The Chagigah of the Fourteenth

Shulchan Aruch, siman 473, se'if 4, and we continue our study of the Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 22: on the Seder plate we take two cooked items, one as a remembrance of the korban Pesach and one as a remembrance of the korban chagigah.

The Chagigah of the Fourteenth

What this korban is: Chazal instituted a special takanah that a person bring, together with the korban Pesach, an additional korban, called the chagigah of the fourteenth. This korban is tied to the korban Pesach, not to the yom tov itself.
How it differs from the korbanos of the festival: On the festival itself there are other obligations when one comes up to the Mikdash, such as the olas re'iyah and the shalmei simchah, but those belong to the festival. Our discussion here is about the chagigah that is bound up with the Pesach.
First reason, eating on a full stomach: The chagigah is eaten before the korban Pesach, so that the Pesach will be eaten when one is already satisfied. A person should not be ravenous and tear into the korban; he should eat it calmly, in the manner of free men, the way wealthy people eat when they have plenty of food.
Second reason, so he not break a bone: With the korban Pesach there is a special prohibition, "and you shall not break a bone in it." If he eats quickly out of hunger, he is liable to break a bone and transgress that prohibition. The Chachamim therefore instituted that he first eat the chagigah.
The measure that must be eaten: The minimum amount one must eat of the korban Pesach is a kezayis.

When Erev Pesach Falls on Shabbos

The korban Pesach overrides Shabbos: Although in one respect the korban Pesach is the korban of a group, that is, an individual's korban, it is nevertheless slaughtered on Shabbos, since all of Klal Yisrael brings it at the very same time.
An individual's korban versus a communal korban: A korban todah, a korban asham and the like are individual korbanos, and they are not offered on Shabbos, since it is forbidden to slaughter and to perform the other avodos on Shabbos. Communal korbanos, however, the two temidim and the mussaf, are brought on Shabbos and yom tov in their regular order.
The dispute and the clarification of the halachah: The Gemara relates that in the days of Hillel Hazakein this halachah was forgotten and there was a dispute about it. In practice the halachah is that the Pesach is slaughtered on Shabbos, but it is roasted only after Shabbos.
The chagigah is not offered on Shabbos: The korban chagigah is an individual's korban, and it certainly cannot be slaughtered on Shabbos.
And after Shabbos there is no time: Even though the night after Shabbos is yom tov, and as a matter of strict law one may slaughter on yom tov, in practice there is no time. At that very hour they are slaughtering the Pesach, roasting it, and sitting down to the Seder meal. The Chachamim therefore said that in such a year no chagigah is brought.
The problem of hunger: If there is no chagigah, how will the Pesach be eaten on a full stomach, and perhaps he will break a bone out of sheer hunger? One of the answers: on Shabbos there is an obligation of three meals, and the person ate at the afternoon meal, so he is not all that hungry.

The Ruling of the Mishnah Berurah: Two Cooked Items Even in Such a Year

"And if Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos, some say that one need take only one cooked item, corresponding to the Pesach, since the chagigah is not brought, as it does not override Shabbos. And some say that even so one must prepare two cooked items just as in other years, for the Rabbanan did not draw distinctions in this matter, since it is merely a remembrance, and this is the practice."
(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 22)

The reason behind "no distinctions": We do not want a person to become confused. True, Erev Pesach on Shabbos occurs only once in many years, but sometimes it comes around again after only a few years, and a person will err and not remember whether last year he took a remembrance for the chagigah or not. Therefore he should always take an egg, and then there is no doubt.
Uniformity of Seder plates: If this changed from year to year, we would need a plate with "egg" written on it and a plate without "egg" written on it. It is better that all the plates be uniform.

Raising the Matzah and the Maror (end of siman 473)

"When he reaches 'this matzah' he must raise it and show it to those seated at the table, so that the mitzvah will be dear to them; and one should raise the broken matzah, since it is like the bread of poverty. So too when he reaches 'this maror.' And when he reaches 'therefore,' each one raises his cup in his hand until he concludes 'Who redeemed Yisrael.'"
(Shulchan Aruch, end of siman 473)

Raising it before eating: We are speaking of the stage before the eating, during the recital of the Haggadah.
The broken matzah: We raise the broken matzah, because it is the significant matzah of this night, being like the bread of poverty.
The practice today: Generally people do not actually lift as they did in earlier times, when they would take the plate and raise the matzos; rather they uncover the matzos or point at them, though there are people who do have the practice of lifting.
Maror and the cup: The maror too is raised when he says, "This maror that we eat, for what reason? Because the Egyptians embittered our lives," and likewise he raises the cup of wine when saying "therefore," until the conclusion of the blessing of redemption, "Who redeemed Yisrael."

Holding the Meat When Saying "Pesach"

"But when he reaches 'the Pesach that our fathers used to eat,' he should not hold in his hand the meat that serves as a remembrance of the Pesach, for that would be like raising up consecrated meat outside the Mikdash, and it would appear from this that he had consecrated it as a Pesach."
(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 72)

The concern: Nowadays there is no korban Pesach, and if he says "this Pesach" while holding the meat, onlookers will mistakenly think he consecrated the meat as a korban and is eating it outside Yerushalayim.
The severity of the prohibition: Eating consecrated meat outside the Mikdash is a grave transgression carrying kares, and therefore one should not create such an impression.
The wording in practice: He does not say "this Pesach" and does not raise the meat; rather he says, "the Pesach that our fathers used to eat."

The Wording "From the Zevachim and from the Pesachim" in the Blessing of Redemption

The text we say: At the end of the Haggadah, before "Blessed are You, Hashem, Who redeemed Yisrael," we ask that the Ribbono shel Olam bring us to other festivals and appointed times, "and there we shall eat from the pesachim and from the zevachim."
Two versions: In our Mishnah the wording is "from the pesachim and from the zevachim," while in the Mishnah as it appears in the Yerushalmi the order is reversed, "from the zevachim and from the pesachim."
The words of the Mordechai: One should say "from the zevachim and from the pesachim," because one eats first from the chagigah, which is the zevach, and only afterwards from the Pesach. The order of the words should follow the order of the eating.

The Novel Ruling of the Mahari Weil, Sha'ar Hatziyun letter 80

"See the Turei Zahav, who further cites in the name of the Mahari Weil that when Pesach falls on the night following Shabbos one must say on that night 'from the pesachim and from the zevachim,' since no chagigah is eaten on that night, for the chagigah is not offered on Shabbos."
(Sha'ar Hatziyun)

Why the pesachim come first: At a Seder that falls on the night after Shabbos there is no chagigah at all, since it was not slaughtered on Shabbos. The eating begins immediately with the korban Pesach, and therefore one should not say "from the zevachim" first.
Then why mention zevachim at all: The reference is to the chagigah that will be offered the next day. That night is the fifteenth of Nisan, Chag Hamatzos, which is a festival, and a festival has a chagigah and shalmei simchah. This is not the chagigah of the fourteenth, since the fourteenth has already passed; it is the chagigah of the festival.
Since we do not slaughter at night: The verse says "on the day of your slaughtering," and slaughtering is done by day and not at night, so the chagigah will be brought the next day, during the day. Therefore he says "from the pesachim and from the zevachim": the Pesach now, and the zevach that will be slaughtered tomorrow.

Rejecting the Novel Ruling

The counterargument: In a responsum cited in the Sha'ar Hatziyun, the Mahari Weil's ruling is rejected, since the reasoning is not compelling.
The reason: The entire request is directed toward the future. We ask the Ribbono shel Olam that by next year Mashiach come and the Beis Hamikdash be built, and then we will eat from the pesachim and from the zevachim. Next year Erev Pesach will no longer fall on Shabbos, and there will be a chagigah in the normal way, and therefore one should say "from the zevachim and from the pesachim" as in every year.
A question that was raised: If the Mikdash is built, the month will be sanctified by sighting the moon and not by the calendar, so one cannot know for certain when Pesach will fall, and perhaps next year too Erev Pesach will fall on Shabbos.
The answer: We follow the majority, and in most years Erev Pesach does not fall on Shabbos.

The Practice as Printed in the Haggados

The printed text: In many Haggados it is printed "and there we shall eat from the zevachim and from the pesachim," with an added note in parentheses: "on the night following Shabbos one says 'from the pesachim and from the zevachim.'"
Why in parentheses: Because there is no definitive ruling here; it is a dispute. Some say one should not change at all, but say the same wording every year, since the whole thing is a request for the future, and it is possible that next year too the situation will repeat itself, and there is no reason to burden the public with changes.

The Torah Temimah's Explanation of the Note "במ"ש"

His claim: In the Haggados a note was written in the margin, "במ"ש," and people understood it to mean "on the night following Shabbos," and from this they concluded that the halachah had been decided in favor of the opinion that one must change the wording.
In his view this is a mistake: Whoever wrote that note was not ruling on the halachah at all. He meant "in the Mishnah in the Yerushalmi," to point out that there the wording is reversed, and he was not deciding the matter. Each person may do as he understands.

Eggs at the Meal, End of Siman 476

"In some places the practice is to eat eggs at the meal, as a remembrance of mourning."
(Rema)

The first reason given in the Mishnah Berurah: The night of Tishah B'Av is set by the night of Pesach. According to the Hebrew calendar, the day on which the first night of Pesach falls is the day on which Tishah B'Av will fall that same year, according to the well known mnemonic. If Pesach falls on Sunday, Tishah B'Av too will fall on Sunday.
An additional reason: As a remembrance of the destruction, that we cannot bring the korban Pesach as it was brought when the Beis Hamikdash stood. Tishah B'Av too is a remembrance of the destruction, except that here the connection is stronger, since the link between the night of Pesach and Tishah B'Av is fixed in the calendar.
To be continued: There is a dispute and further discussion on this matter, and it will be explained in the next shiur.

In passing · "Magdil" and "Migdol" in Bircas Hamazon

The two versions: In Bircas Hamazon we say "magdil" on weekdays, and on Shabbos and yom tov we say "migdol."
The source of "migdol": The verse "He is a tower of salvation for His king and does kindness for His anointed" comes from David's song in Shmuel II. That song appears twice, in Shmuel II and in Tehillim chapter 18, and there are differences between the two versions.
The haftarah is only from Nevi'im: The haftarah is read from Nevi'im and not from Kesuvim, and Tehillim belongs to Kesuvim, so we read the version in Shmuel.
The Torah Temimah's explanation: Originally everyone said "magdil," and someone wrote in the margin "בש"ב," meaning that in Shmuel II the wording is "migdol," simply to note the variant text. People came along and understood it as "on Shabbos," and from there it developed into one version for Shabbos and another for yom tov, and a whole system was built out of it. In his view the entire thing is an error.
Proof that this is not so: The Abudraham, Rabbi David Abudraham, who lived in Spain hundreds of years ago, already writes that one says "magdil" on weekdays and "migdol" on Shabbos. Yet the division of Shmuel into Shmuel I and Shmuel II is not from Chazal at all. In Maseches Bava Basra twenty four books are enumerated, and among them Shmuel is one book and Melachim is one book, just as Nechemyah is not listed separately but is included in Ezra.
When the division was created: The printer who first printed the Tanach saw that the book was too large and split it into two parts, Shmuel I and Shmuel II, Melachim I and Melachim II. That division arose for purely technical reasons, in the fifteenth century with the beginning of printing, some two hundred years after the Abudraham. It is therefore impossible that the alleged error preceded him, and on this point the Torah Temimah erred, sharp as his explanation is.
The Gra's explanation of the difference: David said this song twice, once in his youth and once in his old age, like a first edition and a second edition, and that is why there are variations between the two versions. Others explained the difference in other ways.