Commentary page

Pesachim 39a

This page gathers the commentary on one source unit: the classic commentaries as they are printed, the sources the text cites, the sages named in it and direct links back to the text.

Read the full text in the reader

Babylonian Talmud · folio map

Pesachim 39a

Pesachim 39a. The full printed text of this folio side — 17 numbered segments, about 454 words — with the classic commentaries printed on the page.

Original text

Segment 1

מַתְנִי׳ וְאֵלּוּ יְרָקוֹת שֶׁאָדָם יוֹצֵא בָּהֶן יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ בַּפֶּסַח: בַּחֲזֶרֶת, בְּתַמְכָא, וּבְחַרְחֲבִינָא וּבְעוּלְשִׁין וּבְמָרוֹר. יוֹצְאִין בָּהֶן בֵּין לַחִין בֵּין יְבֵשִׁין, אֲבָל לֹא כְּבוּשִׁין וְלֹא שְׁלוּקִין וְלֹא מְבוּשָּׁלִין.

MISHNA: And these are the vegetables with which a person can fulfill his obligation to eat bitter herbs on Passover: One can fulfill his obligation with ḥazeret , with chervil [ tamkha ], and with field eryngo [ ḥarḥavina ], and with endives [ olashin ], and with maror . One fulfills his obligation with them whether they are fresh or whether they are dry. However, one does not fulfill his obligation if they are pickled in water or vinegar, nor if they are over-boiled [ shaluk ] in hot water, nor if they are boiled [ mevushal ].

Segment 2

וּמִצְטָרְפִין לִכְזַיִת, וְיוֹצְאִין בַּקֶּלַח שֶׁלָּהֶן. וּבִדְמַאי, וּבְמַעֲשֵׂר רִאשׁוֹן שֶׁנִּטְּלָה תְּרוּמָתוֹ, וּמַעֲשֵׂר שֵׁנִי וְהֶקְדֵּשׁ שֶׁנִּפְדּוּ.

The mishna adds: And all these different types of vegetables join together to the measure of an olive-bulk, i.e., it is not necessary to eat this amount from one specific type of vegetable. And one fulfills his obligation by eating their stalk, as it is not necessary to eat the leaves. And one fulfills the obligation with doubtfully tithed produce, with first-tithe produce whose teruma has been taken and given to a priest, and with both second-tithe produce and consecrated property that were redeemed.

Segment 3

גְּמָ׳ חֲזֶרֶת — חַסָּא. עוּלְשִׁין — הִינְדְּבִי. תַּמְכָא, אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה: תְּמַכְתָּא שְׁמָהּ. חַרְחֲבִינָא, אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ: אַצְווֹתָא דְּדִיקְלָא. וּבְמָרוֹר — מְרִירָתָא.

GEMARA: The Gemara identifies the plants mentioned by the mishna by their Aramaic names. Ḥazeret is lettuce. Olashin is called hindevi . With regard to tamkha , Rabba bar bar Ḥana said: It is called temakhta in Aramaic. As for ḥarḥavina , Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: This is the plant that grows around the palm tree. The mishna taught: And with maror . The Gemara explains: This is a plant called merirata .

Segment 4

תָּנֵי בַּר קַפָּרָא, אֵלּוּ יְרָקוֹת שֶׁאָדָם יוֹצֵא בָּהֶן יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ בַּפֶּסַח: בְּעוּלְשִׁין, וּבְתַמְכָא, בְּחַרְחֲלִין, בְּחַרְחֲבִינִין, וּבְחִזְרִין. רַב יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: אַף עוּלְשֵׁי שָׂדֶה וְעוּלְשֵׁי גִינָּה וַחֲזֶרֶת.

Bar Kappara teaches: These are the vegetables with which a person can fulfill his obligation to eat bitter herbs on Passover: With endives, chervil, ḥarḥallin , field eryngo, and ḥazeret . Rav Yehuda says: Also wild endives, garden endives, and ḥazeret .

Segment 5

עוּלְשֵׁי גִינָּה וַחֲזֶרֶת? הָא תְּנָא לַהּ רֵישָׁא! הָכִי קָאָמַר: אַף עוּלְשֵׁי שָׂדֶה כְּעוּלְשֵׁי גִינָּה וַחֲזֶרֶת. רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: אַף עַסְווֹס וְטוּרָא וּמָר יְרוֹאָר. אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: עַסְווֹס וְטוּרָא אֶחָד הוּא. וּמָר — זֶה הוּא יְרוֹאָר.

The Gemara asks: Why does Rav Yehuda mention garden endives and ḥazeret ? These were already taught in the first clause. The Gemara explains that this is what Rav Yehuda is saying: Even wild endives are equivalent to garden endives and ḥazeret and may be used as bitter herbs on Passover. Rabbi Meir says: The plants asvas , and tura , and sweet myrrh [ mar yero’ar ] can also be used to fulfill this obligation. Rabbi Yosei said to him: Asvas and tura are two names for one plant, and mar is the same plant as yero’ar .

Segment 6

תָּנֵי דְּבֵי (רַבִּי) שְׁמוּאֵל: אֵלּוּ יְרָקוֹת שֶׁאָדָם יוֹצֵא בָּהֶן יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ בַּפֶּסַח: בַּחֲזֶרֶת, בְּעוּלְשִׁין, וּבְתַמְכָא, וּבְחַרְבִּינִין, וּבְחַרְגִּינִין, וּבְהִרְדּוּפְנִין. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: אַף חֲזֶרֶת יוּלִין וַחֲזֶרֶת גַּלִּין כַּיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן.

A Sage of the school of Rabbi Samuel teaches: These are the vegetables with which a person can fulfill his obligation to eat bitter herbs on Passover: With ḥazeret , endives, chervil, field eryngo, ḥarginnin , and hardofannin . Rabbi Yehuda says: One can also fulfill his obligation with ḥazeret yolin and ḥazeret gallin , as they are similar to the aforementioned vegetables.

Segment 7

רַבִּי אִילְעָא אוֹמֵר מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר: אַף עַרְקַבָּלִים, וְחָזַרְתִּי עַל כׇּל תַּלְמִידָיו וּבִקַּשְׁתִּי לִי חָבֵר, וְלֹא מָצָאתִי. וּכְשֶׁבָּאתִי לִפְנֵי רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן יַעֲקֹב, הוֹדָה לִדְבָרַי.

Rabbi Ile’a said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: One can also fulfill his obligation with arkablim . And I went around all of Rabbi Eliezer’s students looking for a colleague who agreed with me that Rabbi Eliezer said this, but I did not find anyone who remembered this ruling. But when I came before Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov, he conceded to my statement.

Segment 8

רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: כֹּל שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ שָׂרָף. רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בֶּן בְּרוֹקָה אוֹמֵר: כֹּל שֶׁפָּנָיו מַכְסִיפִין. אֲחֵרִים אוֹמְרִים: [כׇּל] יָרָק מַר יֵשׁ לוֹ שָׂרָף וּפָנָיו מַכְסִיפִין. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: מִדִּבְרֵי כּוּלָּן נִלְמַד, יָרָק מַר יֵשׁ לוֹ שָׂרָף וּפָנָיו מַכְסִיפִין. אָמַר רַב הוּנָא: הֲלָכָה כַּאֲחֵרִים.

Rabbi Yehuda says: Any plant that has white sap when it is cut may be used as bitter herbs. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka says: Anything whose surface is light green may be used as bitter herbs. Aḥerim say: Any bitter herb that has sap and whose surface is light green is fit for this mitzva. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: From the statements of all these Sages, we can learn that a bitter green herb has sap and its surface is light green. Rav Huna said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Aḥerim .

Segment 9

רָבִינָא אַשְׁכְּחֵיהּ לְרַב אַחָא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרָבָא דַּהֲוָה מְהַדַּר אַמְּרִירָתָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מַאי דַּעְתָּיךְ, דִּמְרִירִין טְפֵי? וְהָא חֲזֶרֶת תְּנַן. וְתַנָּא דְּבֵי שְׁמוּאֵל: חֲזֶרֶת, וְאָמַר רַבִּי אוֹשַׁעְיָא: מִצְוָה בַּחֲזֶרֶת. וְאָמַר רָבָא: מַאי חֲזֶרֶת — חַסָּא.

Ravina found Rav Aḥa, son of Rava, searching for merirata to use as bitter herbs. He said to him: What is your opinion, that you seek this particular herb? If you are looking for that which is most bitter, but we learned ḥazeret first in the mishna, which indicates that this is the preferred choice. And likewise, a Sage of the school of Shmuel taught ḥazeret first, before the other types of bitter herbs. And Rabbi Oshaya said: The optimal fulfillment of the mitzva is with ḥazeret , and Rava said: What is ḥazeret ? It is lettuce [ ḥassa ].

Segment 10

מַאי חַסָּא — דְּחַס רַחֲמָנָא עִילָּוַון. וְאָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן: לָמָּה נִמְשְׁלוּ מִצְרִיִּים כְּמָרוֹר? לוֹמַר לָךְ: מָה מָרוֹר זֶה שֶׁתְּחִילָּתוֹ רַךְ וְסוֹפוֹ קָשֶׁה — אַף מִצְרִיִּים תְּחִילָּתָן רַכָּה וְסוֹפָן קָשָׁה. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: הֲדַרִי בִּי.

The Gemara explains: What is the meaning of lettuce [ ḥassa ]? It refers to the fact that God has mercy [ ḥas ] on us. And Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Why are the Egyptians likened to bitter herbs in the verse: “And they embittered their lives” (Exodus 1:14)? This comparison serves to tell you that just as these bitter herbs are soft at first and harsh in the end, so too, the Egyptians were soft at first, when they paid the Jews for their work, but were harsh in the end, as they enslaved them. This idea applies solely to ḥazeret , which has a bitter aftertaste, but not to other types of bitter herbs, which are bitter from the beginning. Rav Aḥa, son of Rava, said to Ravina: I retract my position and concede that it is preferable to use ḥazeret for bitter herbs.

Segment 11

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב רְחוּמִי לְאַבָּיֵי: מִמַּאי דְּהַאי מָרוֹר מִין יָרָק הוּא? אֵימָא מְרִירָתָא דְכוּפְיָא? דּוּמְיָא דְּמַצָּה: מָה מַצָּה גִּידּוּלֵי קַרְקַע — אַף מָרוֹר גִּידּוּלֵי קַרְקַע. וְאֵימָא הִירְדּוּף? דּוּמְיָא דְּמַצָּה: מָה מַצָּה מִין זְרָעִים — אַף מָרוֹר מִין זְרָעִים.

Rav Reḥumi said to Abaye: From where is it known that this bitter herb that must be eaten on Passover night is a type of vegetable? Perhaps one could say that the mitzva should be performed with the bile of a kufya fish, which is very bitter, but not necessarily with a type of plant? He answered: Bitter herbs are similar to matza ; just as matza must be prepared only from food that grows from the ground, so too, bitter herbs must be from food that grows from the ground. The Gemara asks: How do we know that a bitter herb is specifically a vegetable rather than the bitter oleander bush? The Gemara answers: Bitter herbs are similar to matza ; just as matza is prepared from a type of plant, but not including a tree, so too, bitter herbs must be from a type of plant that is not a tree.

Segment 12

וְאֵימָא הַרְזִיפוּ! דּוּמְיָא דְּמַצָּה: מָה מַצָּה שֶׁנִּיקַּחַת בְּכֶסֶף מַעֲשֵׂר — אַף מָרוֹר שֶׁנִּיקָּח בְּכֶסֶף מַעֲשֵׂר.

The Gemara asks a similar question: Perhaps I can say that one may use harzipu , a vegetable that poisons animals, as the bitter herb. The Gemara answers: It must be similar to matza ; just as matza is prepared from plants that are fit for human consumption and can be purchased with second- tithe money, so too, bitter herbs must be from a species that can be purchased with second- tithe money.

Segment 13

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַבָּה בַּר רַב חָנִין לְאַבָּיֵי: אֵימָא מָרוֹר חַד! ״מְרוֹרִים״ כְּתִיב. וְאֵימָא ״מְרוֹרִים״ תְּרֵי! דּוּמְיָא דְּמַצָּה: מָה מַצָּה מִינִין הַרְבֵּה — אַף מָרוֹר מִינִין הַרְבֵּה.

Rabba bar Rav Ḥanin said to Abaye: I can say that the bitter herb mentioned in the Torah includes merely one species, i.e., only the bitterest plant can be used for this obligation. Abaye responded: For this reason it is written: “Bitter herbs” (Exodus 12:8) in the plural, indicating that many types of bitter herbs are fit for this purpose. Rabba retorted: But one can say that “bitter herbs” refers to two different species, but no more. Abaye explained: Bitter herbs are similar to matza ; just as matza can be prepared from many types of grain, so too, bitter herbs can be taken from many different types of vegetables.

Segment 14

אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר רַב הוּנָא אָמַר רַב: יְרָקוֹת שֶׁאָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים שֶׁאָדָם יוֹצֵא בָּהֶן יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ בַּפֶּסַח, כּוּלָּן נִזְרָעִין בַּעֲרוּגָה אַחַת. לְמֵימְרָא דְּלֵית בְּהוּ מִשּׁוּם כִּלְאַיִם?

Rabba bar Rav Huna said that Rav said: With regard to the vegetables that the Sages said a person can fulfill with them his obligation to eat bitter herbs on Passover, they may all be planted in one garden bed. The Gemara concludes: That is to say that the prohibition against planting diverse kinds of seeds does not apply to them? Rav’s statement indicates that all these species are so similar that they may be planted together without violating the prohibition against planting different species of crops in one area of a field.

Segment 15

מֵתִיב רָבָא: חֲזֶרֶת וַחֲזֶרֶת גַּלִּין, עוּלְשִׁין וְעוּלְשֵׁי שָׂדֶה, כְּרֵישִׁין וּכְרֵישֵׁי שָׂדֶה, כּוּסְבָּר וְכוּסְבַּר שָׂדֶה, חַרְדָּל וְחַרְדָּל מִצְרִי, וְדַלַּעַת הַמִּצְרִי וְהָרְמוּצָה — אֵינָם כִּלְאַיִם זֶה בָּזֶה. חֲזֶרֶת וַחֲזֶרֶת גַּלִּין — אִין, חֲזֶרֶת וְעוּלְשִׁין — לֹא!

Rava raised an objection from a mishna: Ḥazeret and ḥazeret gallin ; endive and wild endive; leek and wild leek; coriander and wild coriander; mustard and Egyptian mustard; and Egyptian gourd and harmutza , a type of gourd, are not considered a mixture of diverse kinds when planted together. This indicates that ḥazeret and ḥazeret gallin , yes, they may be planted together; however, ḥazeret and endives, no, they may not be planted together.

Segment 16

וְכִי תֵּימָא כּוּלְּהוּ בַּהֲדָדֵי קָתָנֵי לְהוּ. וְהָא אָמַר רַב: זוּגוֹת זוּגוֹת קָתָנֵי!

And lest you say that all these species are taught together, and the mishna is actually saying that any of these species may be planted together, but didn’t Rav himself say that these plants were taught in pairs, i.e., one may plant each plant only with its pair that is listed in the mishna, due to their similarity; however, one may not, e.g., plant lettuce and endive together. It therefore remains unclear what Rav meant when he said that vegetables fit for use as bitter herbs may be planted in a single garden bed.

Segment 17

מַאי נִזְרָעִין דְּאָמַר רַב — נִזְרָעִין כְּהִלְכָתָן. כְּהִלְכָתָן? תְּנֵינָא:

The Gemara explains: What is the meaning of the term planted, which Rav said? It means that these plants may be properly planted. In other words, they may be planted together provided that there is an appropriate amount of space between them, so that there is no violation of the prohibition against planting diverse kinds of seeds. The Gemara asks: If he wishes to inform us about planting them properly, we already learned this in a mishna:

Pesachim 39a

Pesachim 39a

Rashi

Tosafot

Rabbeinu Chananel

Ritva

Meiri

Maharsha (Chidushei Halachot)

Maharam

Penei Yehoshua

Ben Yehoyada

What this page contains

Continue the sequence

Parallel sources

Lessons and study tools

Sages named on this page

Original text