📋 Shiur Overview
Lecture Summary – Rambam Laws of Chametz and Matzah, Chapter 1 (Summary)
—
General Order of Chapter 1
The chapter presents the foundations of the prohibitions of chametz on Pesach in a clear order:
1. Prohibition of eating chametz all seven days – The fundamental prohibition: one may not eat chametz all seven days of Pesach.
2. Prohibition of eating chametz (and benefit) on Erev Pesach, and decrees regarding this – From the seventh hour by Torah law, with decrees from the Sages on the sixth and fifth hours.
3. Prohibition of eating a mixture of chametz all seven days – A detail within the prohibition of eating: even a mixture of chametz is forbidden.
4. Prohibition of bal yera’eh and bal yimatzei all seven days – One may not have chametz in one’s possession. Additionally, a decree: chametz over which Pesach has passed is forbidden even after Pesach. However – regarding a mixture of chametz over which Pesach has passed, the Sages did not decree.
5. Destruction of chametz – In its general principles.
—
The Hours of Prohibition on Erev Pesach – Fifth Hour, Sixth Hour, and Seventh Hour
Words of the Rambam
One may not eat chametz from the end of the fourth hour. In the fifth hour, chametz is forbidden for eating but permitted for benefit. In the sixth hour, it is forbidden both for eating and for benefit (makat mardut). From the seventh hour – one receives lashes by Torah law.
Plain Meaning
The Sages forbade the sixth hour for eating and benefit, and the fifth hour only for eating – as a decree. The Torah prohibition only begins from the seventh hour.
Innovations and Explanations
1. Reason for the distinction between the fifth and sixth hours – because of a cloudy day:
Why is the fifth hour only forbidden for eating but not for benefit, while the sixth hour is also forbidden for benefit? The reason is because of a cloudy day – sometimes one cannot distinguish well between the fifth and sixth hours, because one doesn’t see the sun clearly. Therefore, eating was forbidden already from the fifth hour, so that one should not come to eat in the sixth hour.
But benefit was not made forbidden in the fifth hour, because that would have been a decree for a decree: the fifth hour itself is already a decree (because the actual prohibition of benefit only begins from the seventh hour by Torah law), and to forbid benefit in the fifth hour would have been two levels of decrees – which the Sages do not do.
2. The error is with the sixth hour, not the seventh:
The concern of a cloudy day is specifically that one should not confuse the sixth hour with the fifth (not the seventh with the sixth). Therefore, the prohibition of eating was added already in the fifth hour.
—
Any Hour When It Is Permitted to Eat – One May Feed One’s Animals, Beasts, and Birds
Words of the Rambam
As long as one may eat chametz oneself, one may also feed animals, beasts, and birds with it.
Plain Meaning
The law of feeding animals is connected to the law of human eating – when a person may eat, he may also feed his animals.
—
Chametz on Pesach – Something That Has a Permitted Time and Is Forbidden in Any Amount
Words of the Rambam (Laws of Forbidden Foods)
Chametz on Pesach is forbidden in any amount (even a minimal quantity in a mixture), because it is a davar she’yesh lo matirin – after Pesach it will become permitted. Also: noten ta’am lifgam – which is generally permitted – is forbidden regarding chametz on Pesach.
Plain Meaning
Chametz on Pesach has an extra stringency regarding mixtures: it is not nullified even in a thousand, because it is a davar she’yesh lo matirin (after Pesach it becomes permitted). Also noten ta’am lifgam, which by other prohibitions is permitted, is forbidden by chametz on Pesach.
Innovations and Explanations
The principle of “davar she’yesh lo matirin” by chametz on Pesach is what makes it forbidden in any amount – because one can wait until after Pesach and then it will be permitted, therefore it is not nullified in a mixture. This stands in connection with the law that a mixture of chametz over which Pesach has passed was not decreed upon – because after Pesach the chametz itself is permitted, and in a mixture the Sages did not add the penalty.
—
Question: Karet/Lashes for Benefit from Chametz on Pesach
Innovation/Question
An important question was raised: Does one receive karet (or lashes) for benefit from chametz on Pesach, not only for eating?
The verse says “kol ochel chametz venichrta” – this speaks of eating. The question is: is benefit included in eating (benefit is contained in the concept of eating), or eating included in benefit – and therefore one should also receive karet for mere benefit?
This remained as an open question – it was noted that it is “very extreme” to say that one receives karet for a small benefit, and it was not clearly resolved.
📝 Full Transcript
Summary of Chapter 1 – Prohibitions of Chametz on Pesach
The Hours of Prohibition on Erev Pesach – Fifth and Sixth Hours
Speaker 1: Now, the Chacham (sage) comes again, who is the next person, I don’t know, he says that the fifth hour also is not chametz, why? Because you still feel the species. Sometimes you don’t know the difference between the fifth and sixth. Yes. This is a true thing, true? But benefiting from it is not forbidden.
So the Chacham forbade the sixth hour in eating and in benefit, and the fifth only in eating. This is only a decree from the Amoraim, for some reason benefit is different. Why? The question comes up why should there be a difference? Because… only that one should have extra caution and one should remember that perhaps it is already from the species.
Again, if it is already from the species, one may not have benefit even, perhaps it’s already the seventh hour.
Speaker 2: Is the error with the seventh hour or with the sixth hour?
Speaker 1: The error is with the sixth hour, now it’s the fifth hour. Yes. So according to this it’s only a decree, it’s a bit of a decree for a decree, one may have benefit, one just may not eat.
Summary of the Hours
Okay, moving forward with what we have, it comes out that one may eat chametz on Erev Pesach until the end of the fourth hour. In the fifth hour one may not eat but benefit yes. And in the sixth hour they give makot mardut (lashes of rebellion), and from the beginning of the seventh hour one receives lashes. So you’ve learned, correct? Very interesting.
I wrote all kinds of things here last time, let’s see how it’s explained here. I had chidushim (novel insights) about mixtures.
Chametz on Pesach – Davar Sheyesh Lo Matirin
The Rambam says that chametz on Pesach is forbidden why? Because it’s a davar sheyesh lo matirin (something that will become permitted). Forbidden in any amount. It states that noten ta’am lifgam (imparting a detrimental flavor) is forbidden, as it states in the Laws of Forbidden Foods. So, that’s the point here.
Order of Chapter 1 – Explanation of the Prohibitions
So what do we know in total? What do we know from this chapter?
Speaker 2: Tell me clearly, what do we know clearly from this chapter? How many mitzvot are in this chapter?
Speaker 1: The first mitzvah is that one may not eat chametz for seven days, right? And one also may not benefit from it, that’s not another negative commandment, that’s a rule in the matter of eating somehow. And we learned about the prohibition of bal yera’eh u’bal yimatzei (it shall not be seen and it shall not be found).
After that he went into the details of this, he goes into chapter 2 apparently. He spoke about kol sha’ah shemutar le’echol ma’achil livhemto chayato ve’ofotav (any time it’s permitted to eat, one may feed to his domesticated animals, wild animals and birds). From the Rebbi he went out, he said, “What is the rule of…” In short, the chapter is the basics of the prohibitions of chametz on Pesach, something like that. Correct?
Chapter 1 is the prohibitions of chametz on Pesach, yes?
Speaker 2: Do you agree?
Speaker 1: What are they? So, if one wants to know clearly what are the prohibitions of chametz on Pesach, one must say thus: There is a) the prohibition of eating chametz all seven days.
Here it doesn’t go in order, do you hear? The order doesn’t go according to the order of times as in the mitzvot. Prohibition of eating chametz, prohibition, by the way, and prohibition of eating chametz on the fourteenth, and decrees upon this. Correct?
And after that there is…
Speaker 2: Just say, you’re not holding yet. What “yes yes”? “Yes yes” means nothing. “Yes yes” means no.
Speaker 1: One may not eat chametz, one may not benefit from chametz on Erev Pesach, and on this there are decrees upon it, from the seventh hour. He adds an hour from the sixth. Sixth for benefit, and he added for eating itself, the fifth because of yom hame’unan (the cloudy day). Right?
And after that, and in this there is a prohibition of eating a mixture of chametz, right? A mixture of chametz all seven days. And after that, this is according to how I think the order.
After that there is the prohibition of lo yera’eh lecha chametz (chametz shall not be seen to you) all seven days, and decrees upon this, right?
Speaker 2: What is the decree? Because of yom hame’unan. What?! Which decree is there about lo yera’eh lecha chametz, tzaddik?
Speaker 1: What?
Speaker 2: Yes, hold stop.
Speaker 1: He says, I want to make my own order, I want to be clear. Clear is that there’s a third prohibition, okay? There’s a prohibition not to eat chametz, okay? After that there is like a detail in this prohibition which is itself a prohibition, not to eat a mixture of chametz, right? Correct?
After that there is another prohibition, not to have chametz, correct? And on this they made a decree that also chametz she’avar alav haPesach (chametz that Pesach passed over it) is forbidden. Do you hear? Good. But in a mixture they didn’t decree, correct?
Speaker 2: Yes, very good. Whether it’s correct for your head or not correct for your head I don’t know.
Speaker 1: Therefore it’s like this, no, you need to add eating and benefit from it.
Discussion: Karet on Benefiting from Chametz
Speaker 2: What does one who benefits, what does he get? Does he also get lashes, karet (spiritual excision)? I’m asking a question. Yes? Yes?
Speaker 1: Kol ochel chametz (anyone who eats chametz), eating includes benefit, benefit includes eating.
Speaker 2: So one gets karet for benefiting from chametz? Aha. What, does it say so or do you want to say so?
Speaker 1: Eating includes benefit, benefit includes eating. I’m asking a question, does one get lashes for this? Yes? Are you sure? I don’t know. It’s very extreme.
Speaker 2: This is very extreme to you? For a little bit of benefit one should get lashes, karet?
Speaker 1: No, I’m just asking you if you know. Just say, say the neuropers, that I’m already swallowing a hot drink that has already taken a few grams from me.