Sources for Mishnayos Related to Arvei Pesachim

(2) A person should not sit down before the barber close to [the time of] Minchah [the afternoon prayer service] until he prays. Nor should he enter a bath-house, or a tannery, or [start] eating, or judging [in court]. But if [one did] began [such an activity], we do not interrupt him. We do interrupt for the recitation of Shema, but we do not interrupt for prayers.

(3) The tailor may not go out with his needle close to nightfall [before Shabbat], lest he forget and go out [with it on Shabbat]; and neither [may] the scribe [go out] with his quill. One may not delouse his apparel, and may not read by lamp light [on Shabbat]. In truth they said: The instructor may check where the students are reading but he may not read. Similarly, a Zav [a man suffering from gonorrhea] may not eat with a Zavah [a woman with a menstrual-type flow occurring at a time other than her normal period] because familiarity leads to sin.

(1) These things are [disputed] between the school of Shammai and the school of Hillel about meals: The school of Shammai says, "Bless the day, and afterward bless the wine." The school of Hillel says, "Bless the wine, and afterward bless the day."

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

(5) [If one] blessed on the wine before the meal – [he has] exempted the wine after the meal. [If one] blessed on the appetizer before the meal – [he has] exempted the dessert after the meal. [If one] blessed on the bread – [he has] exempted the appetizer; [but if one blessed] on the appetizer – [he has] not exempted the bread. The House of Shammai says: not even a cooked grain dish.

(5) One must mention the exodus from Egypt at night. Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said: "Behold, I am like a seventy-year-old man, yet I could not win [the argument against the other sages] having the exodus from Egypt recited at night, until Ben Zoma derived it [from a Biblical source]." "[He derived it as follows:] It says (Deut. 16:3), 'In order that you may remember the day when you left Egypt for all the days of your life.'" "Now, 'days of your life' means the days; 'All the days of your life' [includes also] the nights." But the Sages say: "Days of your life" means the present world; "All the days of your life" includes also the era of Mashiach.

(21) you shall say to your children, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and the LORD freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand. (22) The LORD wrought before our eyes marvelous and destructive signs and portents in Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household;

What differentiates this night from all [other] nights? On all [other] nights we eat chamets and matsa; this night, only matsa? On all [other] nights we eat other vegetables; tonight (only) marror. On all [other] nights, we don't dip [our food], even one time; tonight [we dip it] twice. On [all] other nights, we eat either sitting or reclining; tonight we all recline.

We were slaves to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. And the Lord, our God, took us out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched forearm. And if the Holy One, blessed be He, had not taken our ancestors from Egypt, behold we and our children and our children's children would [all] be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt. And even if we were all sages, all discerning, all elders, all knowledgeable about the Torah, it would be a commandment upon us to tell the story of the exodus from Egypt. And anyone who adds [and spends extra time] in telling the story of the exodus from Egypt, behold he is praiseworthy.

According to Rav

מִתְּחִלָּה עוֹבְדֵי עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הָיוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, וְעַכְשָׁיו קֵרְבָנוּ הַמָּקוֹם לַעֲבדָתוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֹאמֶר יְהוֹשֻעַ אֶל-כָּל-הָעָם, כֹּה אָמַר יי אֱלֹקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: בְּעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר יָשְׁבוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם מֵעוֹלָם, תֶּרַח אֲבִי אַבְרָהָם וַאֲבִי נָחוֹר, וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֱלֹקִים אֲחֵרִים.

From the beginning, our ancestors were idol worshipers. And now, the Place [of all] has brought us close to His worship, as it is stated (Joshua 24:2-4), "Yehoshua said to the whole people, so said the Lord, God of Israel, 'over the river did your ancestors dwell from always, Terach the father of Avraham and the father of Nachor, and they worshiped other gods."

(3) "and you shall say before the L-rd your G-d: 'An Aramean would destroy my father'": We are hereby apprised that Jacob went down to Aram to his own destruction, and Scripture accounts it to Lavan the Aramite as if he had destroyed him, (this having been his intention).

(4) "and he went down to Egypt": Lest you say he went down to receive the crown of kingdom; it is, therefore, written "vayagar sham": We are hereby apprised that he went down there only to sojourn ("lagur") there. And thus is it written (Bereshith 47:4) "And they said to Pharaoh: 'To sojourn in the land did we come. For there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. For the famine is sore in the land of Canaan. And now, let your servants abide in the land of Goshen.'" I might think, in great numbers; it is, therefore, written "in scant number," viz. (Devarim 10:22) "With seventy souls did your fathers go down to Egypt."

(5) "and he became there a nation": We are hereby apprised that Israel was distinctive there.

(6) ("and he saw our pain": as it states (Exodus 1:16): "And you see on the birthstool..."

(7) "and our toil": as it states (Exodus 1:22): Every son that is born shall you cast in the river". Aggadah).

(8) "great and mighty": as it is written (Shemoth 1:7) "And the children of Israel were fruitful and teemed and multiplied and became exceedingly strong, and the land was filled with them."

(9) "and populous": as it is written (Ezekiel 16:7) "I made you as numerous as the plants of the field; you increased and grew, and you entered the prime, etc."

(10) (Devarim, Ibid. 6) "And Egypt wrought evil unto us": as it is written (Shemoth 1:10) "Come, let us outsmart it, lest it become numerous, and it be, that if a war break out, etc."

(11) "and they afflicted us": as it is written (Ibid. 11) "And they appointed taskmasters over it in order to afflict it with their toils, and they built treasure cities for Pharaoh."

(12) "and they placed us under hard labor": as it is written (Ibid. 1:13-14) "And Egypt worked the children of Israel with (back-) breaking labor. And they embittered their lives with hard toil: with mortar, and with brick, and with all the labor of the field; all of the labor with which they worked them was (back-) breaking."

(13) (Devarim, Ibid. 7) "And we cried out to the L-rd, the G-d of our fathers": as it is written (Shemoth 2:23) "And it was in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel moaned under the toil, and they cried out, etc."

(14) "and the L-rd heard our voices": as it is written (Shemoth, Ibid. 24) "And G-d heard their outcry."

(15) "And He saw our affliction": This refers to (enforced) separation from conjugal relations, as it is written (Shemoth, Ibid. 25) "… and G-d saw the children of Israel, and G-d knew (i.e., He "took it to heart.")

(16) "and our toil": the children, viz. (Shemoth 1:22) "Every son that is born, into the Nile shall you throw him, and every daughter shall you keep alive."

(17) "and our lachatz": This is oppression, viz. (Shemoth 3:9): "and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them."

(18) (Devarim, Ibid. 8) "And the L-rd took us out": not through an angel, and not through a seraph, and not through a messenger, as it is written (Shemoth 12:12) "And I shall pass through the land of Egypt in this night, and I shall smite, etc.": "And I shall pass through the land of Egypt" — I, and not an angel. "and I shall smite every first-born" — I, and not a seraph. "and upon all the gods of Egypt I shall wreak judgments" — I, and not a messenger, "I am the L-rd."

(19) (Devarim, Ibid.) "with a strong hand": This is the pestilence, as it is written (Shemoth 9:3) "Behold, the hand of the L-rd is in your cattle in the field … a very sore pestilence."

(20) "and with an outstretched arm": This is the sword, as it is written (Joshua 5:13) "with his sword sh'lufah in his hand": ("sh'lufah" =) outstretched.

(21) "and with great fear": This is revelation of the Shechinah, as it is written (Devarim 4:34) "Or has a god ever done miracles to come and take for himself a nation with trials, with signs, and with wonders, and with war, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great fears, before your eyes?"

(22) "and with signs": This is the staff, as it is written (Shemoth 4:17) "And this staff you shall take in your hand, wherewith you shall do the signs."

(23) "and with wonders": This is the blood: as it is written (Joel 3:3) "And I will set wonders in heaven and earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke."

(24) Variantly: "with a strong hand": two. "with an outstretched arm: two. "and with great fears": two. "and with signs": two. "and with wonders": two. These are the ten plagues that the Holy One Blessed be He brought upon the Egyptians.

(25) R. Yehudah would give them (the ten plagues) signs: d tz ach (dam [blood] tzfardea [frogs] kinim [lice]; a d a sh (arov [mixed multitude] dever [pestilence] shchin [boils]); b a cha v (barad [hail] choshech [darkness] arbeh [locusts] v (=b) [(the plague of) bechoroth (the first-born)].

(26) (Devarim, Ibid. 9) "And He brought us to this place": the Temple — But perhaps it refers to Eretz Yisrael? — (No, for) "and He gave us this land already refers to Eretz Yisrael. How, then, am I to understand "And he brought us to this place"? As the Temple. "And He brought us to this place and He gave us this land": As a reward for our coming to this place, we were given this land.

Go out and learn what what Lavan the Aramean sought to do to Ya'akov, our father; since Pharaoh only decreed [the death sentence] on the males but Lavan sought to uproot the whole [people]. As it is stated (Deuteronomy 26:5), "An Aramean was destroying my father and he went down to Egypt, and he resided there with a small number and he became there a nation, great, powerful and numerous."

Rabban Gamliel was accustomed to say, Anyone who has not said these three things on Pesach has not fulfilled his obligation, and these are them: the Pesach sacrifice, matsa and marror.

The Pesach [passover] sacrifice that our ancestors were accustomed to eating when the Temple existed, for the sake of what [was it]? For the sake [to commemorate] that the Holy One, blessed be He, passed over the homes of our ancestors in Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 12:27); "And you shall say: 'It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, for that He passed over the homes of the Children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and our homes he saved.’ And the people bowed the head and bowed."

This matsa that we are eating, for the sake of what [is it]? For the sake [to commemorate] that our ancestors' dough was not yet able to rise, before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed [Himself] to them and redeemed them, as it is stated (Exodus 12:39); "And they baked the dough which they brought out of Egypt into matsa cakes, since it did not rise; because they were expelled from Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they made for themselves provisions."

This marror [bitter greens] that we are eating, for the sake of what [is it]? For the sake [to commemorate] that the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors in Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 1:14); "And they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor."

In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he left Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 13:8); "For the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt." Not only our ancestors did the Holy One, blessed be He, redeem, but rather also us [together] with them did he redeem, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:23); "And He took us out from there, in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He swore unto our fathers."

Therefore we are obligated to thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, lavish, bless, raise high, and acclaim He who made all these miracles for our ancestors and for us: He brought us out from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to [celebration of] a festival, from darkness to great light, and from servitude to redemption. And let us say a new song before Him, Halleluyah!

Halleluyah! Praise, servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. May the Name of the Lord be blessed from now and forever. From the rising of the sun in the East to its setting, the name of the Lord is praised. Above all nations is the Lord, His honor is above the heavens. Who is like the Lord, our God, Who sits on high; Who looks down upon the heavens and the earth? He brings up the poor out of the dirt; from the refuse piles, He raises the destitute. To seat him with the nobles, with the nobles of his people. He seats a barren woman in a home, a happy mother of children. Halleluyah! (Psalms 113)

In Israel's going out from Egypt, the house of Ya'akov from a people of foreign speech. The Sea saw and fled, the Jordan turned to the rear. The mountains danced like rams, the hills like young sheep. What is happening to you, O Sea, that you are fleeing, O Jordan that you turn to the rear; O mountains that you dance like rams, O hills like young sheep? From before the Master, tremble O earth, from before the Lord of Ya'akov. He who turns the boulder into a pond of water, the flint into a spring of water. (Psalms 114)

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who redeemed us and redeemed our ancestors from Egypt, and brought us on this night to eat matsa and marror; so too, Lord our God, and God of our ancestors, bring us to other appointed times and holidays that will come to greet us in peace, joyful in the building of your city and happy in your worship; that we should eat there from the offerings and from the Pesach sacrifices, the blood of which should reach the wall of your altar for favor, and we shall thank you with a new song upon our redemption and upon the restoration of our souls. Blessed are you, Lord, who redeemed Israel.