Korban Pesach - when can you eat it?

The gemara in Berachos (9a) brings a machlokess between Rebbi Akiva and Rebbi Elazar ben Azaryah when the korban pesach can be eaten.


(שמות יב) ואכלו את הבשר בלילה הזה רבי אלעזר בן עזריה אומר נאמר כאן בלילה הזה ונאמר להלן (שמות יב) ועברתי בארץ מצרים בלילה הזה מה להלן עד חצות אף כאן עד חצות אמר ליה ר' עקיבא והלא כבר נאמר (שמות יב) בחפזון עד שעת חפזון א"כ מה תלמוד לומר בלילה יכול יהא נאכל כקדשים ביום תלמוד לומר בלילה בלילה הוא נאכל ולא ביום

The possuk says that the korban pesach can be eaten by night: ואכלו את הבשר בלילה הזה. Rebbi Elazar ben Azaryah explains that the words בלילה הזה means until midnight, Rebbi Akiva explains that בלילה הזה means until morning. Rashi explains that according to Rebbi Elazar ben Azaryah the Korban Pesach cannot be eaten after חצות.

The gemara continues:
והני תנאי כהני תנאי דתניא (דברים טז) שם תזבח את הפסח בערב כבוא השמש מועד צאתך ממצרים ר' אליעזר אומר בערב אתה זובח וכבוא השמש אתה אוכל ומועד צאתך ממצרים אתה שורף רבי יהושע אומר בערב אתה זובח כבוא השמש אתה אוכל ועד מתי אתה אוכל והולך עד מועד צאתך ממצרים

The machlokess between Rebbi Akiva and Rebbi Elazar ben Azaryah is the same as the machlokess between Rebbi Yehoshua and Rebbi Eliezer.

The possuk says - שם תזבח את הפסח בערב כבוא השמש מועד צאתך ממצרים

Rebbi Eliezer says: In the evening, you should shecht the pesach, when the sun sets you should eat the Pesach, on the anniversary of yetzias mitzraim (in the morning) you should burn the Pesach (because if it is left over till the morning it becomes nosar). [According to Rebbi Eliezer you should only eat it till midnight, the reference to מועד צאתך ממצרים is telling you when to burn it. He holds like Rebbi Elazar ben Azaryah.]

Rebbi Yehoshua says: In the evening you should shecht the korban pesach, when the sun sets you should eat it, until the anniversary of yetzias mitzraim in the morning. [He holds like Rebbi Akiva that the time to eat the pesach is the whole night.]

The Ohr Someach (Hilchos Chametz U’Matza, Perek ו�, Halachaא� ) asks – how can Rebbi Eliezer say that you should burn the nosar in the morning, we do not burn kodshim on yom tov (because this is not needed for ochel nephesh)? Rashi explains that he simply means that in the morning it is nosar and the time to burn it has come. The Ohr Someach asks that according to Rashi what have you added with מועד צאתך ממצרים? The korban could not be eaten and was nosar from midnight?

The Ohr Someach argues on Rashi and says that according to Rebbi Eliezer and Rebbi Elazar ben Azarya the Pesach can be eaten till the morning. However if it is eaten after חצות you are not mekayem the mitzva of eating the Pesach, rather it is just like an ordinary shelomim.

The Ohr Someach asks on himself from a gemara in Pesachim.
The gemara says (דף ע�א עמוד א')
אמר רב כהנא מנין לאימורי חגיגת חמשה עשר שנפסלין בלינה שנאמר (שמות כג) ולא ילין חלב חגי עד בקר וסמיך ליה ראשית למימרא דהאי בקר בקר ראשון מתקיף לה רב יוסף טעמא דכתב ראשית הא לא כתב ראשית הוה אמינא מאי בקר בקר שני מי איכא מידי דבשר איפסיל ליה מאורתא ואימורין עד צפרא אמר ליה אביי אלמה לא והרי פסח לרבי אלעזר בן עזריה דבשר איפסיל ליה מחצות ואמורין עד צפרא

Rav Kahana says – how do you know that if the evarim of the shalmei chagigah that are brought on erev pesach are left over till the morning they become nosar? The possuk says: ולא ילין חלב חגי עד בקר – you should not leave over the chelev of the chagiga till the morning, and the possuk also says the word ראשית next to this possuk which tells you that בקר here means the first morning after shechting it.

Rav Yosef asked – You are saying that had the possuk not said the word ראשית then we would have understood that the word בקר refers to the second morning (the morning of the 16th). How could that be? The shelamim can only be eaten for 2 days and 1 night – till the evening of the 16th. So how could you say that the meat becomes nosar from the beginning of the night of the 16th but the emurin can be burnt till the morning of the 16th?

Abaye said to Rav Yosef, “Why not? According to Rebbi Elazar ben Azaryah the meat of the Pesach becomes pasul from midnight and you can burn the emurin till the morning?”

You see from Abaye that the meat of the Pesach becomes nosar from midnight. According to the Ohr Someach it can be eaten till the morning as a shelomim?

The אור שמח answers as follows:
  1. The Korban Pesach is different to all other korbanos. All other korbanos are brought primarily for the zerikas hadam on the mizbeach and the haktaras emurim. The Korban Pesach is the only korban where the main kavana of the korban is to be eaten. For example, the gemara says in Pesachim (60a) that if someone shechted the Pesach shelo le’ochlav (for people who cannot eat a kzayis) then the Pesach is possul. This is a unique halacha in the Pesach.
  2. The gemara asks in Pesachim (צ�ו ע�א), where did they burn the emurim of the korban pesach in mitzraim? Abaye says that ein hochi nami, they didn’t. The Ohr Someach explains that this is an extrapolation of the fact that a Pesach is ikro le’achilah. The entire Pesach in Mitzraim was eaten, even the chelev that would normally be brought on the mizbeach.
  3. Once midnight passed in Mitzraim, they were unable to eat the Pesach even according to the Ohr Someach because no emurim were brought and a shelomim requires emurim to be burnt in order for it to be mutar be’achilah.
  4. Even although no emurim were brought in Mitzraim, this was still a korban pesach which had a din that emurim could be burnt till the morning.

Abaye’s question on Rav Yosef is from the korban pesach that was brought in Mitzraim, you see that it is possible that you can have a korban that is ossur to eat from midnight but emurim could still theoretically be burnt till the morning.

Comments

  1. >>>The Ohr Someach (Hilchos Chametz U’Matza, Perek ו�, Halachaא� ) asks – how can Rebbi Eliezer say that you should burn the nosar in the morning, we do not burn kodshim on yom tov (because this is not needed for ochel nephesh)?

    How is this kashe answered by the O.C.?
    Also, isn't there a piece from the Brisker Rav that there are 2 dinim in the mitzvas achilas k.p. -- 1) m'tzad achilas k.p 2) m'tzad achilas kodshim kalim. This would fit well with what you are saying.

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  2. According to the Ohr Someach in the morning you can burn it mitzad kodshim but not mitzad yom tov.

    According to Rashi that you can burn it mitzad kodshim from chatzos you have to say that the reason the beriasoh says to burn it in the morning is becuase you cannot burn kodshim at night. But then you have the kushye of the Ohr Someach that you cannot burn it in the morning either becuase of Yom Tov.

    pc :-)

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