Pesachim 114a (קיד.) — the Talmud in English

The Gemara now continues and states another matter:

Rabbi Yitzhak ben Aḥa, of halakhic teachings!

Whenever Rabbi Yitzhak is mentioned without a patronymic in connection with halakhic matters, he is Rabbi Yitzhak ben Aḥa.

Rabbi Yitzhak ben Pinḥas, of aggadic teachings!

When Rabbi Yitzhak is mentioned without a patronymic in aggadic passages, he is Rabbi Yitzhak ben Pinḥas.

And your mnemonic is: “Hear now, my brothers and my companions.”

Rabbi Yitzhak mentioned in connection with shemata [and alluded to by “Hear now”] is Rabbi Yitzhak ben Aḥa [alluded to by “my brothers and my companions”].

Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Ilai: Eat onion

or other types of vegetables whose price is low,

and sit with onion

in your house. That is, so that you will not have to sell your house.

But do not eat geese and chickens, with your heart pursuing you,

so that you will always crave them, since you have become accustomed to them.

Less,

reduce

from your eating and from your drinking

from your food and drink,

and add to your dwelling.

When Ulla came, he said: In the West they cite a proverb

They quoted a proverb in Eretz Yisrael:

One who eats a fat tail

one who is accustomed to eating a tail, that is, fatty meat,

must hide in the upper story!

He must hide in the attic of his house, because of the creditors who press him.

One who eats greens

vegetables,

may lie on the refuse heaps of the city!

He can sit on the city’s garbage heaps, that is, in a simple and ordinary place where the other townspeople sit, without fearing creditors.

Mishna:

They poured for him

for the head of the household

the first cup,

Beit Shammai say: He recites the blessing over the day

the blessing of kiddush of the day first,

and afterward he recites the blessing over the wine

“Who creates the fruit of the vine.”

And Beit Hillel say: He recites the blessing

first

over the wine, and afterward he recites the blessing over the day.

This dispute applies to every kiddush recited on the nights of Shabbat and Festivals, as the Gemara explains. They also dispute the case of one who recites kiddush over bread: Does the blessing “Who brings forth bread from the earth” precede, or does the blessing over the day precede?

Gemara:

The Sages taught:

One of the

matters about which Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel

disputed

in

the laws of

a meal [and in Berakhot 51b they were all enumerated]:

all of them were enumerated in Berakhot 51b ]:

Beit Shammai say: He recites the blessing over the day, and afterward he recites the blessing over the wine, because the day causes the wine to be brought.

It is only because of the kiddush of Shabbat or the Festival that wine is brought before the meal in order to recite kiddush over it. Therefore, the blessing of kiddush of the day must precede the blessing over the wine.

And there is another reason:

The day has already been sanctified

at nightfall, or even earlier, when he accepted Shabbat upon himself,

but the wine has not yet come

to the table.

That is, the onset of the day preceded the arrival of the wine; therefore, it also precedes the blessing.

And Beit Hillel say: He recites the blessing over the wine and afterward he recites the blessing over the day, because the wine causes

the

blessing of

the kiddush that you will recite.

For if he has no wine [or bread], he does not recite kiddush; therefore, the blessing over the wine [or bread] precedes.

Alternatively: The blessing over the wine is frequent, whereas the blessing over the day is not frequent.

And the general rule is:

That which is frequent and that which is not frequent—the frequent takes precedence!

And the halakha is in accordance with the statement of Beit Hillel!

And we discussed this:

What

is the meaning of “Alternatively”?

Why did Beit Hillel need to state an additional reason for their ruling, rather than suffice with the first reason?

And we answer:

If you would say,

perhaps you might say:

There, there are two

reasons to give precedence to the blessing of kiddush, as explained in the statement of Beit Shammai,

but

if

here,

to give precedence to the blessing over the wine, there is only

one,

only one reason, that the wine causes the kiddush to be recited.

For this reason, Beit Hillel said that

here too, there are two

reasons

indeed!

And they added the reason:

That which is frequent and that which is not frequent—the frequent takes precedence.

The Gemara raises an objection to what the beraita stated:

“And the halakha is in accordance with the statement of Beit Hillel”—is it obvious!?

For a Divine voice has gone forth,

stating that the halakha is in accordance with Beit Hillel everywhere.

And we answer:

Alternatively,

this beraita was taught

before

the

Divine voice

was heard.

And

alternatively,

even if it was taught

after the Divine voice, this beraita follows the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua, who said: “We do not take notice of a Divine voice!”

According to his view, the halakha was not established in accordance with Beit Hillel; rather, each person may act either in accordance with Beit Shammai or in accordance with Beit Hillel. Therefore, the beraita needed to teach us that in this dispute the halakha is in accordance with Beit Hillel.

Mishna:

They brought before him

vegetables, after he had recited kiddush over the wine [this is the karpas that we customarily bring], and he dips them in salt water so that the children will be prompted to ask why vegetables are brought before the meal, as this is not customary [and this is the question: “On all other nights we do not dip even once”].

And if he has no other vegetable,

he dips ḥazeret,

he eats the ḥazeret by dipping it [in ḥaroset, according to Tosafot; in salt water, according to Rashbam].

Until he reaches the relish of the bread.

The eating of the ḥazeret dipped in ḥaroset or salt water takes place before he reaches the ḥazeret eaten after the eating of matza, for the mitzva of maror. This eating is called “the relish of the bread,” because it draws on and brings about the eating [Tosafot].

That is, this dipping is not for the mitzva of eating maror, but only to prompt the children to ask.

Afterward,

they brought before him matza,

and ḥazeret, and ḥaroset, and two cooked dishes,

one as a commemoration of the Paschal offering and one as a commemoration of the Festival offering.

As for the fact that they brought ḥaroset, they did so

even though ḥaroset is not a mitzva,

as it serves only to dull the sharpness of the maror with it.

Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Tzadok says:

The ḥaroset

is a mitzva,

because it commemorates the mortar with which Israel worked in Egypt.

And in the Temple,

when the Temple was standing,

they would bring before him the body of the Paschal offering,

the roasted Paschal offering.