הלכה על במדבר 9:27

(Shin) ‘I have turned and planned,’ ‘I have found strength’ that the whole entire world is one man,⁶³See the first introductory paragraph after the preface (right before Paragraph Aleph). from that which they took as obvious (Kiddushin 40b), that the world is only judged according to its majority. And if everyone was a man on his own, what does the majority have to do with this? Rather [we see] that it is all one man. And it is [found] in the Midrash (Eichah Rabbah 3:5), “‘He has filled me with bitterness, sated me with wormwood’ (Lam. 3:15) – with that which He has filled me with bitterness on the nights of Pesach, as it is written (Num. 9:11), ‘upon matsa and bitter herbs shall they eat it,’ He has filled me with wormwood on the nights of the Ninth of Av.” And it appears to me [that this can be explained] according to that which is [found] in Midrash Eichah Rabbah 1:20:
On the night of the Ninth of Av, our father Avraham entered the chamber of the Holy of Holies. The Holy One, blessed be He, grabbed his hand and strolled with him up and down. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “What is My friend [doing] in My house” (Jer. 11:15)? He said [back], “My Master, where are my children?” He said to him, “They sinned and I exiled them among the nations.” He said to Him, “Were there no righteous ones among them?” He said to him, “To do vile designs” (Jer. 11:15). He said to Him, “You should have observed the good ones among them.” He said to him, “Their many were bad, as it is written, ‘To do the many vile designs.’” He said to Him, “You should have looked at their circumcision in their flesh.” He said to him, “By your life, they refused it, as it is stated (Jer. 11:15), ‘they remove the holy flesh from upon you.’” [See there.]
And at first glance, [this is] already implied earlier. As he asked Him, “Were there no righteous ones among them?” And the Holy One, blessed be He, answered him, “‘To do vile designs.’” And [yet] he continues to ask, “You should have observed the good ones among them.” Behold, there were none! And it appears to me that [this can be explained] according to what is written in the Derashot of Rabbi Yehudah Moscato (Italy, 16th century) about that which the world is judged according to its majority – that it means if one is a murderer, another is a thief, still another takes bribes and the last one lends with interest, their prohibitions nullify one another. [This is] as we say (Zevachim 78a), “If one mixes and eats [a combination of] pigul,⁶⁴Sacrificial meat disqualified by an incorrect thought. notar⁶⁵Sacrificial meat disqualified by the violation of its time limit. and impure meat, he is exempt. And if so, since the majority are not ones who take interest nor murderers, they nullify each other. See there. According to this, our father Avraham first asked Him if there were truly righteous ones, and the Holy One, blessed be He, answered him, “‘To do vile designs.’” To this he said, “You should have observed the good ones,” meaning even though each one has several sins, they are good in relationship to each other; since [the transgressions] this one has, the other does not have – and [so] they can join together to nullify the transgressions of his fellow. And so with the second [individual], with the third and with all of them. [To this], the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Their category (sugihon, which is more commonly rendered as, their many) is bad,” and prohibitions do not nullify one another (as opposed to what Avraham had thought, that people can be combined). Rather everything goes according to the category of transgressions as a whole. And [so] transgressions do not nullify one another. And they said there in Zevachim 79a about this – regarding prohibitions nullifying one another – that it is against Hillel. As he said [to] wrap the matsa and the bitter herbs and eat them together, as he holds that commandments do not nullify one another. And if commandments do not nullify one another, the same is true that prohibitions do not nullify one another. See there. And if so, it is well said that, “With that which He has filled me with bitterness on the nights of Pesach, as it is written (Num. 9:11), ‘upon matsa and bitter herbs shall they eat it’” – and if so, it is shown that commandments do not nullify one another – with this, “He has filled me with wormwood on the nights of the Ninth of Av.” Since their category is bad, the transgressions do not nullify one another.

That is that He commanded us to slaughter the Pesach-offering on the fourteenth of Nissan in the afternoon. And one who transgresses this command and does not sacrifice it in its time is liable for excision - whether it is a man or a woman. And it has already been explained in the Gemara (Pesachim 91b) that the first Pesach is a commandment [also] for women and that it pushes off the Shabbat. That means to say, its sacrifice must be on the fourteenth [even when it] comes out on a Shabbat, [for women] - just like for every Jewish man. And the Torah's language about the liability for excision is His saying, "and refrains from offering the Pesach-offering, that person shall be cut off" (Numbers 9:13). And at the beginning of Keritot (Keritot 2a) when it lists the commandments for which one who transgresses them becomes liable for excision - and they are all negative commandments - it says, "And the Pesach-offering and circumcision, among the positive commandments." And we already mentioned this in the introduction (Sefer HaMitzvot, Shorashim 14). And this commandment has already been explained in Pesachim. (See Parashat Bo; Mishneh Torah, Paschal Offering 1.)

That is that He commanded us to eat the lamb of the Pesach-offering on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan according to the stipulations mentioned - and that is that it is roasted, that it is eaten in one house and that is eaten with matzah and bitter herbs (maror). And that is His saying, "They shall eat the meat that night; they shall eat it roasted with fire, with matzah and with bitter herbs" (Exodus 12:8). And perhaps a questioner will challenge me and say, "Why do you count the eating of the Pesach-offering, matzah and the bitter herbs as one commandment and not count them as three commandments?" I would [then] answer him that it is true that the eating of matzah is a separate commandment, as I will explain later (Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandments 158); likewise is the eating of the meat of the Pesach-offering a separate commandment, as we have mentioned. However the bitter herbs are an extension of the eating of the Pesach-offering and are not counted as a separate commandment. And the proof of the matter is that the meat of the Pesach-offering is eaten to fulfill the commandment, whether bitter herbs are available or whether they are not available. But bitter herbs are only eaten with the meat of the Pesach-offering - as His saying, "upon [...] bitter herbs shall they eat it" (Numbers 9:11). But [if one ate] bitter herbs without meat, he has not done anything; and we do not say that he has already fulfilled a commandment. And the language of the Mekhilta (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:8:3) is, "'They shall eat it roasted with fire, with matzah and with bitter herbs' - tells [us] that the commandment of the Pesach-offering is roasted meat, matzah and bitter herbs." This means that the commandment is the combination of these. And there, they said, "From where [do we know that] which you say, that if they do not have matzah and bitter herbs, they fulfill their obligation with the Pesach-offering? [Hence] we learn to say, 'shall they eat it'" - meaning the meat by itself. "I might think that if they do not have a Pesach-offering, they [do not] fulfill their obligation with matzah and bitter herbs. Behold you argue: The Pesach-offering is a positive commandment and matzah and bitter herbs are a positive commandment. Behold you have learned that if they do not have matzah and bitter herbs, they fulfill their obligation for the Pesach-offering; so too, if they do not have the Pesach-offering, they fulfill their obligation for matzah and bitter herbs. ([Hence] we learn to say, 'upon matzah and bitter herbs shall they eat it.')" And there, they [also] said, "'They shall eat it' - From here, [we know] that the Pesach-offering is to be eaten in a state of satiety, but matzah and maror are not [necessarily] to be eaten in a state of satiety." That is because the essence of the commandment is the eating of the meat - as He said, "They shall eat the meat that night," whereas the bitter herbs are an extension of the eating of the meat; and their obligation is explained from these verses, for those that understand them. And the obvious proof of this is the [following statement] in the Talmud - and that is their saying (Pesachim 120a), "Bitter herbs in our days is rabbinic." For there is no obligation from the Torah to eat them by themselves. Rather they should be eaten with the meat of the Pesach-offering. And that is a clear proof that they are from those things that are extensions of the commandment [of the Pesach-offering], and that their eating is not a separate commandment. And the regulations of this commandment are also explained in Tractate Pesachim. (See Parashat Bo; Mishneh Torah, Paschal Offering 1.)

He prohibited us from breaking one of the bones of the Second Pesach-offering. And that is his saying, "neither shall you break a bone of it" (Numbers 9:12). And one who breaks [one of them] is liable for lashes. And in the Gemara, Pesachim (Pesachim 85a), they said, regarding the Second-Pesach-offering, "When it says, 'neither shall you break a bone of it,' for which there is no need to say to learn [it] - as it is already surely stated, 'according to all the statute of the Passover-offering' - you must say that it is to [indicate that it applies to both] a bone in which there is marrow and a bone in which there is no marrow." And the regulations of breaking the bone have already been explained in the seventh chapter of Pesachim. (See Parashat Beha'alotecha; Mishneh Torah, Paschal Offering 10.)

The commandment of the second Pesach (Pesach Sheni) on the fourteenth of Iyar: That anyone who was unable to offer the first Pesach offering on the fourteenth day of Nissan - for example, due to impurity or because he was at a distance - [offer] the second Pesach offering on the fourteenth day of Iyar; as it is stated (Numbers 9:11), "On the second month on the fourteenth day in the afternoon, you shall offer it." The Sages taught us further (Pesachim 73a) that it is not specifically ritual impurity or distance, but any case of inadvertence or duress; or even if was volitional and he did not offer the first one, he may offer the second one.

The commandment that the second Pesach (Pesach Sheni) offering be eaten with matsot and maror (bitter herbs): That anyone who is obligated in Pesach Sheni eat from the meat of the Pesach offering with matsot and bitter herbs, as it is stated (Numbers 9:11), "They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs."

Not to leave any meat from the Pesach Sheni sacrifice to its morrow: Not to leave any meat from the Pesach Sheni sacrifice to its morrow, which is the fifteenth day of Iyar, as it is stated (Numbers 9:12), "They shall not leave any of it over until morning." All of its content is in the negative commandment that comes about this on the first Pesach which is written in the Order of Bo el Pharaoh, and it is the second negative commandment there (Sefer HaChinukh 8).

Not to break a bone from the bones of the Pesach Sheni sacrifice: Not to break a bone from all of the bones of the Pesach sacrifice, as it is stated (Numbers 9:12), "and a bone they shall not break in it." All of the content of this negative commandment is reflected in the negative commandment that comes about this also on the first Pesach, which is written in the Order of Bo el Pharaoh (Sefer HaChinukh 8). And it is there - see it there if you want to know.