Halakhah zu Schemot 12:15

Birkat ha-mazon is from the Torah, as it is said, “When you have eaten your fill, you shall bless the Lord your God.”²¹⁹Deut 8:10. The complete verse is “When you have eaten your fill, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which he has given you.” And they taught in a baraita:²²⁰B. Berakhot 48b. “you shall bless” – this is the blessing “ha-zan;” “the Lord your God” – this is birkat ha-zimmun (“the blessing of invitation”); “for the land” – this is the blessing “ha-aretz” (“for the land”); “good” [ha-tovah]– this is the blessing “boneh Yerushalayim.” And therefore it says “the good hill country [ha-har ha-tov] and the Lebanon.”²²¹Deut 3:25. I have only a blessing after the meal; from where do I get before it? Scripture says “”which He has given you” – from the moment He has given it to you, you are obligated to bless Him. Our rabbis z”l taught in a midrash: Moses instituted the blessing “ha-zan” for Israel when the manna fell down for them; Joshua instituted the blessing “ha-aretz” when he led them into to the land, and David and Solomon instituted “boneh Yerushalayim.”²²²B. Berakhot 48b. And you will also find in the story of the manna a hint at the blessing “ha-zan” in the manna itself, as it is said, “In the morning you shall have your fill of bread,²²³Ex 16:12. and you shall know that I the Lord am you God” – this knowing will occur when remind yourselves of it when you say a blessing over eating the manna. The fourth blessing, “ha-tov ve-ha-metiv,” was instituted at Yavneh. Our rabbis z”l needed to make reference in the blessing “ha-aretz” the Torah, and also refer in it to the covenant (brit), and for them to mention brit before Torah,²²⁴In B. Berakhot 48b-49a it says that Torah was given through three covenants, while the covenant of circumcision was given through thirteen covenants. R. Bahya explains the point of this allusion in what follows. so it would be said like this: “brit and Torah, life and food, for your brit which you sealed [upon us] and your Torah which you taught us.”²²⁵A quotation from a version of birkat ha-mazon used by R. Bahya and his contemporaries, but slightly different from the version we use now. And the reason that they needed to mention both in the blessing “ha-aretz” was to instruct us that it was because of the Torah that we merited the inheritance of the Land.²²⁶And so the Tur, and Rashi’s commentary on b. Berakhot 48b. And this is the reason for the setting up of the stones upon which “the whole Torah” is written, and this is what is meant by “to [le-ma’an] enter the land.”²²⁷Dt 27:3. Le-ma’an means literally “for the sake of” R. Bahya alludes to stones Moses instructed the Israelites to set up in Dt 27:2-3: “As soon as you have crossed the Jordan into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones. Coat them with plaster and inscribe upon them all the words of this Torah when you cross over in order, to enter the land that the Lord you God is giving you.” Le-ma’an – “for the sake of” this Torah “you will enter the Land.” And in my opinion, in “to [le-ma’an] enter the land,” “le-ma’an” means “so that you are able to enter,” that is to say, “Insofar as I am commanding you to write on them the whole Torah, so you will have the power to enter the land, because the power of the Torah will cut out [yakhritu] ²²⁸R. Bahya’s word choice here is rich in relevant connotations. “Cut out” – yakhrit – is from the root of the same verb “karat” used in the Biblical expression “to cut a covenant”- likrot brit – that is, to make a covenant, and also used for the punishment of someone who violates the covenant, e.g., as in Ex 12:15: “Whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day [of Passover], that person shall be cut off [nikhreta] from Israel.”the enemies of the land, so that you will inherit it.

And from the fundamentals of this Torah that we said that God gave to His people through Moshe, His prophet, is to know that the Lord God in the Heavens that gave the Torah to Israel is the First Being - such that there is no beginning nor end to His being, may He be blessed - and that He made exist and created from His will and His power all that was created, ex nihilo. And [likewise] that He keeps in existence everything that He created the whole time that He wishes, but no longer - [not] even an instant. And that He is not prevented from doing anything. And [also from the fundamentals is] to believe that He is one without any conjunction; to believe that in a man fulfilling that which is written in [the Torah], his soul will merit great enjoyment forever; and to believe that God oversees the actions of people and knows all the details of their deeds and repays everyone according to his action. And also from the fundamentals of the Torah is to believe that the true explanation of the Torah is the traditional received explanation that is in our hands from the early Sages of Israel. And anyone who explains about it something that is the opposite of their intention is [expressing] a mistake and a completely void thing. As our Sages received the explanation of the Torah from our teacher, Moshe - peace be upon him - who received it from God, blessed be He, when he stood on the mountain forty days. And even though it was possible to learn [it] in less time than this due to the power of the Teacher, God wanted to hint to the learners that they learn it with deliberation. And this true explanation that we wrote is the explanation that is written in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds (Gemara), which [was] composed [by] our early Sages, who received it one generation after another from our teacher Moshe, peace be upon him. And the Babylonian is lengthier and more elucidated, and [so] we rely upon it more. And it is made up of six orders, and there are sixty tractates in it, according to the division of the contents. Their mnemonic is 'there are sixty queens.' And there are five hundred and twenty-two chapters. And the true explanation of the Torah is likewise elucidated from other books that some of our early Sages composed. And [these books] are called Sifra, Sifrei, Tosefta and Mekhilta. All of these are books that all of Israel believe and [they] rely upon the words of theirs which are there without a disagreement. And about those that there is a disagreement, they have already also explained the ruling that we should take from them. Everything is nicely elucidated without any doubt or confusion to those that understand. And anyone whose heart troubles him about these matters is not included in the holy (Jewish) people - since we would never agree about the truth from the simple understanding of the verses of the Torah without their explanations and their true tradition. As there are several verses in the Torah that appear to contradict one another. But the one who knows their explanation understands and sees that the ways of God are straight: Behold it is written in the Torah (Exodus 12:40), "And the inhabitation of the Children of Israel [which they dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years]." And [yet] we found that Kehat the son of Levi was from those that went down to Egypt; and if you count the days of his life and the years of the life of Amram, his son, and the eighty years of Moshe - as he was eighty in his standing in front of Pharaoh to speak to him to take out the Children of Israel from Egypt - they all only add up to three hundred and fifty years. However the explanation of this is that the tally of four hundred and thirty begins from the time that it was stated to Avraham, "that your seed will be a stranger" (Genesis 15:13). And the explanation of the verse is thus: "And the inhabitation of the Children of Israel which they dwelt in Egypt" and other lands - meaning that they began to be exiled - "was four hundred and thirty years." As from the time that it was stated to Avraham, "that your seed will be a stranger," did the distress begin for him - and [so] the beginning of the tally is from there. And do not let its stating, "the Children of Israel," be difficult for you - as behold they said in the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 63:3), "Avraham is called Israel, as it is stated, 'And the inhabitation of the Children of Israel.'" And that which it states, "the Children of Israel" is meaning to say the Children of Israel and Israel (referring to Avraham); but Scripture expressed it in this language since the distress began to the father with the proclamation of the exile of the children. And that which it is stated, "Egypt," is also not specific, but rather meaning to say in exile. And that which it expressed it all with the [word,] Egypt, is because the core of the exile was there; and everything goes according to the core, and it is always called by it. And so [too,] is it written in the Torah (Deuteronomy 10:22), "With seventy souls did your forefathers go down to Egypt." But when you count their enumeration, you find [only] sixty-nine souls. But rather the explanation (Bava Batra 123b) comes that Yocheved was born 'betwixt the walls' (of Egypt, though she was conceived before they arrived), and [so] was not counted in the enumeration. And likewise, one verse (Exodus 12:15) states, "Seven days shall you eat matsot" and one verse (Deuteronomy 16:8) states, "Six days." And many like this would not be elucidated without the traditional explanation that is in our hands, that was given to us from our teacher, Moshe.

I also found explicit with regard to the first of the holidays (Passover), which God gave to Israel prior to instructing them about the Sabbath, “on the fourteenth day of the month at evening you should eat unleavened bread, until the twenty first day of the month at evening” (Exodus 12:18), a total of “seven days” (ibid. 12:19). Thus the evening of the fifteenth is the first day. It is also written “[neither shall any of the flesh] from which you offered in the evening of the first day [be left over] until the morning” (Deuteronomy 16:4). Also, it is known that the firstborn were smitten at midnight (Exodus 12:29), yet it is written “on the day that I smote all firstborn” (Numbers 3:13, 8:17).⁴ The verse informs us that God sanctified all Jewish first born on the day that the Egyptian first born were slain. It seems likely that this took place on the first day of Passover. Also in Scripture “this day is a day of tidings…if we wait until the morning light” (2 Kings 7:9).

The commandment of disposing of chamets: To remove all leavened bread from our dwellings on the fourteenth day of Nissan, as it is stated (Exodus 12:15), "but on the first day, you shall dispose of leaven from your homes" - and the understanding of "first" is before Pesach.

Similarly,⁹⁷ Now Ibn Ezra brings other examples from Scripture where a phrase does not refer to what is adjacent to it in the verse but rather to a part of the verse that is some distance away. “from the first day until the seventh day” (Exodus 12:15)⁹⁸ The verse reads: “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your homes, for whoever eats leavened bread will be cut off from Israel, from the first day until the seventh day.” Reading this verse literally, it gives the impression that one who eats leavened bread will be cut off from Israel for only seven days, from the first day of Passover until the seventh day. This is not a correct reading. is not connected to the adjacent phrase, rather to “whoever eats leavened bread etc.” (ibid.) which is some distance away.⁹⁹ The verse is to be understood as: “whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day will be cut off from Israel.” Similarly, “and Israel saw Egypt dead upon the bank of the sea” (ibid. 14:30) is to be understood as “and Israel saw, while standing upon the bank of the sea, Egypt dead.” For “they went down like a stone into the depths” (ibid. 15:5), and “the earth swallowed them” (ibid. 15:12).¹⁰⁰ Therefore, verse 14:30 cannot mean that Israel saw Egypt’s dead upon the bank of the sea, since the Egyptian bodies sank and were not thrown upon the bank. Similarly, “to fall before you in siege” (Deuteronomy 20:19) is connected with “you may not cut it down” (ibid.).¹⁰¹ The verse is to be understood as: “you may not cut down the tree so that the city should fall before you in siege, for man is dependant on the tree of the field.” There are many similar verses.

He prohibited us from eating chametz (leavened grain products) on Pesach. And that is His saying, "no chametz shall be eaten" (Exodus 13:3). And He explained that it is [punishable] by excision and said, "for whoever eats chametz shall be excised" (Exodus 12:15)" - if one was volitional. And he is liable a fixed sin-offering if he was inadvertent. And the regulations of this commandment have already been explained in Tractate Pesachim. (See Parashat Bo; Mishneh Torah, Leavened and Unleavened Bread.)

He prohibited us from eating things that have an admixture of chametz (leavened grain products) [on Pesach] - even though they are not bread - such as (brine,) cereal and ale and that which is similar to them. And that is His saying, "You shall eat nothing leavened" (Exodus 12:20). [And the language of the Mekhilta (Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Bar Yochai 12:20) is, "'You shall eat nothing leavened,'] to include Babylonian cereal, Median beer and Edomite vinegar. Perhaps we would be liable excision for them? [Hence] we learn to say, '"for whoever eats chametz shall be excised' (Exodus 12:15). What is specific to chametz is that it is fully chmetz - excluding these that are not fully chametz. So why did they appear? To transgress a negative commandment with them." And it has already been explained in Pesachim (Pesachim 43a) that the matter of their eating being liable for lashes is only if there is a kazayit of chametz in [the time] needed to eat a peras. But if the admixture of chametz was less than this amount, we are not liable lashes for their eating. (See Parashat Bo; Mishneh Torah, Leavened and Unleavened Bread.)

Additonally, one cannot say that the Torah permitted [with the word "tashbisu" (Ex. 12:15)] *only* bitul but not searching [and destroying], because that would be completely illogical. Because in all instances where benefit is prohibited, for example, the Asheira tree, or [other items of] idolatry, the Torah instructs us only to search [and destroy] as it is written "you shall definitely destroy..." (Deut. 12:2). Rather, the Torah certainly is being lenient in the case of chometz, such that bitul [on its own] is sufficient, but obviously, searching [and destroying] are also included in "tashbisu". [Therefore,] one who does not wish to use bitul, or is unable to concentrate sufficiently, can search in all the places into which chometz was brought, and destroy it, either by burning it, or by one of the other methods which will, with Heaven's help, be explained. And after he searched all those places, even if chometz was subsequently found, he has not transgressed a Torah prohibition, because the Torah relies on presumptions. And since he did all that was required, he is simply a victim of circumstances. Thus, on the Torah level, one may use either of two approaches, either searching [and destroying] or bitul, and he will have fulfilled his obligation.

From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Pesachim 11b) that we eat chamets all [the first] four hours of this day, and we suspend [it] all of the fifth - meaning to say that we do not eat [it], due to the decree because of a cloudy day, and we do not burn [it], but rather we [can] benefit from it, to feed it to any creature or to sell it to a person - and we burn it at the beginning of the sixth hour. And this is an ordinance of the Sages regarding the commandment, in order to distance a person from sin, so that he will not stumble to eat it at the beginning of the seventh hour - which is a Torah prohibition, as we have said. And [it is] also like they, may their memory be blessed expounded from another verse; as they said there in Pesachim 4b, "It is is written (Exodus 12:19), 'Seven days leaven, etc.,' yet it is [also] written (Exodus 12:15), 'but on the first day, etc.' Behold, how is this? [It is] to include the fourteenth day for destruction [of chamets]." And [so] the understanding of "first" (rishon) would be like [its usage], "Were you born rishon Adam" (Job 15:7), the understanding of which is before. And from that which the verse obligated to dispose of it on that day, we knew that part of that day would necessarily be permitted, as it is impossible to determine the exact first instant of a day and dispose of it then. And since it is like this: That part of the day is permitted, and Scripture did not elucidate which part of it is permissible, we divided it equally from true logic - as if you divide in [any] other way, there will be no foundation to the thing at all. And that is what they said over there, "[The word,] 'but (akh),' divides." And those that explained that akh is chats (divide) in [the letter susbtitution pattern called], "achs, betaa" did not understand the words of the Sages. [This] and the rest of the details of the commandment are in Tractate Pesachim in the first chapter.