Halakhah for Exodus 1:14

These bitter herbs 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."

And the verse stated here, "work of labor," and it did not state, "all work" - since the needs of food for the soul were permitted to be done on the holiday; as Scripture comes in another place (Exodus 12:16), "but that which is eaten by every soul, that alone shall be done for you." And this is the understanding of work of labor - meaning to say, work that is not for the needs of food for the soul, like the matter that is stated (Exodus 1:14), "labor in the field"; and so [too,] "Kain was a laborer of the field" (Genesis 4:2); "a king over a field that is labored" (Ecclesiastes 5:8); "labors his land" (Proverbs 12:11). But work that is for food for the soul like cooking and similar to it is work of enjoyment, not work of labor. So did Ramban, may his memory be blessed, explain. And he wrote further (Ramban on Leviticus 23:7) that this understanding is elucidated in the Torah [itself], since with the Festival of Matsot, [about which] it first stated, "all work shall not be done upon them" in the Order of Bo el Pharoah, it was required to explain, "but that which is eaten by every soul, that alone shall be done for you." But with all of the other holidays, it was brief and it stated, "all work of labor you shall not do," to forbid all work that is not [for] food for the soul, and to inform that food for the soul is permitted on them. And Scripture did not ever state in one of the other holidays, "all work," nor explain the permissibility of food for the soul - since "all work of labor" teaches about this. But in the section, Kol HaBekhor on the Festival of Matsot, it states (Deuteronomy 16:8), "and on the seventh day, it is a convocation to the Lord, your God; you shall not do work." And the reason is because it already explicitly permitted food for the soul on this holiday in the Order of Bo el Pharaoh. And afterwards in this Order, it mentions "work of labor," which also implies the permissibility of food for the soul. And therefore, when it repeated and mentioned it another time in the section of Kol HaBekhor, it was not needed for it to state a further explanation about it; and [so] it mentioned just, "work," and relied on that which is known [from the earlier entries]. And nonetheless, it did not state, "all work," as [it does] with Shabbat and Yom Kippur, but [rather just] stated, "work" - meaning to say, the work which I have warned you about.

From the laws of the commandment - that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Pesachim 40a) that matsot require great watching, that they not come to rising, to the point that they, may their memory be blessed, obligated us to be careful that no water come upon [the wheat], even from the time of reaping, lest it come to rising (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Leavened and Unleavened Bread 5:9); and the rest of its details - are [all] elucidated in [the] first [section of] Pesach[im]. And the general rule is that there be a great guarding upon them that they not come to rising. And so [too,] what they explained about marror, that any bitter (mar) herb is included in the marror mentioned by the verse, and that a person fulfills his obligation on Pesach with any of them. As the commandment to us about marror is in memory of "they made life bitter for them" (Exodus 1:14), and the matter is remembered with any bitter herb. But nonetheless, the Sages, may their memory be blessed, chose for us (Pesachim 39a) to eat romaine lettuce. As with it, there is memory of the bitterness through the stalk, the taste of which is a little bitter, and there is also more beauty to the commandment than with other bitter herbs. And also its name is beautiful, as it is called chassa, [such that] a blessing is hinted in it - that the Merciful One pitied (chass) us and redeemed us from the hand of the harsh Egyptians. And from all of these [angles] there is arousal and remembrance in the heart of people of the matter of the miracles that were done for us in Egypt. And therefore, the law was fixed that it it fitting for us to look for romaine lettuce. Its details are also found in Pesachim.