Pesachim 2a — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

On the light of the fourteenth,

on the night of the fourteenth of Nisan,

one searches for the hametz,

one searches for the hametz that is in the house,

by the light of a lamp, so that one should not violate its prohibition during Pesach through “it shall not be seen” and “it shall not be found.”

so that one will not violate the prohibitions “it shall not be seen” and “it shall not be found” during Passover.

The obligation to search applies only in places where it is customary to bring hametz during the year. But

any place into which hametz is not brought —

there is no need

to search.

And the Mishna explains:

v

Since we have said that a place into which hametz is not brought does not require searching, if so,

with regard to what did they say

the Sages [in the Mishna below], that one must search

two rows

of arranged wine barrels

in a wine cellar?

But is a wine cellar not a place into which hametz is not brought?! They said this only concerning such a wine cellar that is

a place into which hametz is brought.

For example, a cellar from which wine is taken in the middle of a meal, so that sometimes the attendant stands and pours wine for those reclining at the meal while holding his bread in his hand; and when the wine is finished, he enters the cellar to bring more wine while the bread is still in his hand, and at times he forgets it there. In such a cellar they said that two rows of barrels require searching.

And Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disputed what these two rows are —

It is the practice of those who store wine to arrange the barrels in the cellar in rows, until they fill the entire floor of the cellar with barrels. Afterward, they place additional layers of barrels upon them, up to the ceiling.

Beit Shammai say:

One must search

two rows

full

across the entire cellar.

That is, the outer row opposite the entrance, from the bottom to the top, and the row parallel to it farther inside.

Or, according to another opinion in the Gemara, these two rows are: the outer row from bottom to top, and the uppermost row along the entire length and width of the cellar.

And Beit Hillel say:

One must search only two individual rows, namely,

the two outer rows, which are the uppermost.

The outer row in the upper layer, and one additional individual row farther inside. [And according to another opinion in the Gemara, the additional row is the row beneath the uppermost row.]

Gemara:

We learned in our Mishna: On the light of the fourteenth, one searches for the hametz.

And we raised this question:

What

is “light”?

Rav Huna said: “Light” means

‘light of day,’” that is,

daybreak,

meaning as soon as the day begins to grow light, on the morning of the fourteenth.

And Rav Yehuda said: “‘Light’ means

that is, as soon as the day becomes light, on the morning of the fourteenth.

And Rav Yehuda said: “Light” means night,

the night of the fourteenth.

It entered your mind

the Gemara now assumes,

that the one who says

“daybreak” —

actual daybreak

is what he says: Rav Huna holds that one searches for the hametz only on the morning of the fourteenth and not on the preceding night.

And the one who says

“night” —

actual night

is what he says.

He raised an objection

against Rav Yehuda from what is said concerning Joseph’s brothers [Genesis 44:3]:

“The morning became light, and the men were sent away.”

And the Gemara assumed that the verse’s intention is to say that in the morning, which is called “light,” the men were sent away.

It follows

that it is proven from here that

“light” means

daytime

[morning]

is.

And this is difficult for Rav Yehuda, who says that “light” is night!

And we answer:

Is it written

“the light was morning,”

which would then imply that “light” is a noun, and that it is the name of the morning?

But surely

“the morning became light”

is written!

The “light” mentioned here is a verb: the morning became light, and the men were sent away.

And

according to the one who says,

as people say,

“the morning shone,”

the morning became light. But “light” as a noun means only night.

And the verse came to teach, incidentally, a proper practice, from Joseph’s brothers, that they waited until the day became light.

And this is in accordance with Rav Yehuda citing Rav.

For Rav Yehuda citing Rav said: A person should always enter

the city from the road

“with good light,”

when the sun is still shining [from the expression, “And God saw the light, that it was good”].

And

so

depart

from the city

“with good light,”

when the sun is already shining, in order to be saved from wild animals and robbers.

Meitivi

to Rav Judah from what is stated in David’s last words [II Samuel 23:4]:

“And like the light of morning, the sun shines forth.”

The Gemara assumes that the “light” mentioned here is a noun. And thus David said: In the World to Come, the righteous will emerge from their darkness, and the sun will shine for them, like this “light,” which is the morning.

Therefore,

“light”

means daytime!?

And we answer:

Is it written

“the light of morning,”

so that it would imply that “light” is a noun?

After all,

“and like the light of morning”

is written!

It is not a noun; rather, its meaning is “the illumination” of the morning.

And this is what

David said:

“And like the light of morning,”

the time when the illumination of the morning begins, that is, at dawn, which here,

in this world,

is still dark and gloomy—that time will be full of light,

like the rising of the sun for the righteous in the World to Come.

For in the future the light of the sun will be very great, so that even at dawn there will be a strong light, like the time of sunrise in this world.

Meitivi

to Rav Judah from what is stated [Genesis 1:5]:

“And God called the light

‘Day.’”

Therefore,

“light”

is the name of

daytime!

And we answer: The “light” mentioned here is not a noun, but rather

this is what

the verse

says: “For the one that is becoming light and coming,

from when it begins to become light,

call it day!”

And we raise an objection:

But from now on,

concerning what is stated later in the verse,

“And He called the darkness ‘Night,’”

shall we also interpret there:

“For the one that is becoming dark and coming,

when it begins to grow dark,

call it night!”

And

this cannot be interpreted in this way, because

we have established

that even after it begins to grow dark, it is still not night,

for until the emergence of the stars,

which is a later time than the time when it begins to grow dark,

it is daytime!

And the proof is from the construction of the Second Temple, as it is stated [Nehemiah 4:15]: “And we were engaged in the work, and half of them held spears, from the rising of dawn until the emergence of the stars.” And necessarily, all this time is day, for it is stated in the following verse: “And the night was for us a guard, and the day for work” [Berakhot 2b].

And if so, what is stated, “And God called the light ‘Day,’” cannot be interpreted as “from when it begins to become light.”

Rather, necessarily, “light” is the noun for day. And this is difficult for Rav Judah.

And we answer:

Rather, “And God called the light ‘Day’” is not an expression of assigning a name [that God called the name of the light “Day”], but rather it is an expression of calling as a command.

And

this is what

the verse

says: “The Merciful One called the light,

the Holy One, blessed is He, called the illuminating creation, which He created from the radiance of the glory of His garment,

and appointed it for the commandment of daytime,”

He commanded it to serve before Him during the day.

And the Merciful One called the darkness, and appointed it for the commandment of nighttime.

He called the darkness, and commanded it to serve before Him at night.

Meitivi

to Rav Huna from what is stated in Psalms [148:3]:

“Praise Him, all stars of light.”

And it implies that they are “the stars of night,” since the stars are visible only at night.

Therefore,

“light”

means nighttime

[night]

it is.

And this is difficult for Rav Huna, who says that “light” means “morning”?

And we answer: The “light” mentioned here is not the noun for night, but rather an expression meaning luminary, and

this is what

the verse

says: “Praise Him, all illuminating stars.”

And we wonder:

But from now on,

according to your words, this is difficult: Is it only

the illuminating stars that require praise

before the Holy One, blessed is He, whereas the stars

that do not illuminate do not require praise

before Him!?

But it is written [

there, verse 2]

“Praise Him, all His hosts,”

which implies all of them, both those that illuminate and those that do not illuminate!?

And we answer: In truth, “stars of light” means illuminating stars, but the verse did not come to exclude stars that do not illuminate, for all the stars have light.

Rather, this it comes to teach us:

the verse

that the light of the stars is also called light.

And we explain:

What practical difference

is there whether the light of the stars is called “light” or not?

Concerning

one who

vows

benefit

from light.

For he is forbidden to benefit even from the light of the stars.

And

as it was taught:

One who vows benefit from light—

is forbidden

to benefit

from the light of the stars,

for, as stated, it too is called “light.”

Meitivi

to Rav Judah from what is stated [Job 24:14]:

“At light the murderer rises; he kills the poor and needy, and at night he is like a thief.”