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From Samuel ben Moses ha Maghrebi's "The Guide"
1. You must know that the Creator imposed the ordinance of Passover upon the Children of Israel at the time of their exodus from Egypt. In it are mentioned several obligations, some of wich applied only to them who were in Egypt and not to future generations; e.g.: "On the 10th day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household be too little for a lamb, than shall he and his neighbor... take one ... ans ye shall keep it until the 14th day of this month... and they shall take of the blood... and thus shall ye eat it" (Exod. 12:3-11). So also concerning the Prophet's command to them: "And ye shall take a brunch of hyssop... " (Exod. 12:22)
2. Other oligations appliboth to them and to the fututre generetions: "but on the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses" (Exod. 12:15), which implies the removal of all leaven before the arrival of the time of the slaughtering of the paschal lamb, meaning before the first part of the first day of the seven days of unbeleavened vread. This is similar, in its application to future generations, to the ordinance Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the shabbat day (Exod. 35:3)... This is confirmed by the verses Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread (Exod. 23:18) and Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread (Exod. 34:25). It follows from this that we must remove all leavenin its entirety before the arrival of the aforementioned time, and we must leave no trace whatsover of it with us, either visible or hidden, in so far as this lies within our power.
3. We must also purify our vessels from all trace of leaven. Those vessels that aremade of copper or iron are to be cleansed with boiling water and then scoured with a polishing agent, while tools like knives, roasting spits, pothooks, and the like must be cast into the fire and kept there until their furfaces are at white heat. As for vessels made of wood, water should be brought to a boil in a large copper tub and the vessels should be immersed in it until whatever grease and juices are contained within them are extracted. Vessels made of clay, such as bowls, plates, jugs, and others, cannot be perfectly cleansed of whst they have absorbed and must therefore be throughly washed with water and out aside, not to be used until after the holiday.
4. Just as we are obliged to remove all solid leaven, so also is it our duty to remove all things derived from it by fermentation, such as acid things, like vinegar sauce, sour milk, acid sauces, sour goats, fruit beer, and beer made of wheat or barley; like wise preserves containing starch or flour, and similar things.
5. As for antimony powders and eye powders which have a slight admixture of starch, or compresses and poultices, in the compounding and preparation of which a pinch of flour is added, or bread and biscuit which have spoiled and have changed their nature entirely by being turned into something resembling caked dust - all these we need not remove. Nor are we forbidden to wear clothes having a glossy composed partly of starch, since such starch has undergone a chemical change and has been converted from leaven into something else.
6. Just as we are obligated to remove the aforementioned leaven and its fermented derivatives from our immediate vicinity, so also is it forbidden to us to have them present and at hand anywhere in our dwellings and on our property during the seven days of the festival, as it is written: "seve days shall there be no leaven found in your houses" (Exod. 12:19), and again: "and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy borders" (Exod. 13:7), and again, in the Book of Deuteremony: And there shall be no leaven seen with thee in all thy borders seven days (deut. 16:4).
7. Just as we are forbidden t have leaven in our possesion, so also are we forbidden to eat it during that period, as it is written: You shalt eat nothing leavened bread with it (Deut. 16:3), and again, Ye shall eat not leavened (Exod. 12:20). He who eats anything leavened icurs the penalty of death, as it is written: "for whosever shall eat leaven, from the first day to the seventh, that soul shall be cut off from Israel" (Exod. 12:15), and again, for whoseer shall eat leaven, that soul shall be cut off (Exod. 12:19).
8. Even as we are forbidden to eat leaven, so are we onligated toeat unleavened bread during the aforementioned seven days, from the first day to the last. We shall mention this again after we have mentioned the Passover sacriface.
Place, Manner of Preparation, and Time of Passover
1. The Place of the slaughtering of the Passover is the House of God, as it is written: Thou mayest not sacrifice the Passover within any of the gates... but only at the place which the Lord, thy God , shall choose (Deut. 16:5).
2. It must be prepared by the way pf roasting only, as it is written: And they shall eat the meat in the night, roasted with fire (Exod. 12:8).
3. The Passover may not be eaten raw or boiled in wated, as it is written: eat not of it raw, nor sodden with water (Exod. 12:9).
4.The time of its eating is all through the night, but no part of it may be left until the morningm as it is written: And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning (Exod. 12:10), and again: neither shall the fat of my feast remain all night until the morning (Exod. 23:18). Nevertheless, if anything is left untilthe morning , it must be burned, as it is written: but what remains of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire (Exod. 12:10).
5. As the Passover is offered and eaten, song and prayer of glorification of the Lord are to be recited over it, as it is written: Ye shall have a song, as on the night when a feast is hallowed (Isa. 30:29).
6. The Passover is to be eaten with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs, as it is written: roasted with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs shall they eat it (Exod. 12:8).
Rules of the Passover
And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the Passover (Exod. 12:43):
- No alien shall eat thereof.
- But every man's servant, bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
- A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat of it.
- In one house shall it be eaten.
- Thou shalt not carry aught of the meat aboad out of the house.
- Neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
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