שבת א׳:י״א — משלשלין את הפסח

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Lowering the Pesach Offering into the Oven at Nightfall

מְשַׁלְשְׁלִין אֶת הַפֶּסַח בַּתַּנּוּר

Shabbos 1:11

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

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הַמָּצָב: When Erev Pesach Falls on Shabbos Eve

14 Nissan — the day the Korban Pesach must be roasted — coincides with Erev Shabbos. The lamb must go into the oven, but Shabbos 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 Shabbos begins. Normally one may not initiate cooking that will continue into Shabbos. The Mishnah rules that the Korban Pesach is a special case — and extends the ruling to two other fire-related situations.

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הַפֶּסַח בַּתַּנּוּר

מְשַׁלְשְׁלִין עִם חֲשֵׁכָה

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

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מְדוּרַת בֵּית הַמּוֹקֵד

מַאֲחִיזִין אֶת הָאוּר

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

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בַּגְּבוּלִין

כְּדֵי שֶׁיֶּאֱחֹז בְּרֻבָּן

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

הַמַּתָּח: Why Is This Permitted?

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

The Conflict at Nightfall

Shabbos Law

שַׁבָּת

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

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

מַחְלֹקֶת: R. Yehudah on Charcoal

How much fire must catch before Shabbos 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 Shabbos begins. Once most of the wood is alight, the fire sustains itself and is no longer considered a new act on Shabbos.

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 Shabbos. 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 Shabbos when there is no other option. The three cases (Temple oven, Beis 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 Shabbos, what follows is permitted. See Shabbos 23:1 for the related case of acquiring the Korban Pesach itself when Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos.