Jewish scholars in Jerusalem and Babylon composed two versions of the

Talmud. Both versions present Rabbinic sages’ teaching recorded in the Mishnah
and its supplemental Tosefta (c. A.D. 10–220), which is shared in common
between them, and Gemara (c. 230–500), the rabbinic commentary on the
Mishnah. The two Gemaras both record the debates surrounding the interpretation
and application of the Jewish law, especially its oral components recorded in the
Mishnah, after the destruction of the second temple (A.D. 70).

The Mishnah is shared in common between the two versions of the Talmud
and makes up a significant part of the Oral Law in Judaism.1 The Mishnah is
largely a brief recording of various rabbinic opinions or consenting views about
various aspects of Jewish life and practice and has been divided into six books, or
“Orders,” which cover six different aspects of the Mosaic Law (agriculture, feasts,
families, civil, temple, and purity laws). Each order is further subdivided into
tractates, or chapters, which examine various aspects of the law in question. For
example, the second order is called “Moed” and is concerned with the feasts and
festivals of Judaism such as Shabbat, Yom Kippur, and Passover. 2 The purpose of
the Mishnah was to record the Oral Law, which some believe had been passed on
from Moses at Mt Sinai, in written form to preserve Jewish culture and religion by
adapting Jewish practice to a world without a temple in Jerusalem.

This article will briefly examine the Pesakh, or Passover, in the Talmud by
first examining its place in the Mishnah and the Haggadah, or order for the Jewish
Passover Seder, based upon it, and then looking at the Gemara recorded in the
Babylonian Talmud.

Pesachim is the third tractate in the second order (Moed) of the Mishnah.
The Mishnah begins by outlining rules when and how leaven must be excised from
the home, along with preparing bitter herbs for the Passover meal (Blackman
11–38). The text goes on to describe variations in local customs surrounding
Pesakh, especially in areas of observing the Sabbath and trading livestock;
however, there are certain laws which transcend culture and are thus binding on all
Jews. (41-9). Chapters five through nine of the Pesachim are all concerned with the
Passover sacrifice (paschal lamb). The Mishnah provides guidelines for when and
how the passover lamb may be prepared, specifically rules regarding Sabbath
preparation and cooking methods (51–73). It then outlines who may prepare and
consume the lamb, especially in cases of ritual impurity and travelers (74–95). The
ninth chapter concludes by providing instructions on miscellaneous topics such as
using a female lamb or losing a lamb (96–101). The tenth chapter describes the
Seder (‫ )סֵדֶ ר‬service as it is currently practiced by Jews.3 This chapter of the
mishnah warrants more direct analysis.

God commanded the celebration of the Passover annually after the exodus
from Egypt (Ex 12:1–28) but there are no commands in the Torah about how that
passover should be commemorated.4 The first full record of the service is the last
chapter of Tractate Pesachim, but it is not clear how much of the service predates
its record. However, a the basic pattern of the service is plain in the text itself: first,
a cup of wine is poured and a benediction is given (Blackman 102); second, the
various components of the meal, such as unleavened bread, lettuce, “fruit-spice
sauce,” an egg, and a meat bone (103). Then the second cup of wine is poured out,
and the child asks questions to the presider about the purpose of the unique
elements of the Seder. His father recounts the story of Moses and the Passover
from Egypt (104).5 A blessing is recited (10 5-6), and the participants enjoy a feast of
lamb and bitter herbs. After eating, the third cup of wine is poured out and the
grace is given, followed by the fourth cup of wine and the benediction (107-9). (It is
important for Christians to note that this Seder meal was likely not the meal
practiced by Jesus and his disciples in what has come to be known as the Last
Supper. Jesus was, however, slain on the eve of Pesakh. Instead of the lamb
normally slain at that time according to the Law, the gospel writers suggest that
Jesus himself is the Passover lamb, the one slaughtered to cover the sins of Israel
so that the judgment of God will pass them over.6) By laying the groundwork for
the Haggadah the Mishnah presents a celebration of the Passover in a nascent form.
Beyond that, the Mishnah presents the importance of purity and the centrality of
the Jewish feast of Passover.

The second major portion of the Talmud is the Gemara, which is the
rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. There is a question based
on the text of the Mishnah: for example, “What is the meaning of ‘or’?”
(Steinislatz 2a2). The Gemara then provides two answers from two different rabbis
or schools, and then analyzes various biblical arguments and the positions of other
rabbinic statements in support of the two opinions (2a2–2b13) and then concludes
with the position which should be adopted: in Tractate Pesakh, “or” means “in the
evening (Blackman 11; Steinslatz 2a2, answered in 2b13). While commentary such
as this seems needlessly tedious to modern readers, the Gemara provides an
important early interpretation of the ambiguous Mishnaic text by attempting to
ground the laws presented in it in the law of Moses,

Pesakh occupies only a small portion of the larger Talmud, but its
importance for Jewish life cannot be overstated. Commemorated now in the Seder
meal, its structure and purpose is to help Israel remember their bondage in Egypt
and the faithfulness of God in leading them out from that bondage. While some
passages in the Hebrew Bible command the observance of the Exodus (Ex 13:3;
Lev 23:5–8; Deut 16:12; 2 Ki 23:21–23; Ez 6:19–21; 2 Chr 35:1–19), there are no
descriptions therein of what the passover celebration looked like.7 The Talmud
therefore functions as a valuable resource on early celebrations of Pesakh.

Endnotes
1. The “Oral Law” consists of the Mishnah, the Tosefta and Halakhic Midrashim, which began to be
codified around the third century. It is important to note that not every portion of the Oral Law is given equal
authoritative weight; so, The Jewish Encyclopedia (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1905), s.v. “Oral Law”
(pp. 9.423–426).
2. See the analysis of the origins of Rabbinc Judaism and explanation of the various parts of the Talmud in
Shaye J. D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah, 2nd ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2006),
205–224. There are other minor tractates in the Talmud, but the Mishnah and Gemara receive precedence.
3. Philip Blackman, ed., Order Moed, vol. II in Mishnayoth (New York: The Judaica Press, Inc., 1963),
216.
4. Tabory lists Jub 49:9, Wis 18:9, and Philo’s De specialibus legibus 2:148 as second temple references to
the Passover meal; so, Joseph Tabory, JPS Commentary on the Haggadah (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication
Society, 2008), 4–5.
5. The Haggadah script of the exodus account is a midrash on Deuteronomy 26:5–9; so, Tabory,
Commentary, 86–101.
6. See the detailed descriptions in J. B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover (London: Oxford University Press,
1963), 241–246. The Talmud generally is incredibly critical of Jesus and his church, portraying him as a bastard son
of a whore, a sex-crazed magician and idolater who is punished in hell with his disciples. The Jewish idea of Jesus is
therefore divorced from Jesus’ understanding of himself. See further analysis of Jesus and his description in the
Talmud in Peter Schäfer, Jesus in the Talmud (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007), 95–129, esp. 113.
7. There are important extra-biblical sources which provide some help, but these are limited in detail; see
Segal, Hebrew, 1ff; Josephus, JW 6.423–428, Ant. 3.248; Philo, Spec. 2.148, QE 1.11; Jub 49:1–12; &c.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Blackman, Philip, editor. Order Moed. Volume II in Mishnayoth. New York: The
Judaica Press, Inc., 1963.
Cohen, Shaye J. D. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Second edition.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2006.

Lauterbach, Jacob Zallel, “Oral Law.” Pages 9.423–426 in The Jewish

Schäfer, Peter. Jesus in the Talmud. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007

Segal, J. B. The Hebrew Passover. London: Oxford University Press, 1963.

Steinsaltz, Adin Even-Israel, editor. Jerusalem: Koren Publishers, 1989–2020.

Tabory, Joseph. JPS Commentary on the Haggadah. Philadelphia: The Jewish