Le sirvieron la segunda copa. Y aquí (kan) el hijo le pregunta a su padre [En todos los textos no está escrito "kan", sino "ken", como en (Números 27: 7): "Ken (con razón) las hijas de Tzelafchad hablan". Es decir, es correcto que al verter la segunda copa el hijo pregunte:] "¿Por qué esta noche es diferente de todas las (otras) noches? Porque en todas las noches, comemos jametz y matzá; esta noche, solo matzá. Porque en todas las noches, comemos todos los vegetales; esta noche, maror. Porque en todas las noches comemos carne asada, hervida y cocinada; esta noche, solo asada ". [El hijo preguntaba así cuando el Templo estaba de pie.] "Porque en todas las noches, nos sumergimos una vez; esta noche, dos veces". Y según el entendimiento del hijo, su padre le enseña. Comienza con el obloquio ["Desde el principio, nuestros antepasados fueron idólatras y nosotros esclavos, etc."] y termina con alabanzas ["Di-s nos acercó a Su servicio y redimió a nuestros padres de Egipto"], y él expone de "Un arameo errante era mi padre" hasta que concluye la sección completa.
Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
וכאן הבן שואל – In all the books, it is not written, "וכאן"/”and here,” but rather [it is written], "וכן"/and similarly, like (Numbers 27:6): “The plea of Zelophehad’s daughters is just/"וכן בנות צלפחד דברות" , that is to say, and it is the law that when pouring the second cup [of wine] is when the child asks, “Why is [this night] different?”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
Introduction
This mishnah contains the heart of the commandment to tell the story of the Exodus, including the so-called “four questions” or “Mah Nishtanah” and the midrash. These are all still part of the seder ritual to this day.
In this mishnah I have deviated from my normal practice of using the version contained in printed versions of the text because it is so radically different from the original version. The “four questions” developed over time and later copyists revised the original “questions” of the mishnah with those familiar to them. If you wish to see the “four questions” as they are recited today, you can check any standard Haggadah and they can easily be found on line. Cited and explained below is the “Mah Nishtanah” as found in early mishnaic manuscripts.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
הלילה הזה כולו צלי – At the time when the Temple existed, the child would ask as such.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
They mixed him a second cup, and here the son questions his father. The significance of the moment is marked by the pouring of the second cup. The occasion is the beginning of the telling of the story of the Exodus, which begins with a question. The reason that the story begins with a question is probably in allusion to a few verses in the Torah in which a son asks his father the meaning of the rituals observed (see Exodus 12:26, 13:14, and Deuteronomy 6:20-21).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
מתחיל בגנות – at the outset our ancestors were idolaters and they were slaves.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
If the son lacks the intelligence to ask, his father instructs him: On all other nights we dip once, on this night we dip twice? On all other nights we eat hametz or matzah, on this night only matzah. On all other nights we eat roasted, stewed or boiled meat, on this night only roasted. The son is supposed to freely form his own question. The mishnah does not provide him with a list of questions which he must ask. I repeat, the “Mah Nishtanah” which we will examine below is not a list of questions which a child must ask but originally was a list of prompts, statements which the father would make to spur a kid who has not asked a question into doing so. I am not telling you this to ruin your Pesah celebration. (Please believe me.) You should continue with the lovely practice of the youngest child reciting the Mah Nishtanah, just as we do in our house. Just know that things used to be done slightly differently. Also, it might be a good idea to get the children genuinely thinking about the content of what we are saying and not just focused on singing the song.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
ומסיים בשבח – that God (literally, “the place”) brought us close to His service and redeemed our ancestors from Egypt.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
He begins with shame and concludes with praise; and expounds from “A wandering Aramean was my father” (Deuteronomy 6:20-25) until he completes the whole section. We now get to the list of statements (after my previous comment I won’t call them questions). You should immediately note that there are only three, and only one of them is the same as the one we still recite today (#2). I shall explain each statement briefly. They are recited in the order in which they are done during the seder. 1) Dipping was a normal part of every meal. However, it was normally done at one part of the meal and therefore, the second dipping which was done with the haroset and bitter herbs was unusual. 2) This question has remained to this day and should not need any explanation. 3) As we learned in the above chapters, the pesah could only be eaten roasted. Therefore, the statement notes that on other nights the meat could be cooked in any way while tonight it can only be roasted. The most interesting thing about this section is that it seems that people were still eating a pesah-like lamb after the destruction of the Temple. Indeed, there is evidence that some Jews continued to eat roasted meat after the destruction, and this mishnah fits with those practices.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
The main part of the seder is telling the story of the Exodus. The mishnah notes two elements to this. The first is telling the story by beginning with “disgrace and concluding with praise.” In the Talmud they debate whether the disgrace is the physical slavery in Egypt or the spiritual degradation of our idol-worshipping forefathers. The praise is the praise to God for taking us out of Egypt. The second element is an extended midrash (expounding) on Deuteronomy 6:20-25. It is not entirely clear why these verses and not others were chosen but in my opinion the likeliest answer is that they are brief yet comprehensive. The midrashist connects these few verses with the original story in Exodus and adds his own commentary as well. In my translation I have left the words “Arami oved avi” untranslated because they can be translated either as “My forefather was a wandering Aramean”, in which case the phrase refers to Jacob or “An Aramean tried to kill my forefather” in which it is Lavan to whom the verse refers. Our Haggadot understand it the second way.
