When can tzedaka funds be invested before distribution? TY Shekalim 10

We begin the fourth chapter of our massekhet with today’s daf TY Shekalim 10. It discusses various categories of withdrawals from the Temple treasury and what the money collected was used for in each category. Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva disagree what is done to the surplus of the remainder of the shekalim when all the needs mentioned on today’s daf have been met.

What did they do with the surplus of the remainder of the shekalim of the treasury chamber? With them they would buy wines, oils and fine flour, which they would subsequently resell and the profit would accrue to the Temple. These are the words of Rabbi Yishmael.

Rabbi Akiva says: We do not engage in commerce with the funds of hekdesh (sanctified objects), nor may we engage in commerce with funds collected for the poor. (Art Scroll translation)

According to Rabbi Yishmael, the Temple treasurers would purchase wine, oils and fine flour and sell them at a profit to those people who were scrupulous about the tahara, ritual readiness, of these products used for their minkha offering and wine libations. (Tiklin Chadtin)

Rabbi Akiva disagreed lest the investment would fail resulting in a loss to hekdesh. (Tiklin Chadtin) The Korban HaEidah provides alternative reason. Engaging in business is degrading for the Temple treasury because “there is no poverty in a place of affluence.” By engaging in business to increase the Temples holdings, the treasures would intimate, like poor people, they were concerned they would fall short of funds.

Using Tiklin Chadtin’s reasoning, we can think of another reason why Rabbi Akiva would prohibit engage in commerce with the funds collected for the poor.  Rabbi Akiva was afraid that the funds will lose money and there would be even less money is available for the poor.

Perhaps Rabbi Akiva was also afraid that money tied up in commerce would not be liquid when the poor needed tzedakah. The Rama on the Shulkhan Arukh distinguishes when tzedakah may be invested and when it may not. “Because charity is not exactly like Temple funds, as it is permitted to derive benefit from the former.¹If the enjoyment of its benefits does not use up the article or depreciate it. But funds ready for distribution should not be tied up in business, only money-changing and the like being permitted where the cash is always on hand, because the poor may come and there would be no ready money to give them. However, funds not meant for immediate distribution may be invested, so that the principal should remain intact and only the income thereof be distributed.” (Yoreh De’ah 259:1, Sefaria translation)

 

Above suspicion TY Shekalim 9

 We began the third chapter of our massekhet on daf TY Shekalim 7b. Today we have the privilege of concluding this chapter with today’s daf TY Shekalim 9. Withdrawing the shekalim three times a year for the communal sacrifices was a sacred duty. Those involved had to be above suspicion.

The Mishnah on daf TY Shekalim 8b says: The one who withdraws shekalim may not enter the treasury chamber with a hemmed garment (lest people think he has hidden some coins in the hem), nor with a shoe or a sandal (lest people think he has hidden some coins there), nor with tefillin (lest people think that he removed from the boxes the scrolls in order to hide money there), nor with an amulet (an amulet was a pouch worn for protection around the neck that contained an inscribed piece of parchment. People might think he is hiding money there.)-Lest he become poor and people will say, “Because of the sin of stealing from the treasury chamber he has become poor!”; or lest he become rich and people will say, “He has become rich by pilfering from the funds withdrawn from the treasury chamber!” These precautions were necessary because a person must satisfy the scrutiny of human beings just as he must satisfy the scrutiny of the Omnipresent. For it is stated: And you shall be innocent (in the eyes) of God and of Israel (Numbers 32:22); and it is furthermore stated: And find favor and good understanding in the eyes of God and man. (Proverbs 3:4) (Art Scroll translation and commentary)

Today’s daf TY Shekalim 9 cites other precautions to make sure that those involved were above suspicion.

Rabbi Yishmael taught in a Baraita: A long-haired person may not perform the withdrawal because this could raise the suspicion that he has hidden some coins amid his hair. (Rambam, Hil Shekalim 2:10), however, appears to have had the word קָבוּץ instead of the word קָּווּץ found in our text, meaning an impoverished or greedy person who could possibly be suspected of having stolen money from the treasury. (Art Scroll translation and commentary)

 It was taught further in a Baraita: After the one conducting the withdrawal exited the treasury chamber, the Temple treasurers would separate the strands of his woolen garments to show that no money have been concealed there. (Art Scroll translation) Complete transparency was required.

It was taught further in a Baraita: They would converse with him from the time he would enter the treasury chamber until he would leave, so that it would be impossible for him to smuggle out coins in his mouth.

If only our elected officials, business people, clergy, and everybody else who handles funds were as transparent and scrupulous as those who made withdrawals from the treasury chamber, there will be no more misappropriation scandals, pyramid schemes, and outright theft that plague our world.

 

 

 

Catching up with TY Shekalim 6, 7, and 8

Because Passover began Saturday night, we had a three day holiday, Shabbat and the first two days of Passover, when I couldn’t use my computer after I studied that day’s daf. Instead of a long reflection for each daf, I’m going to share a much shorter one so I can move on to today’s daf. All citations and commentary come from the Art Scroll edition of our massekhet.

 TY Shekalim 6 Why the half shekel was chosen

 The Gemara suggests three different reasons why the half shekel was chosen for this tax.

1.    It is written: This they shall give, all who pass through the census (a half shekel of the sacred shekel, 20 gerah is the shekel) (Exodus 30:13) Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nekhemiya dispute the matter. One says: Since they sinned at half the day let them give a half shekel. The children of Israel sinned with the Golden Calf at the sixth hour of the day which is exactly noon (see TB Shabbat 89a for the Scriptural source for this). Since their sin was committed at half the day, they must atone for it by giving half a shekel. And the other one says: Since they sinned at six hours into the day, let them give half a shekel which makes six garmesin. The biblical half shekel comprised six garmesin according to Korban HaEidah.

2.    Rabbi Yehoshua of the Academy of Rabbi Nekhemiya in the name of Rabban Yokhanan ben Zakkai said: Because they transgressed the 10 Commandments, the each one give 10 geirah. By sinning with the Golden calf (Korban HaEidah) it is as if they transgressed the entire 10 Commandments, because one who admits to the truth of idolatry is considered as if he denied the entire Torah. Therefore the each one give half a shekel which contains 10 gerahs since a whole shekel contains 20 gerahs.

3.    Rabbi Pinkhas in the name of Rabbi Levi says: Because they sold the firstborn of Rachel (Joseph-gg) for 20 pieces of silver (i.e. 20 dinars) and each one of the brothers involved in the sale received a tabaah (i.e. two dinars) as his share of the proceeds, therefore let each one give for his shekel obligation a tabaah.

 

TY Shekalim 7 What do you do with the excess tzdedakkah money collected?

 Mishna five of the second chapter of our massekhet deals with the surplus funds collected for various charitable purposes: The surplus funds collected for the redemption of captives shall be used to redeem other captives but the surplus funds collected for the redemption of a specific captive shall be given to that captive. The surplus funds collected for poor people in general shall be given to other poor people; but the surplus funds collected for specific poor person shall be given to that poor person. The surplus funds collected for the burial of the dead shall be used to bury other dead persons.

These rulings make sense to me. If the collection is a general collection to aid a specific target problem and if more than enough money is collected to meet the specific needs, then the surplus is saved and used for similar cases. For example, if more than enough money was collected to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina, then the surplus money could be used to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy. If one is raising money for a specific person, all monies including the surplus goes to that person. The surplus will help that person meet all future challenges.

 

TY Shekalim 8 My happy place

  I love the Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Bear, and Br’er Fox’s stories by Uncle Remus. One of my favorite stories is about Br’er Rabbit’s laughing place.[1] A laughing place by definition has to be a happy place. The Gemara tells of Rabbi Abahu’s happy place.

Rabbi Abahu once came to Tiberias and the students of Rabbi Yokhanan who were there perceived that his countenance was radiant. The students told Rabbi Yokhanan: Rabbi Abahu has apparently found a treasure! (RabbiYokhanan) approached him, and asked him: What new Torah teaching have you heard (because he understood that the radiance of Rabbi Abahu’s visage had a spiritual source, it was not the result of simple material gratification) (Rabbi Abahu) responded to him: I heard an ancient Tosefta[2] (that he had not previously known-gg). (Rabbi Yokhanan) applied to him the verse: “A man’s wisdom brightens his face.” (Ecclesiastes 8:1)

Studying daf yomi and sharing it with my readers is one of my happy places.

---

[1] I know that there’s so much wrong with a depiction of slavery in Walt Disney’s movie the Sound of the South. So just focus on the cartoon adaption of the story and not the brief 25 second live action introduction to the cartoon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da6N3i_vKB4

[2] A Tannaitic source excluded from the final redaction of the Mishna

Collecting shekalim vs collecting ballots TY Shekalim 5

 With today’s daf TY Shekalim 5 we begin the second chapter of our massekhet. The rabbis wanted to make the obligation of the half shekel as easy and convenient as possible. “Jews who lived in cities and towns outside of Jerusalem (whether in Eretz Yisrael or throughout the Diaspora) would remit their half shekalim locally. The collections would then have to be transported via couriers to the Temple. Understandably this could prove quite difficult, given the great weight so many shekalim together would form. The Mishnah teaches: We may combine shekalim into darkonot because of the burden of the way, i.e. in order to ease the burden of caring so many coins to Jerusalem. ” (Art Scroll translation)

One darkon equaled two selas. One sela equaled two half shekels. Consequently by converting all the half shekels into darkonot, the courier only needed to carry one quarter amount of coins. Although he only needed to carry fewer coins, he still had to schlep almost the same amount of weight because gold is heavier than silver. Small gold objects feel heavier when compared to silver objects of the same size because gold has a density of 19.32 g/cm3 where silver has the density of only 10.49 g/cm3. (google search)

“The Mishna below (18) relates that in the Temple courtyard stood 13 collection chests, each bearing a label as to his purpose, so that anyone who visited the temple to make his contributions. As related there, two of the chests were designated for the deposit of the annual shekalim. The Mishnah teaches: Just as there were collection chests (שופרות-shofars) for shekalim set up in the Temple, so there were collection chests for shekalim set up in the provinces.” (Art Scroll translation)

“As conveniences for people living outside of Jerusalem, there were collection chests set up throughout the land into which the required shekalim could be placed. At given intervals the chests would be emptied and the contents given to messengers to convey to Jerusalem. Within Jerusalem, however there were no collection chests, as the purpose of the chests was in order to click many shekalim together to facilitate their transport to the temple; and in Jerusalem this was not necessary, for Jerusalemites could personally bring their shekalim. (see Tiklin Chadtin)

“The Mishnah calls the collection receptacles “shofars” because they resemble shofars in shape, being broad at the bottom and narrowing to a funnel like opening at the top (incurring as they ascended {Gemara below 15b}. The purpose of this shape was to prevent an unscrupulous person from asserting his hand through the opening of the container and stealing coins while pretending to donate. (Tiklin Chadtin, from below, 15b)” (Art Scroll commentary)

Republicans have quickly moved in the opposite direction of our sages when comes to making our civic obligation voting easier. To combat a nonexistent voting fraud, they are making it more difficult to vote for minorities who normally would vote Democratic. For example, States have created drop boxes to make ballot collection easier and more convenient akin to those collection boxes mentioned in the Mishna. Commenting on Georgia’s new law restricting voting. “Representative Zulma Lopez, who represents a majority-minority district on the outskirts of Atlanta, said the bill would have an outsize impact on voters of color. In her district, she said, the number of drop boxes would be reduced to 9 from 33. This was partly the result, she said, of Democrats’ being excluded from discussions.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/25/us/politics/georgia-voting-law-republicans.html)

 

What is the Jewish status of the Samaritan? TY Shekalim 4

 The Mishna at the very bottom of yesterday's daf TY Shekalim 3 excludes idolaters and Cutheans (aka today’s Samaritans) from donating the half shekel and anything that is donated for the upkeep of the Temple. "If an idolater and a Cuthean gave a shekel, we do not accept it from them, nor do we accept from their hands the bird-pair offerings of zavim and zavot or women have given birth, or chatat and asham offerings. This is the rule: Anything that is not vowed or donated to the altar, we accept from their hands; anything that is not vowed or donated to the altar, but only for the upkeep of the temple, we do not accept from their hands. And so it is explicitly stated by the prophet Ezra, as it says, 'It is not for you and us to build a house for God; rather, we (alone) will build together for God.' (Ezra 4:3 ) This verse teaches that idolaters and Cutheans may not participate in the building and upkeep of the holy Temple." (Art Scroll translation)

Who are the Samaritans? In the year 720 BCE Shalmanesser conquered the northern kingdom Israel. As was the custom to prevent rebellion, the conquering nation exiled the indigenous people and supplanted them with a different of conquered people. That reduced nationalistic feelings towards the land and the possibility of a rebellion. This is how the 10 northern tribes became lost. Not all the Israelites were exiled. Those who remained intermarried with the newly arrived peoples. The result of this intermarriage created a group of people who adopted some of the old Israelite religion and some of the new pagan religion. Ezra rejected their Jewish bona fides.

That's not how the sages understood what happened. "The Cutheans were a pagan group imported by the Assyrian Emperor Shalmanesser from their native Cutha, and from other areas, to populate the section of Eretz Yisrael left desolate by the exile of the 10 tribes (see II Kings 17:24 ff.) They converted to Judaism out of fear of Divine punishment, and later times reverted to idolatry. The Mishnah rules that with regard to the half shekel tax, Cutheans share the law of idolaters." (TY Shekalim, 3b4, note 49, Art Scroll)

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi also known as Rebbi  and Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel disagree about the Jewish status of the Cutheans on today's daf TY Shekalim 4. "Rabbi Ba said: You should interpret the Mishnah in accordance with the one who said that a  Cuthean is legally regarded as an idolater. For (the Tannaim) disagree regarding this matter in a baraita: A Cuthean is legally regarded as an idolater. These are the words of Rebbi. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says: A Cuthean is regarded as a Jew in all matters." (Art Scroll translation)

Their status revolves around the issue of the sincerity of their conversion. Rebbi holds that they only converted out of fear of Divine punishment and later returned to their old pagan ways. They were never sincere converts (which is a prerequisite of conversion); consequently, they are regarded as idolaters. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel believed that they were sincere converts, and it was only later that they reverted to their pagan ways. Based on the principle that a Jew is always a Jew,  the  Cutheans are just backsliding Jews and are treated as full-fledged Jews.

What is their status today?. They accept the Torah and the book of Joshua (even though their interpretations are different than ours). Because their calendar runs a bit differently than ours, when I was a rabbinical student studying in Israel, I was able to go to Mount Gerizim and see them prepare the korban Pesakh. Nevertheless, we do not accept them as Jews, but as a different people. The  Palestinians called them the "old or original" Jews. That is why I call the Samaritans the in-between people.

Jesus and the moneychangers in the Temple TY Shekalim 3

 Today’s daf TY Shekalim 3 reminds me of a story concerning Jesus, the Temple, and moneychangers. First, the moneychangers. “We learned in the first Mishnah that on the first day of Adar the court announces the forthcoming obligation to make the half shekel contribution. After listing other matters the court attends to during Adar, the Tanna now returns to the main topic of our tractate-the half shekel contribution: On the 15th day of (Adar) moneychangers would sit in the province. On the 25th day of Adar they said in the temple...” (Art Scroll translation)

The standard practice was for moneychangers to conduct their business over a simple table, שולחן. thus they were called שולחנות-literally table-people (Rambam commentary). Because Jews came to Jerusalem from different countries bringing various currencies, moneychangers were set up to exchange their coins for the half shekalim (Tiklin Chadtin, see Rosh, Shekel HaKodesh 1:63) Others maintain that the moneychangers serve the more basic function-that of collecting the half shekelim. It was their duty to “demand softly” that the half shekel be paid, but they were not granted the power of coercion. The money changing role was incidental to this significant assignment (Rambam, Hil Shekalim 1:9)¹

According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus did something that was completely incomprehensible for the Jews. “Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all all were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, ‘It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer; but you are making it a den of robbers.’” (Mat 21:12-13)

\Remember the main mode of worship back then was the sacrificial cult. Not everybody could schlep an animal from home to offer up as a sacrifice. Sellers who sold doves and other animals enabled those worshipers to fulfill their ritual obligations and draw close to God as they understood it. Driving those people out made no sense at all to them.

Prof. Amy-Jill Levine in her essay "Bearing False Witness: Common Errors Made About Early Judaism” writes “(The) Ninth is the insistence that Jesus objected to the ‘temple domination system’ that overtaxed the population, forced upon them oppressive purity laws (see the third misconception-gg), and functioned as an elitist institution in cooperation with Rome. Thus we have the common stereotype that the ‘moneychangers’ were overcharging pilgrims. Jesus never makes this charge, although there are rabbinic notices that the high priests would sometimes take the tithes due to the poorer priests. Nor have we evidence that the Temple oppressed the peasants or overtaxed them. The vast majority of the Jewish people loved the Temple, visited it on pilgrimage festivals, protected it from Roman from profanation, and more is destruction. According to the book of Acts, Jesus’s followers, including Paul, continued to worship there. When in the first revolt against Rome, zealot factions gain control of Jerusalem, they did burn the Temple that records, but they also appointed their own high priest. To some extent, the idea of the temple domination system stems from Jesus’s comment about the ‘den of robbers’ (Mat 21:13); however, ‘den of robbers’ is a quotation from the Hebrew Bible, from Jeremiah 7:11, and refers not to where people still but where thieves go to feel safe.”²

By the way, this year Easter Sunday coincides with the eighth day of Passover.

1commentary from the At Scroll tractate Shekalim, page 3b1 note 7

2from The Jewish Annotated New Testament, edited by Amy -Jill Levine and Mark Zvi Brettler, pages 503-4

The Jewish people’s behavior can leave you scratching your head. TY Shekalim 2

 Today we begin massekhet Talmud Yerushalmi (TY) Shekalim. There are two Talmuds, the Yerushalmi (the Land of Israel) Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud. The Talmud Yerushalmi was completed around the year 400 CE while the Babylonian Talmud was completed around the year 500 CE. Because of historical circumstances, the Babylonian Talmud became the one universally studied in the yeshivot. In Seder Moed (the tractates dealing with all the holidays) the Babylonian Talmud has 11 tractates out of a possible 12. The only tractate missing is Shekalim. Since massekhet TY Shekalim is printed after TB Pesakhim, Rabbi Meir Shapiro, who proposed studying daf yomi, made an executive decision to include TY Shekalim, the only tractate from the Talmud Yerushalmi in the daf yomi cycle.

Every adult male Jew contributed a half shekel to underwrite all the communal sacrifices. The rich could not donate more nor the poor less. (see Exodus 30:11-16). The biblical shekel had the value of four dinars, so the half shekel equaled two dinars. The talmudic shekel was worth only two dinars. Because the biblical half shekel had the same value of the talmudic shekel, our massekhet uses the term shekel to mean the biblical half shekel tax. Because the Temple’s fiscal year started on 1 Nisan, the first Mishna on today’s daf TY Shekalim begins “On the first day of Adar they (the court) proclaim regarding the payment of the shekalim...” (Art Scroll translation) to remind them of their obligation and to give them enough time to send in their half shekel before the deadline.

The Jewish people’s behavior can leave you scratching your head. “Rabbi Abba bar Acha said: You cannot comprehend the contradictory behavior of the nation. On the one hand they are solicited to donate gold for something evil like the Golden Calf, and they give. On the other hand, they are solicited to donate for something good like the Tabernacle, and also they give.” (Art Scroll translation)

Generosity seems to be hardwired into the Jewish DNA. When asked to donate for any cause, they rise to the occasion and are most generous. I rather that we make a mistake and donate to a bad or fraudulent organization from time to time (but not as a habit), than never donate at all even to a good cause.

Two sets of blessings TB Pesakhim 121

 With today’s daf TB Pesakhim 121 we finish massekhet Pesakhim! We know that we have reached the end because the penultimate Mishna deals with falling asleep during the meal and leftovers. Today’s daf discusses two pairs of blessings.

The first pair of blessings concerns the korban Pesakh and the Haggigah, the holiday sacrifice. Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva argue whether saying the blessing over the korban Pesakh also covers the blessing for the Haggigah.

“MISHNA: If one recited the blessing over the Paschal lamb, he has also exempted himself from reciting a blessing over the Festival offering. However, if he recited the blessing over the Festival offering, he has not exempted himself from reciting a blessing over the Paschal lamb. This is the statement of Rabbi Yishmael. Rabbi Akiva says: This blessing does not exempt one from reciting a blessing over this one, and that blessing does not exempt that one, as there is a separate blessing for each offering.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Gemara does not provide the actual language for these blessings. Since we have not recited these blessings for over 2000 years, we are unsure what is the correct formula. Rashi and his grandson Rashbam disagree on what a person should say. Rashi holds that we say “Who sanctified us with His mitzvot and commanded concerning the eating of the Paschal lamb” and “Who sanctified us with His mitzvot and commanded us concerning the eating of shelamim.” Rashbam holds that we say “Who sanctified us with His mitzvot and commanded us to eat the Paschal lamb” and “Who sanctified us with His mitzvot and commanded us to eat the zevakh.” Rambam poskins according to Rabbi Akiva’s understanding. (Mishneh Torah, Sefer Zemanim, Hilkhot Hametz and Matza, Chapter 8 Halakha 7)

The next set of blessings concern the redemption of the firstborn son, (pidyon haben-פִדְיוֹן הַבֵּן) These blessings are not as rare as the blessings over the sacrifices; however, they are some the more infrequent ones in our liturgy.

“The Gemara discusses another case concerning the order of the blessings: Rabbi Simlai attended a redemption of the firstborn son. The celebrants raised a dilemma before him with regard to the blessings. First they noted that it is obvious that the blessing over the redemption of a firstborn son, which is: Who sanctified us with His mitzvot and commanded us over the redemption of the firstborn son, is certainly recited by the father of the son, as he is the one obligated to redeem his son. However, with regard to the second blessing: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has given us life [shehekheyanu], sustained us, and brought us to this time, does the priest recite this blessing, or does the father of the son recite it?

“The Gemara explains the two sides of the dilemma. It can be suggested that the priest recites the blessing, as he benefits from the five sela he receives when the boy is redeemed. The blessing of shehekhiyanu is generally recited by the one who receives the benefit. Or, perhaps the father of the son recites shehekheyanu, as he is the one who performs the mitzva. Rabbi Simlai did not have an answer readily available, and he went to ask this question in the study hall. The scholars said to him that the father of the son recites the two blessings: Over the redemption of the son and shehe?eyanu. The Gemara concludes: And the halakha is that the father of the son recites two blessings.” (Sefaria.org translation) 

Tomorrow we begin TY (Talmud Yerushalmi-Jerusalem Talmud) Shekalim.

Wake up you sleepyhead TB Pesakhim 120

According to tradition one should begin the Seder before night begins i.e. when three middle size stars are visible. My pre-pandemic Seders went long into the night especially when they began after we changed our clocks for daylight savings time. Sometimes some of my participants have fallen asleep before the conclusion of the Seder. Today’s daf TB Pesakhim 120 discusses people falling asleep before eating the korban Pesakh.

“MISHNA: If some of the participants at the seder fell asleep, thereby interrupting their meal, they may eat from the Paschal lamb when they awake. If the entire company fell asleep, they may not eat any more. Rabbi Yosei says: If they dozed they may eat from the Paschal lamb when they awake, but if they fell fast asleep they may not eat from it” (Sefaria.org translation)

Rashbam explains that Rabbi Yosei is commenting on the first half of the Mishna. Yosei is coming to explain that if some of the participants just dozed off, they can resume eating. The Meiri and others explain that Rabbi Yosei is coming to explain the second half of the Mishna. If all assembled dozed off, they may continue to eat. Only those who fell asleep are forbidden.

Rashbam explains the reason why those people who actually fell asleep may not eat the korban Pesakh. If they were to resume their meal it would be akin to eating the offering in two different places which is forbidden. Ra-avad provides a second reason. Falling asleep is considered a complete interruption (חסח הדעת) and invalidates the korban Pesakh.

If you’re wondering what’s the difference between dozing and sleeping, the Gemara provides the answer. “What are the circumstances of dozing? Rav Ashi said: One is asleep but not asleep, awake but not awake, when, if they call him, he will answer, but he is unable to provide a reasonable answer. And when they later inform him of what happened, he remembers it.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Previously on this daf we learn that eating matza on the first and second night is a mitzvah from the Torah. The Rosh holds that the last matza that concludes the meal today symbolizes the korban Pesakh. Perhaps this is the reason why the Shulkhan Arukh poskins that even if all the people around Passover table doze off, they may continue to eat because Rambam holds that Rabbi Yosei is coming to disagree with the tanna kama. (Orekh Hayim, 478:2)

The afikoman isn’t the matza TB Pesakhim 119

 Scholars have known that the Passover Seder is patterned after a Greco-Roman symposium. Dr. Burton Visotzky explains what was the symposium like in the Greco-Roman world. “Literally, the sym-posium is a cocktail party. Sym is Greek for ‘together,’ as in sympathy (having fellow feeling). Posium is from the Greek word meaning ‘to drink.’... so a symposium is a cocktail party, specifically a literary cocktail party.”¹ Knowing this bit of information will help our understanding of the Mishnah on daf Pesakhim 119.

Mishnah: “One does not conclude after the Pesakh meal with an afikoman.” Obviously the word afikoman is a Greek word and the Gemara immediately asks is what is it? Although everybody understands the afikoman to be the matza at the end of the meal, this is a misnomer. Reading the Mishnah carefully one is not allowed to conclude the Passover meal with an afikoman. This matza is better referred as the “last matza-מצה אחרונה”

A more expanded version of the Mishnah is found in Tosefta Pesakhim 10:11 “and they may not conclude the Pesakh meal with an afikoman, like nuts and dates and parched corn. A person must engage in the laws of Pesakh all night, even if it is just him with his son, even if it is just him by himself, and even between him and his student.

“Interpreting this passage in a parallel in the Yerushami, Lieberman (1995:521) offered a new interpretation to the word ‘afikoman,’ one which is subsequently accepted by all critical scholars:

“(The Rabbis) were familiar with Greek customs in the banquet manners, that when the festivities would reach their peak, they would burst into others’ home to force them to join in the continuing party, and call this epikomazein. The Mishnah warns that one does not conclude the Passover meal with an afikoman- epikomazein, and this is the interpretation of the Babylonian and Eretz Yisrael Talmud.

“...the original meaning of ‘afikoman’ seems to have still been familiar to early amoraim, and is evidence... (in today’s daf-gg) ‘Rav said: It means that a member of a group that ate the Paschal lamb together should not leave that group to join another group. And Shmuel said: It means that one may not eat dessert after the meal, like mushrooms [urdilafei] for me, and chicks for Abba, And Rav Hanina bar Sheila and Rabbi Yokhanan say: such as dates, roasted grains, and nuts,’

“Building upon Lieberman’s interpretation, Bokser (1984:132, n. 62) and Tabory (1996:65-66) explained that the other interpretations found in the Tosefta and in the Tosefea and in the Talmudim- that afikoman refers to dessert-are harmonious with Lieberman’s explanation, for those were ‘types of delicacies served a meal, especially to whet one’s thirst’...Even sweet foods were heavily salted to reduce drinking. Indeed in Greek meals dessert and drinking went hand in.”²

^{1. Aphrodite and the Rabbis, page 96. Read pages 96-111 for further comparisons}

^{2. Dr. David Golinkin, The Schechter Haggadah, page 261-262}

1Aphrodite and the Rabbis, page 96. Read pages 96-111 for further comparisons

2Dr. David Golinkin, TShe Schechter Haggadah, page 261-262