[Avodah] A New Mitzvah at the Seder

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 01:58:06PM +0000, allan.engel at gmail.com wrote:
> I have often contended that, in the era of the Korban Pesach, an average
> person would not have the expertise or equipment to calculate Chatzos
> Layla, and that therefore the people must have been careful to finish
> eating the Korban early in the night...

Assuming they held like R Elazar ben Azariah and like R Eliezer in the
two machloqesin discussed on Berakhos 9a. R Aqiva and R Yehoshua hold
the mitzvah is until the morning. (The first machloqes is about the word
"boqer", the second is how to parse Devarim 16:6 -- do you eat kevo
hasemesh (sunset to chatzos), or until mo'eid tzesekha miMitzrayim?)

Stam Mishnah Pesachim 10:9 talks about the pesach being metamei the
hands after chatzos, because that's when it becomes nosar (TY vilna 71b,
TB 120b). Zevachim 37a states that this mishnah is according to R Aqiva.

The Rambam (Hil' Qorban Pesach 8:15) says the Pesach is only eaten
until midnight kedai leharchiq min ha'aveirah, and deOraisa it's okay
all night. So he hold like R Aqiva and R Yehoshua, with the kelal we
get from R Gamliel in 1:1 that any mitzvah that is permitted all night
deOraisa has a derabbanan making it lekhatchilah before chatzos, leharciq
min ha'aveirah.

So, whether they were very careful with a safe estimate or chatzos-ish
was good enough depended on who they held like.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 "The most prevalent illness of our generation is
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   excessive anxiety....  Emunah decreases anxiety:
Author: Widen Your Tent      'The Almighty is my source of salvation;  I will
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF    trust and not be afraid.'" (Isa 12) -Shalhevesya