Mishneh Torah, Leavened and Unleavened Bread 6

Sugya Map

• Issue: The nature of the mitzvah to eat matzah on the night of the 15th of Nisan.
• Nafka Minah: Whether the mitzvah is independent of the Korban Pesach and whether it can be fulfilled throughout the night or only until chatzot (midnight).
• Primary Sources: Exodus 12:18, Pesachim 115b, Mishneh Torah, Leavened and Unleavened Bread 6:1.

Text Snapshot

• Source: Mishneh Torah, Leavened and Unleavened Bread 6:1
• Text: "It is a positive commandment... to eat matzah on the night of the fifteenth... Eating is not dependent on the Paschal sacrifice. Rather, it is a mitzvah in its own right."
• Nuance: Rambam emphasizes mitzvah bifnei atzmah (an independent mitzvah). By dissociating matzah from the Korban, he grounds the chiyuv (obligation) in the night itself, not the sacrifice, thereby ensuring the obligation persists in our times.

Readings

• Maggid Mishneh: Notes that Rambam sides with Rabbi Akiva in Pesachim 120b, holding that the mitzvah is valid all night (kol ha-lailah). He rejects the view of Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah who limits the time to midnight.
• Ohr Sameach: Argues that since there is a safeik (doubt) regarding the time limit, and we follow the majority of Rishonim who rule like Rabbi Akiva, one must fulfill the mitzvah throughout the night, and failure to do so before midnight does not constitute a loss of the mitzvah.

Friction

• Kushya: If the mitzvah is independent of the Korban, why does the Talmud in Pesachim 120a struggle to derive the obligation in our time?
• Terutz: Rambam resolves this by reading Exodus 12:18 ("In the evening, you shall eat matzot") as a general command not conditioned on the Korban. It is a decree that the night of the 15th is inherently sanctified for matzah consumption, regardless of the status of the Temple.

Intertext

• Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 475:1: Codifies the Rambam’s position that the mitzvah of matzah is distinct from the Korban.
• Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 10: Reinforces that the obligation applies to all, including those ineligible for the Korban, further proving its independent status.

Psak/Practice

The halacha follows the Rambam: the mitzvah is an independent, non-contingent obligation. One should strive to eat the kezayit before chatzot to satisfy all opinions (the le-chatchila approach), but one retains the ability to fulfill the Torah obligation throughout the entire night.

Takeaway

Matzah is not a "relic" of the Korban Pesach; it is the essential requirement of the Seder night. Even in the absence of the Temple, the night itself demands our active participation in the narrative of redemption.