שבת א׳:י״א — משלשלין את הפסח

Hello Chevra and welcome back to our pre-Pesach Mishnayos learning series where we are learning Mishnayos related to the period of time between Purim and Pesach and we continue to learn Mishnayos related to Erev Pesach that very busy day and we already started learning about the process of bringing the Korban Pesach and in our prior Mishnah we learned about the Korban Tamid being brought earlier on Erev Pesach and certainly Erev Pesach that was Shabbos because you needed to bring the Korban Pesach and also get it into the oven, cook it before Shabbos came in. Again, if Erev Pesach was also Erev Shabbos you needed to get the animal in, the Korban Pesach into the oven to roast it before Shabbos showed up. So we have a companion Mishnah to this in Masechta Shabbos Perek Aleph Mishnah Yud Aleph Mishnah 11 that kind of is the flip side of this which teaches us that although normally as you learn in Mishnah Yud in that Perek that you're not allowed to roast something just before Shabbos, it has to be cooked before Shabbos. Perek Mishnah Yud Aleph tells us that when it comes to the Korban Pesach there was a special dispensation that you can put the animal, the Korban Pesach into the spit, into the roaster just before Shabbos. So the Mishnah begins. Perek again Perek Aleph Mishnah Yud Aleph: משלשלין את הפסח בתנור עם חשיכה. That when it comes to the Korban Pesach you're able to lower it into the oven into the spit where you're going to roast it as it's getting dark. And that's because putting raw food just into the oven just before Shabbos is really a D'rabbanan and because here people are being very careful about how they cook their Korban Pesach and people are all around and it was crowded we can assume that people would warn each other not to violate any Melachos D'oraysa as it came to cooking the Korban Pesach so we allowed them, we dispensed with the Issur D'rabbanan and we allowed them to lower it into the oven just before Shabbos and of course because everyone was so busy you needed that extra time to get ready. And here the concern would be is that you would the issur that we're afraid of is that you would push around the coals in order to get to a better fire in order to roast it better. But again because people are very focused on this we can assume they would warn each other not to play with the fire. Similarly the Mishnah says ומאחיזין את האור במדורת בית המוקד. Similarly although you're not supposed to start a fire just before Shabbos for warmth, here in the Beis HaMoked, Beis HaMoked was one of the chambers, one of the rooms in the Beis HaMikdash, that's where kind of the Kohanim hung out while waiting to do the Avodah or their other jobs, they would hang out in the Beis HaMoked and they always kept a fire there to keep people warm and again because it was in the Beis HaMikdash and the Kohanim were what's called Zerizin, they were always very careful we didn't have to worry that they would do something Assur on Shabbos and therefore they were allowed to create their fire just before Shabbos. Uvagvulin however when it comes to outside the Beis HaMikdash, כדי שיאחוז האור ברובו. The fire needs to spread to most of the wood before Shabbos so therefore you can't start it right before Shabbos but in fact you'd have to start it sometime before in order to make sure that the fire spread throughout most of the wood. Rabbi Yehuda Omer, Rabbi Yehuda says he qualifies this and he says Befachmin kol shehu. When it comes to charcoal because it burns so easily and you don't have to worry as much as long as it's lit before Shabbos it's fine it doesn't have to spread everywhere it will easily spread to the rest of the charcoal and you don't have to stoke it, it will just stay lit and therefore in all in that case as well it would be allowed before Shabbos. But again what we see from our Mishnah is and like I said the companion to the prior Mishnah is that you're allowed to lower your Korban Pesach on Erev Pesach just before dark if it's Shabbos and you need not worry that about cooking from a raw meat on Shabbos. And with that I wish you continued hatzlacha.

Shabbat 1:11 — Full Text

מְשַׁלְשְׁלִין אֶת הַפֶּסַח בַּתַּנּוּר עִם חֲשֵׁכָה. וּמַאֲחִיזִין אֶת הָאוּר בִּמְדוּרַת בֵּית הַמּוֹקֵד. וּבַגְּבוּלִין, כְּדֵי שֶׁיֶּאֱחֹז הָאוּר בְּרֻבָּן. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, בְּפֶחָמִין — כָּל שֶׁהוּא.

הַמָּצָב: When Erev Pesach Falls on Shabbat Eve

14 Nissan — the day the Korban Pesach must be roasted — coincides with Erev Shabbat. The lamb must go into the oven, but Shabbat is approaching.

The Calendrical Collision

The Korban Pesach must be roasted whole over fire (Shemot 12:9) and eaten that night — 14 Nissan. When 14 Nissan falls on a Friday, the lamb must be lowered into the oven precisely as Shabbat begins. Normally one may not initiate cooking that will continue into Shabbat. The Mishnah rules that the Korban Pesach is a special case — and extends the ruling to two other fire-related situations.

🔥

הַפֶּסַח בַּתַּנּוּר

מְשַׁלְשְׁלִין עִם חֲשֵׁכָה

The Pesach lamb may be lowered into the oven at nightfall — even though it will continue roasting on Shabbat. The korban obligation overrides the normal pre-Shabbat cooking restriction.

🕯

מְדוּרַת בֵּית הַמּוֹקֵד

מַאֲחִיזִין אֶת הָאוּר

The fire of the Beit HaMoked — the Temple's fire chamber — may be lit as Shabbat begins. Kohanim warming themselves there on cold nights require the fire to be going.

🌾

בַּגְּבוּלִין

כְּדֵי שֶׁיֶּאֱחֹז בְּרֻבָּן

Outside Jerusalem — a bonfire or hearth may be lit on Erev Shabbat as long as the fire has caught in the majority of the wood before Shabbat begins. Then it may continue burning.

הַמַּתָּח: Why Is This Permitted?

Normally one may not begin cooking on Erev Shabbat if the food will finish cooking on Shabbat — so why is the Pesach lamb different?

The Conflict at Nightfall

Shabbat Law

שַׁבָּת

One may not initiate an action before Shabbat that will constitute melacha when it continues into Shabbat — including cooking.

⇄

Korban Pesach

קָרְבַּן פֶּסַח

Must be roasted whole that night — no option to delay. The Torah obligation is time-bound and cannot be postponed.

הַפֶּסַח דּוֹחֶה אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת — מְשַׁלְשְׁלִין עִם חֲשֵׁכָה

The Korban Pesach overrides Shabbat — it may be lowered into the oven precisely at nightfall. The roasting will continue through Shabbat night and that is permitted. This is one of the few cases where a positive Torah obligation (korban) explicitly overrides the Shabbat prohibition.

מַחְלֹקֶת: R. Yehudah on Charcoal

How much fire must catch before Shabbat for the gevulin case to be permitted?

בַּגְּבוּלִין — Outside Jerusalem: How Much Fire?

תַּנָּא קַמָּא

כְּדֵי שֶׁיֶּאֱחֹז הָאוּר בְּרֻבָּן

The fire must catch in the majority of the wood before Shabbat begins. Once most of the wood is alight, the fire sustains itself and is no longer considered a new act on Shabbat.

רַבִּי יְהוּדָה

בְּפֶחָמִין — כָּל שֶׁהוּא

For charcoal — any amount is sufficient. Charcoal ignites differently than wood; even a tiny catch is enough for the fire to sustain itself. R. Yehudah distinguishes the material.

הַמַּסְקָנָה — Two Clocks, One Night

This mishnah captures a uniquely charged moment: the exact instant when Erev Pesach becomes Shabbat. The lamb must go in; the fire must catch; the sun is setting. The Mishnah's ruling — that the Korban Pesach may be lowered into the oven at nightfall — reflects the broader principle that a time-bound positive commandment can override Shabbat when there is no other option. The three cases (Temple oven, Beit HaMoked fire, household bonfire) move from the most sacred to the most mundane, each governed by the same logic: if the fire was properly initiated before Shabbat, what follows is permitted. See Shabbat 23:1 for the related case of acquiring the Korban Pesach itself when Erev Pesach falls on Shabbat.