How old is the Haggadah?

How old is the Haggadah? THE ORIGINS OF THE SEDER AND THE HAGGADAH HAVE long been a subjectof interest. According to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. the Bible, ever since the Israelites madetheir escape from Egypt in the middle of the night, following theirfirst paschal meal, Passover has been marked by a nighttime ceremony.The question is, when did the seder as we know it today, with itsordered set of rituals and accompanying texts, come into being? No laterthan 200 C.E., the year of publication of the Mishnah, according to mostscholars, because Mishnah Pesahim 10 presents a detailed description ofthe seder. (1) Y. N. Epstein, the great investigator of the Mishnah,thinks otherwise. He dates the chapter and hence the seder to no laterthan the end of the Second Temple period, at least 130 years earlier.(2) Other scholars also claim great antiquity for the haggadah, or thetelling of the story. Even though no haggadah has been found that datesback to the Temple period, they suggest that a version of it had alreadycome into being at that early time. (3) For as long as the Temple stood, there seems to be little doubtthat the main Pesah celebration took place there and that its centralfeature was the offering of the paschal lamb. As Mishnah Pesahim (5:5-7)records, most likely embellishing a memory of the past, groups ofIsraelites filed into the Temple court, priests or Levites blewtrumpets, priests held out gold and silver vessels to collect blood, andIsraelites slaughtered their lambs and poured the blood into the waitingvessels. During this time, the Levites sang Hallel (Psalms Psalms(sämz)or Psalter(sôl`tər), book of the Bible, a collection of 150 hymnic pieces. Since the last centuries B.C., this book has been the chief hymnal of Jews, and subsequently, of Christians. 113-118),repeating it several times until all had finished slaughtering. Afterthe Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E., the Pesah night celebration, if itwere to continue to be observed, had to change in both form andsubstance. I suggest that the Tosefta, the companion volume to theMishnah, preserves for us a description of the seder as it was evolvingin this interim, undocumented period from 70-200 C.E. Moreover, I amclaiming that the absence of a haggadah in the Tosefta an d its presencein the Mishnah imply that this key feature of the seder took a longertime to appear than is generally thought. The late dating of the haggadah--or "maggid" as we nowcall it-does not result from historical inquiry but from re-readingMishnah and Tosefta Pesahim. Recent studies show that there is muchmaterial in the Tosefta that antedates the Mishnah. This observation,when generalized, challenges the conventional notion that the Mishnah isthe oldest, ordered, tannaitic collection and the Tosefta the firstcommentary on and response to it. The opposite is more likely to betrue: the Tosefta contains within it a core collection that the redactorof the Mishnah then reworked and reorganized re��or��gan��ize?v. re��or��gan��ized, re��or��gan��iz��ing, re��or��gan��iz��esv.tr.To organize again or anew.v.intr.To undergo or effect changes in organization. to produce his own. (4) Ifso, the description of the seder that we find in the Tosefta is not acollection of notes on the Mishnah, as thought heretofore, but acoherent description of the seder as it was celebrated sometime before200 C.E. Mishnah Pesahim 10 presents, according to this theory, a laterversion of the seder, revised by the redactor. The major difference between the two seders is that in the Toseftathere is no mention whatsoever of telling the story, not in the form ofquestions the son asks the father, nor in the form of midrash on versesthat the father teaches the son, nor in the form of talking about thesymbolic foods of the evening. The main event is the recitation rec��i��ta��tion?n.1. a. The act of reciting memorized materials in a public performance.b. The material so presented.2. a. Oral delivery of prepared lessons by a pupil.b. of theHallel. Note that this set of psalms is particularly appropriate forrecitation at the seder because Psalm 114 makes explicit reference See explicit link. tothe Exodus and other psalms thank God for salvation. Whereas the Mishnahdevotes little attention to the Hallel, the Tosefta dwells on it. Thisdifference makes sense if the Hallel is the "haggadah" in thetime of the Tosefta. If so, the simple and obvious explanation for whythe Tosefta makes no mention of telling the story or the questions orthe midrash is that these had not yet come into being. The Tosefta's seder, I am suggesting, is an early attempt atfashioning a Passover night celebration without a paschal lamb. It takestime for people to develop a substitute ritual. That there would be afestive fes��tive?adj.1. Of, relating to, or appropriate for a feast or festival.2. Merry; joyous: a festive party. meal that night, complete with meat, matzah, lettuce lettuce,annual garden plant (Lactuca sativa and varieties) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), probably native to the East Indies or Asia Minor, possibly as a derivative of the widespread weed called wild lettuce (L. scariola). L. , (5) andHallel was to be expected. If Passover night had been observed like thatwhen there was a Temple, it would most likely continue to be observedlike that even when there was no Temple, although Hallel would berecited by the head of household and not the Levites. What is new isthat the seder in many ways resembles a Greek banquet or symposium, withmany of its protocols, such as numerous cups of wine, dipping horsd'oeuvres and appetizers, (6) and most important, a study sessionafter the meal. To appreciate how the Tosefta alters our understanding of theevolution of the seder, let me review the seder as it is described inMishnah Pesahim 10 (see appendix for the full version of the text). Fourcups of wine punctuate punc��tu��ate?v. punc��tu��at��ed, punc��tu��at��ing, punc��tu��atesv.tr.1. To provide (a text) with punctuation marks.2. the seder (M1). Blessings are recited over thefirst cup. The Houses of Shammai and Hillel dispute the order of theblessings (M2). Hors d'oeuvres of lettuce, matzah, and haroset areserved. They are eaten as dips (M3). When the second cup of wine isserved the son asks the father questions about the seder foods. If theson is not able to ask, the father asks on his behalf, and then tellshim the story of the Exodus using several verses in Deuteronomy as abasis for his midrash (M 4). Rabban Gamliel then requires a person totalk about the three main seder foods, the pesah, matzah, and maror.Other texts to be recited follow (M 5). Hallel is begun before the meal.A blessing on the theme of redemption is recited (M 6). The meal isserved and the rest of Hallel is recited. Another bles sing follows (M7). It ends the seder. As the Mishnah notes, no afiqoman follows thepesah meal (M 8). This seder, it is easy to see, is essentially the one we knowtoday. (7) If we compare it to the Temple nighttime ritual that precededit, we notice that both contain a recitation of Hallel and a meal, witheither the paschal lamb or meat as the main course. The Mishnali'sseder adds four cups of wine, blessings over the various cups, anddipping appetizers of matzah, lettuce, and haroset. In particular, itdevotes much space--more than one-third of the chapter--to telling thestory to one's children. We now turn to the Tosefta's account. Many of theTosefta's paragraphs resemble those of the Mishnah with only minordisparities. Others are wholly different. The seder begins with kiddushover the first cup of wine (T 2) and then moves on to horsd'oeuvres of sweetbreads (literally intestines IntestinesThe intestines, also known as the bowels, are divided into the large and small intestines. They extend from the stomach to the anus.Mentioned in: Malabsorption Syndrome ) in salt waterpassed around by a servant (T 5). Wine and hors d'oeuvres werestandard fare not only at Greek banquets (8) but even at rabbinic rab��bin��i��cal? also rab��bin��icadj.Of, relating to, or characteristic of rabbis.[From obsolete rabbin, rabbi, from French, from Old French rabain, probably from Aramaic festive meals, as described in Tosefta Berakhot (4:8). The sedercontinues with Hallel, part of which was recited before the meal (T6-9a). The importance of Hallel as a Passover night ritual isunderscored by the Tosefta's discussing it at length and saying,among other things, that if a person cannot recite it himself, he has togo elsewhere to hear it. Even small children, both sons anddaughters(!), are to participate in its recitation. If they seem drowsy drows��y?adj. drows��i��er, drows��i��est1. Dull with sleepiness; sluggish.2. Produced or characterized by sleepiness.3. Inducing sleepiness; soporific. ,one may snatch snatchremoval of a newborn animal from the dam before it has an opportunity to suck. The objective is to rear it independently and free of colostrum-borne infection or of colostral antibodies. matzah from (or for)9 them (T 9b). Dipping appetizers ofmatzah, lettuce, and haroset are served (T 9b) . The meal follows. Therest of Hallel is recited. No afiqoman is served after the pesah meal,which means, says the Tosefta, no sweets for dessert (T 11). Instead, asat a Greek symposium, one engages in intellectual analysis of an issue,in this case a study of the laws of Pesali (T 11). The Toseftarecommends that this activity occupy the head of household and his studypartner the whole night through. It records an instance of a number ofsages who did exactly that (T 12). (For other statements the Toseftamakes, such as about women drinking wine at the seder, see theappendix.) This is not the seder we know today. If we compare it to the sederin the Mishnah, in the chart below, we see that each has elements theother lacks. In addition, one element appears in a different place ineach of the two seders.Tosefta Mishnahfour cups of wine (T1); four cups of wine (M1) (10)kiddush (T2,3); kiddush (M2)hors d'oeuvres of sweetbreads (T5); matzah,lettuce,haroset (M3) haggadah of questions and-- answers etc. (M4,5)Hallel, part 1 (T6-9a); Hallel, part 1 (M6)matzah,lettuce,haroset (T9b) --meal (T9b); meal, Grace (M7)Hallel, past 2 (T8,9); Hallel, part 2 (M7)study session through the night --(T11) Even after adopting several aspects of the Greek banquet, the sedercontinued to evolve. As time passed, the study session at the end of theevening was moved to a place earlier in the order of events andtransformed from a study of law into a telling of the story of theExodus to the children in the manner of questions and answers. The firsttext to inform us of this change is the Mishnah. Instead of staying upall night with one's son and studying together the laws of Pesah,as mandated by the Tosefta, the Mishnah stipulates that early in theevening, upon pouring the second cup of wine, the story of the Exodusand the main foods of the evening are discussed by father and son. Allof this takes place before the first part of the Hallel is read andclearly before the meal. We now have to ask: Why did the redactor of theMishnah change the curriculum? Why did he move the give-and-take fromafter the meal to before? Before answering, we need to consider the origin of the requirementto tell the story at the seder. Although many think it goes back to theBible Back to the Bible is an international Christian ministry based in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.Founded in 1939 by Theodore H. Epp, Back to the Bible started as a radio broadcast in Nebraska, but expanded by supporting missionaries and broadcasting via shortwave radio to other , I would like to argue that this is not so. An investigation ofthe four verses in which the Torah discusses teaching children about theExodus reveals that the closest the text comes to stipulating that afather tell the story to his son is the statement that when your sonasks you why you slaughter the lamb, you should answer him that it is apassover offering, so named because God "passed over the houses ofthe Israelites when He smote the Egyptians" (Exodus 12:26). This is not, it seems to me, a requirement to tell the story at theseder year after year. (11) It is an answer one gives when the questionarises. Similarly, in Exodus 13:8, when the verse says "explain toyour son on that day 'it is because of what the Lord did for mewhen I went free from Egypt,"' the point the father is to maketo his son is that God has the right to make demands of the Jewishpeople, such as to refrain from hamez and to eat matzah, because He tookthem out of Egypt. This too does not constitute a requirement to tellthe story at the seder year after year. Once more, when v. 14 of thesame chapter says that when your son asks, in reference to givingfirstborn animals to God and redeeming firstborn sons, what does thismean, the father should answer, "God brought us out of Egypt,slaying their firstborn, therefore I sacrifice my firstborn animals toHim and redeem my sons." This verse, too, does not stipulate stip��u��late?1?v. stip��u��lat��ed, stip��u��lat��ing, stip��u��latesv.tr.1. a. To lay down as a condition of an agreement; require by contract.b. telling the story at the seder. The same claim can be made for theson's questio n and the father's answer in Deuteronomy 6:20.The common theme of these verses is that in exchange for redeeming theIsraelites from Egypt, God can demand observance of His mizvot. And thatis what a father must communicate to his son. These verses, therefore, do not reveal that a requirement to tellthe story existed in the biblical period or later. There is no denyingthat people may have told the story to their children. But that is notat issue. What is at issue is when the seder and haggadah as we knowthem developed. Oral traditions, of which we have no record at all,cannot provide us with an answer. Let me suggest that it is the redactorof the Mishnah who introduced the requirement of telling the story atthe seder and who deliberately chose to turn the study session into ahaggadah. (12) The well-known tannaitic text about the four sons, whichappears in the Mekhilta (a work of halakhic midrash slightly later thanthe Mishnah), (13) the Talmud Yerushalmi, (14) and the haggadah,suggests that there are two kinds of answers to give the variouschildren who ask: either a brief statement about the Exodus or adiscourse on the laws of pesah. This choice supports my point: thattelling the story and teaching the laws were two different ways ofperforming the same act. One gave rise to the other. (15) Why the rabbis List of rabbis.This is a list of prominent rabbis. Rabbis are Judaism's spiritual and religious leaders.See also: List of Jews. Rabbis: Pre-Mishnaic (Tannaim)See Mishnah, Tannaim. made the change from law to story is open tospeculation. Telling the story was a better way of transmitting Jewishvalues to the next generation. It was a better way of thanking God forsalvation than just reciting the Hallel, which is also recited on othermajor festivals. It was a good way to expand the focus from thanks forpast redemption to a plea for future redemption from foreign domination,asking God to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the Temple and toreinstitute the worship service. (Such notions were entering the dailyliturgy at about this time.) (16) And, according to Y. Yuval, it was away of differentiating the Jewish understanding of Passover from theChristian one. (17) The Jews Jews[from Judah], traditionally, descendants of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, whose tribe, with that of his half brother Benjamin, made up the kingdom of Judah; historically, members of the worldwide community of adherents to Judaism. talked about redemption yet to come and theChristians about redemption already in place. As for why the story was moved from after the meal to before, (18)the explanation seems obvious. Just as the Tosefta was worried aboutdrowsy children, so was the Mishnah. And since the redactor of theMishnah saw the point of the haggadah as transmitting the story of theExodus to the children, he inserted it before the meal, when thechildren were awake, and gave them the responsibility to ask questions.(19) Were one to wait to recite the haggadah until after the meal, thechildren would have fallen asleep. (20) (Elsewhere in the chapter (M 8)the Mishnah does worry about sleepy sleepycharacterized by sleep.sleepy foal diseasesee shigellosis.sleepy staggerssee hepatic encephalopathy. adults!) Additional evidence of the redactor's moving the study sessionfrom after to before the meal can perhaps be found in the wording ofMishnah 10:4, [LANGUAGE NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII ASCIIor American Standard Code for Information Interchange,a set of codes used to represent letters, numbers, a few symbols, and control characters. Originally designed for teletype operations, it has found wide application in computers. ]. Why does the Misbnahsay that when "they pour him a second cup of wine, here the sonasks the father"? (21) In all other instances, the phrase"they poured him a cup" is followed by a verb verb,part of speech typically used to indicate an action. English verbs are inflected for person, number, tense and partially for mood; compound verbs formed with auxiliaries (e.g., be, can, have, do, will) provide a distinction of voice. , [LANGUAGE NOTREPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] or [LANGUAGE NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (finishor bless). There is no need to state that what happens after the cup ispoured, happens precisely there. It is possible that the reason theMishnah introduces the word sometimes spelled [LANGUAGE NOT REPRODUCIBLEIN ASCII], (22) is to indicate that here is where the child asked thequestions, and not at the end of the seder as was the practice untilthat time. The Mishnah wants to distinguish its haggadah of questionsand answers that takes p]ace before the meal from the Tosefta'spost-prandial intellectual inquiry. This is a major innovative point ofthe Mi shnah and for that reason the Mishnah may be calling ourattention to it with the word "here." A second change in the Mishnah's seder is that the horsd'oeuvres have disappeared and the symbolic foods, matzah, lettuce,and haroset, have taken their place. Whereas these foods used to beappetizers eaten as the first course of the meal, after reciting thefirst part of the Hallel, in the Mishnah's seder they themselvesare the hors d'oeuvres and are eaten right after kiddush but beforethe questions are recited and before the Hallel and, hence, much beforethe meal. This change also made sense because the children, prior to askingabout matzah and lettuce (and haroset), actually ate them. However, whenthe redactor of the Mishnah moved the passage about the matzah, lettuce,haroset, and paschal lamb--"but in the Temple they serve him thepaschal lamb itself"-from right before the meal, where it was inthe Tosefta, to the beginning of the seder, the meaning of one of itsphrases became obscure. It looked as if eating the lamb in the Templeperiod (M 10:3) was followed by the recitation of the haggadah (M 10:4).Because of this possible interpretation, scholars began to cite thisMishnah as evidence that the haggadah dates back to the time of theTemple and that it was recited after the meal and not before. (23) ButMishnahtosefta studies have now repudiated these claims. All thisMishnah is saying about the pesah is what the Tosefta says: that whenthe meal was eaten in the time of the Temple, the main course was thepesah and not grilled meat. (24) It is noteworthy that the Tosefta's description of a sederwithout a haggadah is consistent with external sources. Philo, writingin the first century C.E., comments on the Passover meal: "Theguests assembled for the banquet have been cleansed cleanse?tr.v. cleansed, cleans��ing, cleans��esTo free from dirt, defilement, or guilt; purge or clean.[Middle English clensen, from Old English by purificatory pu��ri��fy?v. pu��ri��fied, pu��ri��fy��ing, pu��ri��fiesv.tr.1. To rid of impurities; cleanse.2. To rid of foreign or objectionable elements.3. lustrations, and are there not as in other festive gatherings, toindulge in��dulge?v. in��dulged, in��dulg��ing, in��dulg��esv.tr.1. To yield to the desires and whims of, especially to an excessive degree; humor.2. a. the belly with wine and viands, but to fulfill ful��fillalso ful��fil ?tr.v. ful��filled, ful��fill��ing, ful��fills also ful��fils1. To bring into actuality; effect: fulfilled their promises.2. with prayers andhymns the customs handed down by their father." (25) This is allPhilo can say because beyond the Hallel-the presumed referent ref��er��ent?n.A person or thing to which a linguistic expression refers.Noun 1. referent - something referred to; the object of a reference of prayersand hymns--there was no haggadah. (26) To the best of my knowledge, noancient descriptions of a seder, such as the ones in the ChristianBible, (27) mention a haggadah. I am thus suggesting that the differences between the order ofevents in the Tosefta and the Mishnah are not the result of chance butare deliberate modifications of the ritual by the redactor of theMishnah. It is only by comparing the entire chapter of the Mishnah withthe entire parallel chapter of the Tosefta that we can make theseobservations. According to this understanding of the evolution of the seder, theTosefta's silence about the haggadah and its different sequence ofseder events are not problematic because the Tosefta presents an olderversion of the seder. The redactor of the Misbnah took the Toseftamaterial and reworked it, producing a somewhat different seder, for thereasons mentioned above. But those who claim that the Tosefta is acommentary on the Mishnah will need to explain why the Tosefta hasnothing whatsoever to say about the haggadah, a main feature of theMishnah's seder, and why the Tosefta talks about the matzah,lettuce, and haroset in an altogether different place from where theMishnali discusses them, after the Hallel and not before. I know of nosatisfactory answers to these challenges. I therefore think that seeingMishnah Pesahim 10 as a response to Tosefta Pesahim 10 provides a morecogent COGENT - COmpiler and GENeralized Translator reading of both texts. A person can read the Tosefta in two ways, at least. One way is asa commentary on and response to the Mishnah and another is as the sourceof the Mishnah, as the tannaitic collection upon which the Mishnah isbased. Those who read the Tosefta as a commentary on the Mishnah willrun into the difficulties noted above. Those who read the Tosefta as thesource of the Mishnab will recognize that what we have in front of us isa hitherto unnoticed or unremarked-upon stage 'in the developmentof the seder ritual. We find these older practices precisely at thoseplaces where the Tosefta differs from the Mishnah. As compelling as are the arguments for the Tosefta making astatement of its own and predating the Misbnah, there is one phenomenonthat still needs to be addressed. The Tosefta, in several of itsparagraphs, most notably the ones which present the dispute of Shammaiand Hillel about kiddush and Hallel (T 10:2,9), seems to quote theMishnah and then gloss it by adding rationales for the views of eachside. Elsewhere, the Tosefta, after citing the same halakhah as m theMisbnah, adds supplementary details, such as requirements for the sederwine (T 10:1). It is paragraphs like these which seem to establish thatthe Tosefta knows the Mishnah and comments on it. (28) But even if theTosefta in part is a commentary on the Mishnab, that in no waycompromises what has been argued above. The central thesis is that thereexists within the Tosefta an old stratum stratum/stra��tum/ (strat��um) (stra��tum) pl. stra��ta ? [L.] a layer or lamina.stratum basa��le of tannaitic material that theredactor of the Mishnah knew and reworked. These claims still stand. Noassertion has been made that this old stratum is equal to the entireTosefta. The conclusions I arrived at in this paper about the origins of thehaggadah and seder were incidental Contingent upon or pertaining to something that is more important; that which is necessary, appertaining to, or depending upon another known as the principal.Under Workers' Compensation statutes, a risk is deemed incidental to employment when it is related to whatever a by-products of Mishnah-Toseftastudies. I set out to compare Mishnah and Tosefta Pesahim 10 in order tosee what differences of interpretation would flow from the assumptionthat a chapter of the Tosefta predates a chapter of the Mishnah. ReadingMishnah and Tosefta Pesahim 10 together--engaging in a global comparisonof the two accounts of the seder--shows how the seder evolved over timefrom lacking a haggadah to having a haggadah of questions and answersand midrashim. This conclusion, arrived at by literary analysis andcomparison of texts, is fully consistent with all historical datagathered until now. No report of a Passover meal before the destruction of the secondTemple refers explicitly to any set of questions asked or texts recitedat the meal. All that the documents talk about are pesah banquets withwine, good food, and hymns of praise to God. Therefore, if we look atthe evidence, we will have to acknowledge a slower and later evolutionof the Passover seder The Passover Seder (Hebrew: סֵדֶר, seeɛɾ, "order", "arrangement") is a Jewish ritual feast held on the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover (the 15th day of Hebrew month of Nisan). and haggadah than has been suggested until now. Itdoes not surprise me that the seder and haggadah are post-destructioninnovations of the rabbis, in particular the redactor of the Mishnah,since the same can be said for so much else injudaism as it is practicedtoday. It was that group of men who preserved judaism in the wake ofcatastrophe by changing it, by developing it according to their ownevolving sensibilities sen��si��bil��i��ty?n. pl. sen��si��bil��i��ties1. The ability to feel or perceive.2. a. Keen intellectual perception: the sensibility of a painter to color.b. . NOTES I would like to thank David M. Freidenreich for his many helpfulsuggestions. (1.) Baruch M. Bokser, in The Origins of the Seder(Berkeley:University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). , 1984) claims that Mishnah Pesahim 10, the"first formulated version of the expanded rite" (53), presentsa seder composed of both old and new elements. He says that the messageof this chapter is that nothing is new, that the seder ritual had alwaysbeen followed (37). As for telling the story at the seder, he claims itgoes back to the Bible (40-41). Although I agree with Bokser that theMishnah presents the first seder and haggadah as we know them today, Iwill stress the Mishnah's discontinuities with the seder thatpreceded it, not its continuities. Also, whereas Bokser sees ToseftaPesahim 10 as a supplement to Mishnah Pesahim 10, I see this chapter ofthe Tosefta as the basis for the corresponding chapter of Mishnah. (2.) Mevo'ot Lesifrat Hatannaim (Jerusalem: Magnes Press,1957), pp. 57; 333--334. See n. 24. (3.) Y. Tabory, in Pesah Dorot (Tel Aviv Tel Aviv(tĕl əvēv`), city (1994 pop. 355,200), W central Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea. Oficially named Tel Aviv–Jaffa, it is Israel's commercial, financial, communications, and cultural center and the core of its largest : Hakibbutz Hameuchad,1996), says that E. E. Urbach, L. Finkelstein, and M. D. Cassuto holdthis view (351). Tabory himself thinks that, despite the lack ofevidence for an early haggadah, it is hard to imagine that peopleoverlooked the seder night as an opportunity to inculcate in��cul��cate?tr.v. in��cul��cat��ed, in��cul��cat��ing, in��cul��cates1. To impress (something) upon the mind of another by frequent instruction or repetition; instill: inculcating sound principles. in the youngmemories of Israel becoming a people (350). Before the destruction ofthe second Temple, he writes, people told the story of the Exodus onPassover night by means of midrashic interpretation of Deuteronomy26:5ff. (74;366). D. Goldschmidt (Haggadah Shel Pesah V'Toldoteha[Bialik Institute: 1969], p. 69) says that some paragraphs of MishnahPesahim 10 are ancient, from the time of the Second Temple, includingthe paragraph that presents the son's questions. More recently Yisrael Yuval has claimed that the seder and thehaggadah were created at Yavneh, shortly after the destruction of theSecond Temple ("Haposhim Al Shtei Hase'ipim," Tarbiz 65,1995, pp. 5-24). He supports his claim with texts from the haggadahitself, even though the earliest extant ex��tant?adj.1. Still in existence; not destroyed, lost, or extinct: extant manuscripts.2. Archaic Standing out; projecting. haggadah dates back only to theGeonic period. Yuval's proof for an early haggadah rests on hisinterpretation of two texts. One is the report of the five rabbis whogathered to tell the story of the Exodus and stayed up all night doingso. This version of the report can be found only in the haggadah. Theversion of the same incident in the Tosefta says that they studied thelaws of pesah all night. Since this latter version, in a confirmedtannaitic text, is more reliable, and since it lacks the expression"they were telling the story," it undermines Yuval'spoint. It is likely that the preceding paragraph in the haggadah, abouttelling the story at great length, a passage that cannot be datedearlier than the amoraic period, led to a modification of the tale ofthe five rabbis. The words "telling the story," not found inother tannaitic texts, may have displaced displacedsee displacement. the words "studying thelaws." There is another problem with this version of the tale. Bnei Beraqis a town associated with R. Akiba. Would tannaim of the stature of R.Eliezer and R. Joshua go to spend the night with their junior colleague,R. Aqiba, at Bnei Beraq? Yuval's second proof is equally problematic. Immediatelyfollowing the story of the rabbis in the haggadah we find a mishnah,Berakhot 1:5, that opens with the statement, tvlylb Myrxm tayxy Nyrykzm,which means one mentions the Exodus at night. R. Elazar ben Azariah, oneof the five rabbis mentioned in the previous text, features prominentlyin this mishnah. This text, too, says Yuval, is proof that the practiceof telling the story began in Yavneh. But this claim, too, is flawed flaw?1?n.1. An imperfection, often concealed, that impairs soundness: a flaw in the crystal that caused it to shatter.See Synonyms at blemish.2. .One has first to read the Mishnah in its context in Berakhot. There itmeans something altogether different, that one inserts a reference tothe past redemption from Egypt into the blessings following Shema, alsoat night and not just in the morning. It is clear that whoever addedthis mishnah to the haggadah, and we do not know when he did so,inserted it for the reason Yuval mentions, that on the surface itappears to say that one tells the story of the Exodus at night, at thepassover seder. But this is not the plain sense meanin g of the words.One therefore cannot say with any degree of certainty that this mishnahwas recited at the seder in tannaitic times. Hence, the presence of thismishnah in the haggadah does not suggest that "telling thestory" was part of the tannaitic seder. (4.) See my article in JUDAISM, Spring 2001, "Does the ToseftaPrecede the Mishnah?" for a full presentation of this alternatetheory. (5.) Many people understand the Mishnah's "hazeret"as horseradish horseradishHardy perennial plant (Armoracia lapathifolia) of the mustard family, native to Mediterranean lands and grown throughout the temperate zones. Its hotly pungent, fleshy root is used as a condiment and is traditionally considered medicinal. . A better translation is lettuce. (6.) S. Friedman (Tosefta Atiqta, forthcoming, 386ff.) notes thatin the time of the Temple the pesah night ritual was eating the paschallamb fast. There was no gracious gra��cious?adj.1. Characterized by kindness and warm courtesy.2. Characterized by tact and propriety: responded to the insult with gracious humor.3. meal. Evidence for this limited ritualis the report about Hillel who ate the three seder foods together(Tosefta Pesahim 2:22). After the destruction of the Temple the rabbisdeveloped the gracious seder meal as a replacement for the Templepaschal rite. Friedman mentions the cups of wine, hors d'oeuvres,and appetizers, but does not include the study session as part of theadaptation of a gracious meal. That is, he does not relate the seder tothe symposium. (7.) Because many paragraphs and prayers have been added over theyears, today's haggadah is much longer than the one described here.The seder of today has also been some what reorganized. For instance,haroset is eaten at a later point, before the meal and not early in theevening. The same is true of matzah. (8.) See S. Stein, "The Influence of Symposia sym��po��si��a?n.A plural of symposium. Literature onthe Literary Form of the Passover Haggadah," JJS JJS Journal of Japanese Studies 8 (1957): 13--44.This influential article raised issues that all subsequent scholars ofthe seder had to address. See Tabory (367--377) for a comparison of theseder and the symposium. See also Bokser, Chapter 5. (9.) Shamma Friedman suggests that the most reasonable explanationis that one snatches matzah and gives it to the children to keep themawake (383). (10.) The Tosefta and the Mishnah both mention, in their openingparagraph, four cups of wine. Only the Mishnah refers backs to each ofthese cups in the course of the chapter. This structural feature ischaracteristic of the Mishnah. The redactor introduces signposts intohis text for clarity and ease of memorization mem��o��rize?tr.v. mem��o��rized, mem��o��riz��ing, mem��o��riz��es1. To commit to memory; learn by heart.2. Computer Science To store in memory: or recall. Therefore, onso many occasions, the Mishnah is easier to understand than the Tosefta.See "Does the Tosefta ...?," pp.231--232. For another exam leof this phenomenon, see Mishnah Baba Qama 1,2. (11.) S. Stein (15) says that the biblical passages do not alludeto allude toverb refer to, suggest, mention, speak of, imply, intimate, hint at, remark on, insinuate, touch upon see see, elude the duty of telling the story at night. He also notes (34--35) thatthe Tosefta makes no reference to an obligation to interpret versesmidrashically and seems to precede the Mishnah's requirements. (12.) Rabban Gamliel, in the Tosefta, is said to have studied thelaws of Pesah with other sages all night long (T 10:12). He is also theone who suggests, in the Mishnah, that the leader of the seder discussthe meaning of the pesah foods. It is possible that the redactor of theMishnah has placed Rabban Gamiliel's discussion of pesah foodsbefore the meal whereas it used to be after. (13.) Bo 18 (Horovitz-Rabin edition, p. 73). At the end of theparagraph about the four sons, the midrash continues with R.Eliezer's statement that a havurah of sages or students must studythe laws of pesah until midnight Some scholars derive from here that theobligation to study applied to sages only. I think otherwise. Thismidrash is the view of one rabbi rabbi[Heb.,=my master; my teacher], the title of a Jewish spiritual leader. The role of the rabbi has undergone a number of transformations. In the Talmudic period, rabbis were primarily teachers and interpreters of the Torah. only. (14.) PT Pesahim 10:4; 37d. (15.) Yet another midrashic text derives from the words "andyou shall tell your son" (Exodus 13:8) that one is to tell him thestory not in the afternoon but at night, when matzah and maror are onthe table. Since this is not the simple meaning of the words of theverse, this midrash, too, is a rabbinic attempt to give Torahauthorization to the practice of telling the story at the seder(Mekhilta Bo 17; p. 66; and in haggadah). (16.) See Tosefta Berakhot 3:25, a reference to 18 blessings and to"He who rebuilds Jerusalem." (17.) Tarbiz, p.5 ff. (18.) It is not unusual for the redactor of the Mishnah to moveparagraphs to new places when editing the older collection. See MishnahBezah 2:1 and Tosefta Bezah 2:1--5 for an example. (19.) S. Friedman (383) reads the telling of the story into theTosefta's account of the seder. Were the children to fall asleep,the father would not be able to fulfill "and you shall tell yourson" (Exodus 13:8). For that reason, they snatch matzah from thechildren, etc. He does not notice, it seems, that there is no explicitreference to telling the story in the Tosefta. (20.) Tabory makes this same point (74; 254). He says that afterthe destruction of the Temple they postponed the meal to after thehaggadah whereas it used to be before. He thus holds that there was ahaggadah, or at least a telling of the story based on the verses inDeuteronomy, in the time of the Temple. On this point I disagree. (21.) Tabory (73; 320ff.) regards this mishnah as a later addition.I see no evidence for this claim. Just because the word"v'khan" does not appear in conjunction with the othercups, there is no reason to say that this mishnah was added later andthat the son's questions are not part of the earliest layer of thehaggadah. See Tosefta Tohorot 6:17 for a possible source for theexpression da'at lish'ol, capacity to ask. (22.) Mss. Farina, Pails, Kaufman. (23.) Goldschmidt (10, n.1) surveys the many Talmudic commentatorsand later scholars who deduce de��duce?tr.v. de��duced, de��duc��ing, de��duc��es1. To reach (a conclusion) by reasoning.2. To infer from a general principle; reason deductively: from this Mishnah that in Temple times themeal or pesah was eaten before the haggadah was recited. See alsoLieberman, Tosefta Kifshuta, Pasha, 654. (24.) See S. Friedman (394-395) who traces the interpretive in��ter��pre��tive? also in��ter��pre��ta��tiveadj.Relating to or marked by interpretation; explanatory.in��terpre��tive��ly adv. historyof Mishnah 10:3. He says that D. Z. Hoffman was the first of many to seethis mishnah as dating from Temple times. Friedman himself disagrees. Hesees this mishnah as describing practices begun after the destruction ofthe Temple. (25.) Special Laws 2:145-148, vol. 7, pp. 395-397. Cited in Bokser,23, 58. (26.) Naomi G. Cohen cohenor kohen(Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. , in Philo Judaeus Philo Judaeus:see Philo. Philo Judaeusor Philo of Alexandria(born 10–15 BC, Alexandria—died AD 45–50, Alexandria) Greek-speaking Jewish philosopher. : His Universe of DiscourseNew York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Lang, 1995), suggests that Philo knew "the basic rubricsof the text of the haggadah" 313). What she has shown, to my mind,is that Philo knew one of the developing midrashim on the three Passoverfoods, the pesah, matzah, and maror. Philo's statement appears as acommentary on Exodus 12:8. (27.) The Hebrew translation of Mark and Matthew mentions Hallelthus confirming the notion that Hallel was an ancient part of thePassover night ritual. Matthew 26:17-30: the phrase "eatpesah" occurs in 17; "prepare pesah" in 19; and"they read Hallel" in 30; Mark 14:16-26; the phrase"prepare pesah" in 16; "they read Hallel" in 26.Luke 22:7-20: the phrase "eating the pesah" appears in8,11,12,15. Y. Yuval p. 8, n. 9) cites these verses from Matthew andMark to p rove that Hallel was part of the home) Passover ritual in thetime of the Temple. Seth Schwartz electronic communication, 1.17.02)does not consider the Hebrew translation of the Christian Biblereliable. He says that there was a tendency to judaize it in order towin Jewish converts. (28.) This is not necessarily so. The older version can be thefuller one and the later version a summary. (29.) The printed edition adds, "and two cooked foods."Much has been written on this difficult Mishnah. See Rishonim; HanokhAlbeck, Moed (Jerusalem: Mossad Bialik, 1952), pp. 455-456; Tabory,67ff.; and S. Friedman, 379-395. (30.) The word "hayu" appears in the printed editions butnot the mss. (31.) The versions of the Mishnah vary. The Kaufman ms. has onlythree questions. See Goldschmidt, pp. 10-13. See D. Halivni, MeqorotUmesorot New York: JTSA JTSA Jewish Theological Seminary of AmericaJTSA Joint Tactical SIGINT ArchitectureJTSA Joint Technical Support ActivityJTSA Joint Tactical Support ActivityJTSA Junior Technical Support Analyst ), pp. 579-581. (32.) Goldschmidt agrees with those scholars who see this passageas an anti-Christian polemic po��lem��ic?n.1. A controversial argument, especially one refuting or attacking a specific opinion or doctrine.2. A person engaged in or inclined to controversy, argument, or refutation.adj. (52). Bokser says that RabbanGamliel's point is to make matzah and maror as prominent as thepaschal sacrifice (39). (33.) This passage and the following prooftext are missing in somemss. (34.) The difficulties in this passage are addressed by Halivni,Meqorot Umesorot, Pesahim, pp. 582-584. (35.) The word pesah, even in post-Temple times, is used to referto the seder meal of meat. See Tabory 101. The rest of this paragraph ofmishnah talks about the sacrifice itself. And so does the followingmishnah. The word pesah in Mishnah 10:8 provides a segue se��gue?intr.v. se��gued, se��gue��ing, se��gues1. Music To make a transition directly from one section or theme to another.2. from talkingabout the meal of meat at the seder to talking about the pesah offeringin the time of the Temple. This disjuncture dis��junc��ture?n.Disjunction; disunion; separation.Noun 1. disjuncture - state of being disconnecteddisconnectedness, disconnection, disjunctionseparation - the state of lacking unity , within one and the sameparagraph, derives from the fact that the redactor of the Mishnah is"sewing" together a statement from the Tosefta about theafiqoman with other material about the paschal offering with which hewill end the chapter. There is no reason in the Tosefta to understandthis word as referring to the paschal offering. On the contrary, thepassage goes on to talk about no sweet desserts and the requirement tostudy all night. (36.) It is not uncommon for the Mishnah to speak more conciselythan the Tosefta. However, in Mishnah and Tosefta Pesahim there seems tobe a pattern for the Mishnah to demand far less of women in terms of theritual acts of Passover than for the Tosefta. See my article"Nashim B'masechet Pesahim," in Atara L'Chaim,Studies in the Talmud and Medieval Rabbinic Literature Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaism's rabbinic writing/s throughout history. However, the term often used is an exact translation of the Hebrew term Sifrut Hazal in Honor ofProfessor Haim Zalman Dimitrovsky (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 2000), pp.63-78. (37.) Lieberman (Tosefta Pasha, 96) interprets the verb makhbish asdipping in salt water. (38.) Much material suggests that Hallel was recited antiphonally,with the leader reciting the first half of the verse and the assembledgroup reciting the second half or making a slightly different response.See Tosefta Pesahim 10:7. If all are obligated, i.e., adult males, eachgroup's recitation can fulfill the obligation of the other group tohear Hallel. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"put differently , reciting half a verse and hearing half averse together discharge a person's obligations as long as thosewhose recitation he listens to are similarly obligated. See ToseftaSotah 6:2,3 and Lieberman's comments. (39.) Like the Mishnah mss., the word "hayu" (they usedto) does not appear. (40.) That the main course is meat is deduced from the fact thatthe term "pesah" continues to describe the meal even after theTemple is destroyed. See note 35. (41.) There is scholarly debate about whether this is the elderRabban Gamliel or Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh. See Tabory, 365. (42.) Lieberman, Tosefta Pasha, 198. RELATED ARTICLE: Appendix: Paragraph by paragraph comparison ofMishnah and Tosefta Pesahim 10 Mishnah 10:1 Pesah eve, from about minhah time (mid-afternoon) andon, a person should not eat until it gets dark. Even the poorest Jew JewAny person whose religion is Judaism. In a wider sense the term refers to any member of a worldwide ethnic and cultural group descended from the ancient Hebrews who traditionally practiced the Jewish religion. should not eat until he reclines. All are required to drink four cups ofwine, even if on the dole. Mishnah 10:2 The first cup of wine is served. The Houses of Shammaiand Hillel dispute the order of the blessings over it. Neither sidegives a rationale. The same dispute is found in reference to the orderof the blessings over Sabbath wine in Misbnah Berakhot 8:1. Mishnah 10:3 They brought before him, presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. the head ofhousehold, lettuce for dipping, and then matzah, more lettuce, andharoset. (29) A dispute is presented about whether or not haroset is arequirement. The paragraph ends with the statement "but in theTemple they serve him the paschal lamb itself" (30) Mishnah 10:4 The second cup of wine is poured. At this point theson, if he is competent, asks the father a series of questions. If he isnot able to, the father teaches the son. The subjects of the questionsare matzah, the dipping of vegetables, and grilled meat. (31) The fatherthen tells the story of the Exodus by means of midrashic interpretationof the verses beginning "A wandering WanderingSee also Adventurousness, Bohemianism, Journey, Quest.AhasuerusGerman name for the Wandering Jew. [Ger. Lit. Aramean was my father..." (Deuteronomy 26.5ff). He begins with shame and ends with glory. Mishnah 10:5 Rabban Gamliel stipulates that every person isrequired at the seder to explain the significance of the three pesahfoods, the paschal lamb, the matzah, and the maror. (32) The Mishnabthen says that to tell the story of the Exodus to one's son aperson must feel as if he himself left Egypt. A proof text follows,"And you shall explain to your son on that day, it is because ofwhat the Lord did for me when I went free from Egypt" (Exodus13:8), which implies, according to the rabbis, that a person must talkabout the Exodus in the first person. (33) It also suggests, accordingto the rabbis, that telling the son about the Exodus "on thatday," which they interpret as the night of the seder, is rooted inthe Torah. A long blessing of praise to God for salvation follows.Hallel is introduced. Mishnah 10:7 The third cup of wine is served, the Grace after mealsis recited, the fourth cup of wine is served, and Hallel is completed. Ablessing follows. Mishnah 10:6 The Houses dispute about how to divide up Hallelbefore and after the meal. R. Tarfon and R. Aqiba disagree about thetext of the blessing that follows Hallel. (34) Mishnah 10:8 No afiqoman is allowed after the pesah or meal. (35)The Mishnah does not define the difficult term. It discusses whetherpeople who fell asleep before the time came to eat the paschal lamb maypartake of it or not. Mishnah 10:9 There are time limits for eating the paschal lamb andblessings to be recited over the lamb and the accompanying othersacrifice. Tosefta 10:1 Passover eve, from about minhah time and on, a personshould not eat until it gets dark. Even the poorest Jew should not eatuntil he reclines. All are required to drink four cups of wine. Detailsabout the wine follow. This passage is nearly identical to MishnahPesahim 10:1. Tosefta 10:2,3 The Houses of Shammai and Hillel dispute the orderof the blessings over the first cup of wine. This same dispute is foundin Mishnah Berakhot 8:1 and Tosefta Berakhot 5:25 with respect toblessings over the Sabbath wine. Each view is followed by one or morerationales. This passage is like Mishnah 10:2 but longer. Tosefta 10:4 A man is required to make his wife and childrenrejoice on the holiday. The means of rejoicing is wine. R. Judahdissents and says that women and children should each be given somethingappropriate for them, but not wine. The paragraph appears at thisjuncture apparently to suggest that women and children should also drinkwine at the seder. The Mishnah makes no mention of women. (36) Tosefta 10:5 The servant dips intestines in salt water and servesthem to the guests. (87) There is no parallel passage in the Mishnah. Tosefta 10:6-9a discuss Hallel. The Tosefta stresses the absoluterequirement to hear these psalms recited, even to the extent that if aperson cannot recite them on his own, he has to go and hear someone elserecite them. It also describes a situation in which a father readsHallel aloud for his young sons and daughters. He is required call outthe responses together with them, (38) either because they are too youngto know the words or because their exemption from reciting Hallel wouldnot allow them to discharge his obligation. If no one in the family canrecite Hallel, the head of household goes to the synagogue for the firstchapter, then back home to eat and drink, and then back to the synagogueto finish Hallel. If this is not feasible, the whole Hallel is recitedin the synagogue before the meal. In an abrupt change of subject, RLezer says that one snatches matzah from children so that they not fallasleep. R. Judah adds that even if he (the child?) ate only one spread(parperet) or dipped one lettuc e, adults snatch matzah from thechildren so that they not fall asleep. The Houses dispute how much ofHallel is recited before the meal. Each provides a rationale for itsview. Little of this material on Hallel appears in the Mishnah. Tosefta l0:9b Matzah, lettuce, and haroset are served, even thoughharoset is not a requirement. R. Lezer b'R. Zadoq claims it is arequirement. The paragraph ends with the statement, as in the Mishnah,"in the Temple they serve him the paschal lamb itself." (39)By implication, after the destruction of the Temple, rather than apaschal lamb he is served a main course of meat. (40) Tosefta 10:10 An anecdote anecdote(ăn`ĭkdōt'), brief narrative of a particular incident. An anecdote differs from a short story in that it is unified in time and space, is uncomplicated, and deals with a single episode. refers to haroset as a requirement. Tosefta 10:11 No afiqoman is allowed after the pesah or meal. TheTosefta defines it as fruit and nuts. A person is obligated to occupyhimself with the laws of Pesah the whole night through, even if he cando so only with his son, or all by himself, or only with his student. Tosefta 10:12 Rabban Gamliel (41) and several elders reclined re��cline?v. re��clined, re��clin��ing, re��clinesv.tr.To cause to assume a leaning or prone position.v.intr.To lie back or down. [onPesah night] at the home of Boethus b. Zunin in Lydda and engaged in thestudy of the laws of Pesah the whole night through until the cock cockwatchful church-tower sitter. [Christian Symbolism: Appleton, 21]See : Guardianshipcockits crowing reminded Peter of his betrayal. [N.T. crowed. They raised the table, (42) stood up, and left for the betmidrash. Tosefta 10:13,14 The blessings for the pesah sacrifice and for theaccompanying sacrifice are spelled out. JUDITH HAUPTMAN Judith Rebecca Hauptman (born 1943) is a feminist Jewish Talmudic scholar. She grew up in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, United States.Hauptman received a degree in Talmud from the Seminary College of Jewish Studies at Jewish Theological Seminary, a B.A. , the E. Billi Ivry Professor of Talmud and RabbinicCulture at the Jewish Theological Seminary seminaryEducational institution, usually for training in theology. In the U.S. the term was formerly also used to refer to institutions of higher learning for women, often teachers' colleges. , is the author of Rereadingthe Rabbis: A Woman's Voice (1998). Her article, "Does theTosefla Precede the Mishnah: Halakhah, Aggada, & NarrativeCoherence coherence,constant phase difference in two or more Waves over time. Two waves are said to be in phase if their crests and troughs meet at the same place at the same time, and the waves are out of phase if the crests of one meet the troughs of another. ," appeared in the Spring 2001 issue.