The Coming Week's Daf Yomi by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

This essay is based upon the insights and chidushim (original ideas) of Talmudic scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, as published in the Hebrew version of the Steinsaltz Edition of the Talmud.

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Pesachim 59a-b
 
Although there are many individual activities that need to take place in order for a sacrifice to be successfully brought in the Temple, there are four specific acts during which inappropriate thoughts can make the korban invalid. They are:
1. Shehitat ha-korban - at the time the animal is slaughtered
2. Kabalat ha-dam - when the blood is collected
3. Holakha la-mizbe'ach - when it is carried to the altar
4. Zerikat ha-dam - sprinkling the blood on the altar
 
What are considered "inappropriate thoughts"? There are three types of thoughts, or, indeed, spoken words (according to most opinions) that can make the sacrifice invalid.

The most severe of these is when, in the midst of one of the activities mentioned above, the kohen thinks that he will sprinkle the blood or sacrifice the meat of the korban at the wrong time. This type of thought will make the sacrifice pigul (“a vile thing” - see Vayikra 19:7); the person who brought the sacrifice will need to be replace it with another, and anyone eating from the meat of the korban will be punished with karet (=excision).

Another possible problem would occur if the kohen thinks that he will sprinkle the blood or sacrifice the meat of the korban in the wrong place. Under those circumstances, although a replacement korban would need to be brought, it is not considered pigul, and there is no penalty of karet for someone who ate the meat of that sacrifice. These two cases apply to all korbanot.
 
There is a third case where a thought will invalidate a sacrifice, which applies only to a korban hatat (a sin-offering) or a korban Pesach (the Passover sacrifice). If the kohen does not think that it is for this particular type of sacrifice, and mistakenly believes that it is for a different one, the korban hatat or korban Pesach will be invalid. In the case of the korban Pesach, even thinking that it will be used for a mundane purpose will ruin it.

Pesachim 60a-b

The korban Pesach is unique among the sacrifices in a number of ways, some of which are discussed on our daf (=page). For example, our Gemara discusses the case of a korban Pesach that was not sacrificed at the appropriate time - the afternoon of the 14th of Nissan - but rather on some other day during the year. In any other situation, the sacrifice would simply be invalid. There is, however, a special rule with regard to the korban Pesach: it can be changed from a korban Pesach and sacrificed as a Shelamim. There are a series of discussions in the Gemara that revolve around the question of how the Pesach can be changed to a Shelamim - if the very fact that the Pesach is not being carried out properly switches it to a Shelamim, of if it is necessary to consciously substitute one intention for the other.
 
The possibility of changing the korban to a Shelamim may be connected with the fact that, unlike most other sacrifices, the Shelamim is almost never brought because one is commanded to do so; rather it is a korban that is given freely as a todah - thanksgiving offering - or a nedavah - a voluntary offering (see Vayikra 7:11-12, 16).

There is a difference of opinion among the Rishonim regarding the meaning of the name shelamim. Rashi (Vayikra 3:1) cites two opinions:
a. that this korban spreads peace in the world;
b. that they bring peace to the altar, to the priests, and to the owners (i.e. that all three parties to the sacrifice benefit from the eating of the sacrifice).
 
Another rule unique to the korban Pesach is the need to participate in it as a formal member of a group; one must "sign up" before the holiday in order to join (see Shmot 12:4). When the korban itself is eaten - that is to say, during the Pesach seder as it was practiced during Temple times - a person was not allowed to leave his or her group and join another, unless he/she joined another group before the sacrifice was slaughtered.

Pesachim 61a-b
 
The Mishnah on our daf (=page) discusses a case where the person who is slaughtering the Passover sacrifice has intention that the korban be for people who will not be eating from it. Such people include individuals who cannot eat the meat of the sacrifice because they are old or ill, people who had not joined this particular group, or people who were not permitted to eat from the korban, e.g. someone who does not have a brit milah.  In such cases, if the intention was just for such people, the korban is no good. If, however, the person thought about people who would eat from the korban, as well as people like the aforementioned, then the sacrifice is valid.
 
The rule that a group of people can join together in bringing the korban Pesach is clearly written in the Torah (see Shmot 12:4). The Gemara suggests that the source for the halakha that the sacrifice must be done on behalf of people who had joined the particular group for the purpose of bringing the korban is a word that appears in that passage - bemikhsat - meaning "according to the number" of people who have joined to participate as a group. The Gemara asks how we can be certain that this requirement is not merely a recommendation. Perhaps the sacrifice will remain valid even if the korban is brought with the wrong group in mind, even as the positive commandment will have been violated?  To this, the Gemara responds that the root appears twice in the pasuk (=verse), bemikhsat…takhosu, teaching us that it is obligatory.
 
This discussion points to one of the ways in which the Talmudic hermeneutics differ when dealing with issues regarding sacrifices. Generally speaking, when the Torah commands us to perform an act in a specific way, it is understood that if it is not done properly, the act is an invalid one. Regarding sacrifices, however, it is commonplace to find that a single passage may command that a specific action be done, yet if one skips that detail, the sacrifice will remain valid after the fact. Only if there is an extra pasuk - as in our case - or a specific key word, does the Gemara conclude that it is essential for the sacrifice.

Pesachim 62a-b
 

Today’s Daf Yomi is dedicated in honor of

the yahrzeit of May Bernstein (20 Adar II).

By way of introducing a question that Rabbi Simlai asked Rabbi Yohanan about the laws taught in the first two Mishnayot of our perek (=chapter), the Gemara tells a story about their meeting.
 

Rabbi Simlai approached Rabbi Yohanan and asked him to teach Sefer Yohasin (=the Book of Lineage).
Rabbi Yohanan asked Rabbi Simlai where he was from and where he lived presently. Rabbi Simlai responded that he was from the city of Lod and lived in Neharda'a.

Rabbi Yohanan told him that such things were not taught to people from either of those two cities, and certainly not to someone who had both deficiencies.

Nevertheless, Rabbi Simlai was adamant in his appeal, and Rabbi Yohanan agreed to teach him.
Rabbi Simlai immediately agreed to set aside three months to study the work.

Hearing this, Rabbi Yohanan changed his mind and again refused to teach him. Rabbi Yohanan said "Bruriah, Rabbi Meir's wife and Rabbi Haninah ben Tradyon's daughter, whose abilities were such that she could learn 300 statements from 300 Sages in a single day, was not able to complete Sefer Yohasin even after three years of study. How do you expect to complete it in three months?!"
 
Faced with this final refusal, Rabbi Simlai asks the question on our Mishnayot, which Rabbi Yohanan agrees to explain to him.
 
Rabbi Simlai was one of the first generation Amora'im in Israel, a student of Rabbi Yehudah Nesi'ah and Rabbi Yannai. The Talmud, and, in particular, the Jerusalem Talmud, quotes him on matters of halakha, but he is better known for his many aggadic homilies.
 
The Sefer Yohasin discussed here is a collection of baraitot, a type of midrash on Divrei ha-Yamim. The Geonim explain that among the material included there were the genealogies of all the families mentioned in the book, something that can easily explain its length. The midrashim had information about which families were considered to have pristine backgrounds, and who had problematic histories. Rav Yehudah Leib ha-Levi Edel writes in his Iyye ha-Yam that we find very few midrashim on Divrei ha-Yamim in the Talmud. Apparently all of the baraitot were in this collection, which included deep explanations of the personal names that appear in the book.
 
Our Gemara concludes that after a time Sefer Yohasin was lost. According to the Maharsha, there developed powerful families with "skeletons in their closets" whose secrets were found in the Sefer Yohasin, leading the Sages to refrain from teaching the work publicly, and it eventually fell from use.  With its passing many of the secrets and traditions that it held were forgotten.

Pesachim 63a-b
 
Our Gemara quotes a Mishnah that appears in Masechet Menahot (7:3), which discusses the thanksgiving sacrifice – the korban todah. That korban is made up of an animal sacrifice brought together with 40 hallot matzot – non-hametz loaves. The Mishnah teaches that if the sacrifice is slaughtered inside the azarah - the Temple courtyard, as is proper - but the hallot were outside the wall at that time, then the hallot do not become holy; since at the time of the shehitah they were in a place where they could not be eaten, they therefore cannot become part of the korban.
 
Rabbi Yohanan and Resh Lakish disagree about where these hallot are allowed to be. When the Mishnah rules that "outside the wall" will keep the hallot from becoming holy, which wall is being referred to?
 
Resh Lakish understands that the hallot must also be inside of the azarah, inside the Temple courtyard during the shehitah of the korban. Rabbi Yohanan rules that it is only if they are outside of walls of Bet Pagi will they not become holy, but if they are within the Bet Pagi wall, they are in an area where they could be eaten and are considered part of the slaughtered sacrifice.
 
Where is Bet Pagi?
 
There are many opinions, but it appears that Bet Pagi represented the "third wall" that surrounded the "new city" of Jerusalem. Some say that Bet Pagi is from the Latin root meaning "to eat." According to this opinion, it was so named because within that wall was still considered Jerusalem with regard to the mitzvah of eating korbanot that had to be consumed within the city walls. There also was a small village just outside of Jerusalem that was called Bet Pagi - perhaps because of the figs (pagim) that grew there. According to some opinions that is the Bet Pagi referred to by Rabbi Yohanan.

Pesachim 64a-b
 
The new Mishnah on our daf (=page) tells the story of how the Passover sacrifice was actually brought. There were three groups of people that were brought into the azarah - the Temple courtyard - one by one. Once the courtyard was filled, the doors were locked and the service began with the blowing of the shofar by the kohanim. Two rows of kohanim stood by with bazikhim in their hands, one row of gold and one row of silver. The kohen who stood near the place where the animals were slaughtered would catch the blood in the bazikh and it would be passed hand-to-hand to the kohen near the mizbe'ach who would sprinkle the blood on the altar. This same process was done with the second and third groups, as well. While this activity was taking place, Hallel was recited, as many times as was necessary, and although it was occasionally begun a third time, it was never completed more than twice.
 
The Bartenura and Tosafot Yom Tov describe the bazikh as a large pan with a handle, based on the Aramaic translation of the expression kaf ahat (see Bamidbar 7:14) as one bazikh. Others see it as a pot that is made in such a way that it does not have a flat bottom, which creates a situation in which the pot cannot be placed on the ground without falling over. This is important, as the blood collected in the bazikhim cannot be allowed to congeal.
 
As far as the Hallel is concerned, Rashi and Tosafot disagree about who recited the Hallel - was it the Levi'im or all of the people assembled there? A similar mahloket (=disagreement) appears among the Amora'im in the Jerusalem Talmud. It is also unclear what Hallel was being recited. Some say that it is what we call Hallel - the Hallel ha-Mitzri, which focuses on the exodus from Egypt (Tehillim 113-118). Others say that Hallel ha-Gadol (Tehillim 136) was also included. Some add Tehillim 135, as well, since it includes praise of God and it also refers to the Exodus.

Pesachim 65a-b
 
A number of comments that appear in the Gemara make clear the love and desire that the Jewish people were supposed to show in their participation in the Passover sacrifice. As noted in yesterday's daf (=page), there were three separate groups that were led into the Temple courtyard for the sacrifice. This was not only done because of overcrowding; the Mishnah (64a) teaches that this was a requirement, which was learned from the pasuk (=verse) obligating kol kehal adat Yisrael (Shmot 12:6), the society of the community of the Israelite people, to bring the sacrifice. The repetition of kehal, adat and Yisrael teaches the need to have three separate groups.
 
Nevertheless, a baraita is brought on our daf which teaches that people bringing their korbanot who ended up in the third group were referred to as participating in the "lazy group." To the Gemara's objection that someone has to be in the last group, the argument goes that they still should have hurried in order to be included in one of the first two groups. The Jerusalem Talmud learns a lesson from this story, pointing out that if people who fully intended to perform a mitzvah and actually carried out their plan are still called "lazy," how much more deserving of criticism are people who are truly lazy and do not fulfill mitzvot at all.
 
Another example of the commitment demanded by the Sages to participate in this mitzvah can be seen in the final comment in this perek (=chapter). The Mishnah (64a) taught that as each group finished the service in the Temple courtyard, the people left, carrying their sacrifices, in order to make room for the next group. The Tosefta teaches that each person would wrap the korban in the skin and carry it over his back. Rav Ilish comments that they did it in the manner of Ishmaelite merchants. Rav Ya'akov Emden, in his commentary on the Gemara, explains Rav Ilish's teaching as emphasizing that although most self-respecting people do not carry freshly slaughtered animals around on their backs, with regard to the korban Pesach, the people were encouraged to ignore their own personal honor to demonstrate their love for the mitzvah.

^{In addition to his monumental translation and commentary on the Talmud, Rabbi Steinsaltz has authored dozens of books and hundreds of articles on a variety of topics, both Jewish and secular. For more information about Rabbi Steinsaltz’s groundbreaking work in Jewish education, visit www.steinsaltz.orgg or contact the Aleph Society at 212-840-1166.}