings. One who hears about the death of his relative, or one who has arranged the bones of a close relative to be gathered on his behalf, immerses himself and eats of offerings.

If a proselyte had been converted on the eve of Pesach, beis Shammai say he immerses himself and eats of his Pesach offering in the evening. But Beis Hillel says: One who separates himself from an uncircumcised state is like one who separates himself from the grave.

Commentary:

Rabbi Yehudah bases his ruling on the verse in Devarim 16:5:

"You may not slaughter your Pesach offering in one of your cities." Rabbi Yehudah reads the verse as though it meant, "You may not slaughter your Pesach offering for one…" since he feels that the phrase "in one of your cities" is superfluous. Mishnah 8 continues the same line of thought as our previous one. It is interesting that this is one of the few times that Beis Hillel take a more stringent stand than Beis Shammai. They feel that the convert is still likened to a contaminated state and should postpone his participation.