The Talmud: Treatise IV. On the Passover: Chapter I
TREATISE IV.
Searching for Leaven—How Leaven is to be put away—Restrictions with regard to it—What things make Leaven—Leavening—Work on the Eve of the Passover—Trades allowed—Men of Jericho—Hezekiah—The Daily Offering—Intention—Slaughter of Passover Offering—Mode of proceeding—The Passover on a Sabbath—Discussion between R. Akiba and R. Eleazar—Roasting the Passover—Various contingencies—Hindrances—Rules and Directions—How the Passover is to be eaten—Praise and Thanksgiving.
CHAPTER I.
1. On the eve of the fourteenth day of Nisan 1 men search for leaven by candlelight. Every place where men do not bring in leaven, there is no need of search. "And wherefore do they say, two lines of barrels in the wine cellar?" "The place is meant into which persons bring leaven," The school of Shammai say, "two rows in front of the whole cellar." But the school of Hillel say, "the two outer lines on the top."
2. People need not suspect, lest perchance the weasel have slipped (with leaven) from house to house or from place to place. If so, from court to court, from city to city, there is no end to the matter.
3. Rabbi Judah said, "men search on the eve of the fourteenth and on the morning of the fourteenth day, and at the time of burning it." But the Sages say, "if one did not search on the eve of the fourteenth, he must search on the fourteenth; if he did not search on the fourteenth, he must search during the feast; if he did not search during the feast, he must search after the feast; and whatever remains,
he shall leave well concealed, that there be no further need of search after it."
4. Rabbi Meier said, "men may eat it till five o'clock, 1 and burn it at the beginning of six." Rabbi Judah said, "they may eat it till four, and they are in suspense about five, but they burn it at the beginning of six."
5. And again said R. Judah, "two loaves of the disallowed praise-offering were placed on the portico of the Temple inclosure; whilst they were placed there, all the people might eat leaven. If one were taken down they were in suspense; they neither ate nor burned it. When both were taken down they began to burn it." Rabban Gamaliel said, "men may eat ordinary food till four o'clock, and the heave-offering till five o'clock, but they burned the leaven at six o'clock."
6. Rabbi Chanina, the deputy of the priesthood, said, "from the (first) days of the priesthood the priests did not object to burn the flesh rendered legally unclean 2 with the second degree of uncleanness, with the flesh rendered legally unclean with the first degree of uncleanness. Even though they should add legal uncleanness to legal uncleanness." Rabbi Akiba went further and said, "from the (first) days of the priesthood the priests did not object to light the oil which was disallowed on the day of a man's baptism (who had been legally unclean), with a candle which was unclean with the uncleanness of the dead, even though they should add legal uncleanness to legal uncleanness."
7. Said R. Meier, "from their words we learn that men may burn the clean heave-offering of leaven, with that which is unclean, on account of the passover." To him replied Rabbi José, "this is not the conclusion." But Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua confess "that men should burn each by itself." And the contention is with regard to what is doubtful, and what is unclean. Because Rabbi Eliezer said, "thou shalt burn each by itself." But R. Joshua said, "both at once."
Footnotes
95:1 Nisan nearly corresponds with the month of March.
96:1 i.e. 11 o'clock a.m. To obtain our computation of time, six must be added to the hours mentioned in the Mishna.
96:2 When uncleanness is mentioned, it is to be understood of legal uncleanness.
