Pesachim 109a (קט.) — the Talmud in English

Rather, they distribute to them

roasted grains,

wheat roasted in fire,

and nuts on the eve of Passover, so that they will not sleep and will ask

the Four Questions.

They said about Rabbi Akiva that he would distribute roasted grains and nuts to the children on the eve of Passover, so that they would not sleep and would ask.

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: One snatches the matza.

One hurries to eat on the night of the Seder

because of

the

children, so that they will not sleep.

Another interpretation: One lifts up the tray containing the matzot and the maror, so that the children will ask why matza and maror are eaten tonight. [The Bach wrote that according to this interpretation, one should not have the reading “so that they will not sleep.”]

It was taught in a beraita: They said about Rabbi Akiva,

that

he never said: The time has arrived

for

standing up from the house of study

to interrupt Torah study,

except on the eves of Passover and Yom Kippur.

On the eves of Passover: Because of the children,

he would say that everyone should go home during the day to put the children to sleep

so that they would not sleep

at night during the telling of the Haggada.

On the eve of Yom Kippur: So that they would feed their children.

The Sages taught: A person is obligated to gladden his children and the members of his household on the Festival, as it is stated: “And you shall rejoice on your Festival.”

With what does one gladden them?

With wine.

Rabbi Yehuda says: Men

—he gladdens the members of his household

with what is appropriate for them.

And women

—he gladdens them

with what is appropriate for them.

And we explain:

Men, with what is appropriate for them,

that is,

with wine.

And women, with what?

Rav Yosef taught: In Babylonia: With colored garments.

In Eretz Yisrael: With pressed linen garments.

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: When the Temple is standing, there is no joy except with the meat

of shelamim offerings.

As it is stated: “And you shall slaughter peace-offerings, and eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God.”

And now, when the Temple is not standing—

there is no joy except with wine.

As it is stated: “And wine gladdens the heart of man.”

Rabbi Yitzhak said: The kasta of moraysa,

the measure in which moraysa was sold [a food made from fish fat, roasted flour, and water],

which was used in Tzippori, was the equivalent of a log of the Temple

it was the size of the log that was used in the Temple.

And with it they measured a quarter

of a log

of

the four cups

of Passover,

which they would fill with it and divide among the four cups.

Rabbi Yohanan said: The ancient temanya,

a name of a measure,

that was

ancient

in Tiberias,

and it

was larger than this one

it was larger than the temanya used today,

by a quarter

of a quarter-log.

And with it they measured the quarter-log of Passover.

They would pour the old measure into the new one, and what remained in the old one was a quarter-log.

Rav Ḥisda said: The quarter-log prescribed by the Torah

[its measure [in a square vessel]

is two fingerbreadths by two fingerbreadths, in height

at a height of

two fingerbreadths, and half a fingerbreadth, and one-fifth of a fingerbreadth.

And we derive this from the measure of a ritual bath.

As it was taught in a beraita:

It is written: “And when a man has a discharge of semen

and he shall bathe all his flesh in water.”

And we expound: “In water—his flesh” teaches

that there shall not be

at the time of immersion

anything intervening between his flesh and the water.

“In water”

is vocalized with a pataḥ, which serves in place of the definite article, and implies designated water, namely

the water of a ritual bath,

which gathered there initially on its own, and not drawn water, which a person has drawn now.

“All his flesh,”

implies that all his flesh must be immersed at once. This teaches that he must immerse in

water in which his entire body rises

enters

into it,

so that all of it is covered by the water.