Le Pessa'h est abattu en trois groupes [Que la congrégation soit grande ou petite et qu'ils puissent l'abattre en même temps, c'est une mitsva de les diviser en trois groupes, un (abattage) après l'autre], cela étant écrit (Exode 12: 6): "Et toute l'assemblée de la congrégation d'Israël l'abattra" —«assemblée», «congrégation» et «Israël» [trois groupes]. Lorsque le premier groupe est entré et que l'azarah (la cour du temple) a été remplie, les portes de l'azarah ont été fermées. Ils (les Cohanim) sonnèrent le tekiah, et le teruah, et le tekiah (sur le shofroth.) Les Cohanim se tenaient rang après rang, et dans leurs mains se trouvaient de grands vases [pour recevoir le sang], (vases) d'argent et de or—une rangée, tout d'argent; l'autre, tout en or [pour ajouter de la beauté à l'occasion]; ils n'étaient pas mélangés. Et les vaisseaux n'avaient pas de bases [Ils étaient larges sur le dessus et arrivaient à un point sur le fond, de sorte qu'ils ne pouvaient pas être reposés sur le sol], de peur [les Cohanim] de les placer là [jusqu'à ce qu'ils reçoivent du sang supplémentaire (là étant nombreuses offrandes) et oubliez-les] et le sang se fige [et ne peut pas être saupoudré.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
הפסח נשחט בשלש כתות – [whether the community is large/many] whether the community is small, and all of them would be able to slaughter at the same time, it is Mitzvah to divide up into three groups one after the other.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
Introduction
This mishnah now begins to describe how the pesah was slaughtered in the Temple.
We should note that scholars frequently attempt to estimate how many people actually came to the Temple on Pesah and how many sacrifices were offered there. Clearly, the numbers were impressive but even rough estimates of numbers are impossible. Rabbinic literature, composed at least one hundred years after the destruction, is not considered by most scholars to be a particularly reliable source of history for the Second Temple period. Nevertheless, from this mishnah we can at least detect that Pesah was the busiest time of the year at the Temple, or at least the time of the year when the most sacrifices were offered. Similar descriptions can be found in Philo and Josephus both of whom lived and wrote while the Temple still stood.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
שנאמר ושחטו אותו כל קהל עדת ישראל – “assembled,” and “congregation” and “of Israel” , these are three groups.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
The pesah is slaughtered in three divisions, as it is said, “And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall slaughter it” (Exodus 12:6): “assembly,” “congregation,” and “Israel.” Because of the large number of lambs that needed to be slaughtered on the eve of Pesah, the people of Israel were divided into three divisions each taking a turn to slaughter the Pesah. The mishnah derives this midrashically from three terms used in the biblical verse: “assembly”, “congregation” and “Israel.” The Talmud explains that a division could not be less than thirty people. Assumedly, they were much larger than that.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
בזיכי – large pans/censers to receive the blood in them .
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
The first division entered, the Temple court was filled, and they closed the doors of the Temple court. Once the first group had entered they would lock the doors so that people from the second group would not push to get in.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
שורה שכולה כסף כסף – and this is much better.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
They sounded a teki'ah, a teru'ah, and a teki'ah. These are the same notes which we still make on Rosh Hashanah. The tekiah is the single long note and the teruah is the staccato note. What we call “shevarim” (three notes) is a variant version of the “teruah”.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
ולא היו לבזיכים שלוים – wide, sharp [rims/saucers] from above and below them in order that they wouldn’t be able to it on the ground lest the Kohanim place them to sit on the ground, until they receive other blood on account that they are any and they might forget them and the blood will congeal and it won’t be appropriate for tossing/casting.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
The priests stood in rows, and in their hands were basins of silver and basins of gold, a row which was entirely of silver was of silver, and a row which was entirely of gold was of gold, they were not mixed. And the basins did not have flat bottoms, lest they put them down and the blood becomes congealed. The basins were there to receive the blood after the animal was slaughtered. The separation of gold from silver vessels was done for aesthetic purposes. Since the blood needed to be sprinkled onto the altar, it was crucial that it not become congealed in the basins. Therefore they did not have flat bottoms.
