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Pesachim 88b

פסחים פ״ח ע״ב

Learn Pesachim 88b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The end of the dispute about a half-slave, half-free man (חציו עבד וחציו בן חורין), and a new משנה about a slave sent to slaughter his master's קרבן פסח who does not know or forgets which animal to use.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing the משנה about a man who is half slave and half free. בית שמאי argue that he cannot marry anyone, and the world was created for פריה ורביה. So for תיקון העולם his master is forced to free him, and בית הלל change their ruling to agree. A new משנה follows about a slave sent to slaughter his master's קרבן פסח. If the master named no animal, whatever the slave brings is fine, and if he brings two, the master eats from the first. If the slave forgot a specific instruction, he slaughters both animals with a condition. If the master also forgot, both are burned, but they are exempt from פסח שני. The גמרא explains that eating from the first fits people like a king and queen, who are not particular. It supports this with a ברייתא about רבן גמליאל, which also tells a story about a lizard found in the royal kitchen. אביי shows how a slave can own an animal, and he limits the exemption from פסח שני to forgetting after זריקה. Some place this limit on a ברייתא about five mixed-up hides instead. The גמרא then asks why all five owners are exempt, rejects several possible fixes, and begins rejecting a conditional פסח/שלמים offering, an answer that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

תִּקַּנְתֶּם אֶת רַבּוֹ,

You have fixed things for his master,

וְאֶת עַצְמוֹ לֹא תִּקַּנְתֶּם.

but for himself you have not fixed things.

לִישָּׂא שִׁפְחָה אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל —

To marry a maidservant he cannot —

שֶׁכְּבָר חֶצְיוֹ בֶּן חוֹרִין,

because half of him is already free,

The steps (30)

  1. Challengeבית שמאי object that the half-slave cannot marry anyone
  2. RejectionHe cannot simply stay unmarried
  3. Statementבית שמאי's solution: force the master to free him
  4. Conclusionבית הלל change their ruling to follow בית שמאי
  5. StatementNew משנה: a slave sent to slaughter the פסח without instructions
  6. QuestionWhat if the slave forgot what his master told him?
  7. ResponseSlaughter both animals with a conditional statement
  8. StatementWhen the master also forgot, both animals are burned
  9. ChallengeIsn't the first ruling of the משנה obvious?
  10. ResolutionThe master's habit does not count as an instruction
  11. ChallengeHow can the master be registered on two animals?
  12. ResolutionThe משנה is about a king and queen
  13. ProofA ברייתא about a king and queen with two פסחים
  14. Proofרבן גמליאל rules: royalty eat from the first, we eat from neither
  15. StatementA second story: a lizard found in the royal kitchen
  16. ConclusionCold water shows the lizard is alive, so the meal is טהור
  17. ConclusionThe whole royal meal depended on רבן גמליאל
  18. ChallengeHow can a slave say 'this one is mine'?
  19. ResolutionA shepherd gives the slave an animal that the master cannot claim
  20. StatementThe exemption from פסח שני applies only if they forgot after the sprinkling
  21. ConclusionIf they forgot before the sprinkling, they must bring פסח שני
  22. StatementA second version: the five mixed-up hides
  23. Statementאביי limits the ברייתא to a mix-up after the blood was sprinkled
  24. StatementIf the rule applies to the משנה, it surely applies to the ברייתא
  25. ConclusionIf the rule was said on the ברייתא, the משנה may be different
  26. ChallengeQuestioning the ברייתא: one owner never fulfilled the מצוה
  27. ResolutionThey are exempt because there is no way to fix it: separate lambs fail
  28. ResolutionA single shared lamb also fails: eaten by the unregistered
  29. ChallengeWhy not use a conditional offering: פסח or שלמים?
  30. ResolutionThe conditional offering is also not possible