[61] The word פסח “Passover,” signifies (1) the act of passing over or sparing (Exod. xii. 11); (2) the sacrifice of passover, especially as object to the verb עשה “to make” (ibid. 47, 48); (3) the time when the passover was offered and consumed; i.e., the 14th of Nisan, afternoon and evening (Lev. xxiii. 5; Num. xxviii. 16); (4) the whole of Passover (Mishnah, and in all post-Biblical literature).
The day on which an Israelite brought a sacrifice was a Festival to him and his family; and no work was done on that day. Accordingly on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan, ערב פסח, the time fixed for the Passover-offering, no work was done; some abstained from [[373]]work the whole day (Mishnah, Pesachim iv. 1; comp. also ibid. 5).—It is customary for the first-born to fast the whole or part of ערב פסח (Talm. Jerus. x. 1, and Masecheth Soferim xxi. 3). They might rather be expected to feast in memory of the deliverance of the first-born Israelites in Egypt. But the case is similar to that of Purim. Both the day of danger and the day of victory are celebrated; the one by fasting (fast of Esther), the other by feasting (Purim). So here the 14th of Nisan was for the first-born the day of danger, the following night the season of deliverance. Hence the fasting during the day and the feasting in the evening. The day suggests thoughts like the following: Our forefathers were saved from danger: should we deserve to be saved if danger threatened us? Such reflections may have been the origin of the fast of the first-born on the eve of Passover. Some also fast on this day, or at least abstain on it from a full meal, in order to do honour to the festive meal in the evening and approach it with appetite (לתיאבון). A similar custom obtains, though not to the same extent, on the eve of Sabbath and of every Festival (Mishnah, Pesachim x. 1). [↑]
[62] Within the four days there was ample time for examining the lamb, whether it was really תמים, without blemish, and fit both for sacrifice and for human food.—Some suggest that the keeping of the lamb for four days was to be a test of the faith of the Israelites, whether they would obey the Will of God in spite of the dreaded wrath of the Egyptians. [↑]
[63] Their faith in God had to be shown by their willingly going forth whither the command of God led them, without taking with them any provision for the journey. The lamb which they had prepared was to be consumed before they left Egypt, and whatever was left had to be burnt. This was probably also the object of the precepts that no bone of the lamb was to be broken, and no part of it was to be carried from one house to another; for the breaking of the bones and the carrying part of the meat about from place to place would facilitate its being stored away for the journey.—Other precepts, which implied haste and readiness, e.g., the roasting it with fire, eating it with loins girded, &c., were to teach the Israelites the lesson that they were to be always ready and willing to do God’s bidding. [↑]
[64] An instance of Passover being put off because of the unfitness of the priests to offer up sacrifices is met with in the Second Book of [[376]]Chronicles (xxx. 2). It seems similar to the rule of Pesach sheni, but is in reality different from it. King Hezekiah did not put off the Passover sacrifice for a month on account of the uncleanness of the priests, but he made the preceding year a leap-year, and the month which would have been the second became the first, whilst the first was counted as the thirteenth of the past year (comp. Mishnah, Pesachim iv. 9). [↑]
[65] It is only the fermentation of any of these five kinds of grain that forms חמץ. Fermentation of grapes or other fruit constitutes no חמץ. [↑]
[66] חמץ is both אסור באכילה and אסור בהנאה (Mishnah, Pesachim ii. 1). [↑]
[67] It is now the custom to eat חמץ on Erebh Pesach, only during the first third of the day; i.e., till about ten o’clock in the morning (ibid. i. 4). [↑]
[68] Ibid. i. 1.—The evening was chosen for this task, because with a taper or lamp the corners and dark recesses can be better searched than by daylight. Besides, in the evening, when every one has finished his day’s work, people are more at ease to do the searching in a thorough manner. [↑]
[69] The formula with על is employed here, because we need not do the searching by ourselves; it may be done by a substitute.—Although we only search in the evening, we use the term על ביעור חמץ “concerning the removal or the destruction of the chamets,” because this removal or destruction is the object of the searching. [↑]