Alleyways To Torah

thegreenvoid.blogspot.com

With regard to the Korban Pesach, the pasuk states, "Do not leave any of it (i.e. the Korban Pesach) over until the morning. Anything that is left over until the morning must be burned in fire" (Shemos 12:10). The repetition of the phrase "until the morning" signals that the verse is referring to the mornings of two different days, and can be understood as follows: "Do not leave any of the Korban Pesach over until the morning (which is Yom Tov). If anything *is* left over, on the *following* morning (which is Chol ha'Moed), it must be burned."
This is unique to korban pesach because all other korbanos have to be finished by the following morning-at which time the issur of nosar takes effect.
So perhaps the Rambam is trying to tell us that we should ideally finish it by the following morning, but just in case we didnt, then its also fine becuase we can even eat it untill chol hamoed. ( Based on a shiur from Mr. Eli Weber and Daf Yomi Advanced Forum)

It is not "fine" to leave it over!!
It is an issur dioraisa! Also one is not allowed to eat the korban in the morning. We just wait with the burning until Chol Hamoed because it is not doche Yom Tov. So I am not sure what Mr. Weber meant.

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Gee whiz Carlos I went to your blog and didn't find a terutz. Please don't needlessly waste peoples time.

First thing to note is that the רמב"ם is not averse to suggesting people should try to do a מצוה. L, personally, was first keyed into this usage in my own readings of הלכות תשובה:

ישתדל האדם לעשות תשובה

A person should try to do תשובה? A person should do תשובה, like none other than the רמב"ם himself said, ישוב מחטאיו. It is clear, then, that רמב"ם’s usage of ישתדל is deliberate. And he does not use it in these two cases alone. Consider some of the other usages, which span biblical, rabbinic and even medical related הלכות:

לפיכך צריך אדם להשתדל שיישא בת תלמיד חכמים (משנה תורה - ספר המדע - הלכות דעות פרק ו)

לפיכך צריך אדם להשתדל להיותן עליו, כל היום--שמצותן, כך היא (משנה תורה - ספר אהבה - הלכות תפילין ומזוזה וספר תורה פרק ד)

יש מצות עשה שאדם חייב להשתדל ולרדוף עד שיעשה אותה, כגון תפילין וסוכה ולולב ושופר (משנה תורה - ספר אהבה - הלכות ברכות פרק יא)

וצריך להשתדל ולבדוק ולחפש שיהיו כולן בעלי שיבה, בעלי קומה, בעלי מראה (משנה תורה - ספר שופטים - הלכות סנהדרין פרק ב)

הואיל ורשות כל אדם נתונה לו כמו שביארנו, ישתדל האדם לעשות תשובה ולנעור כפיו מחטאיו, כדי שימות והוא בעל תשובה, כדי שיזכה לחיי העולם הבא. ז,ב לעולם יראה אדם את עצמו כאילו הוא נוטה למות, ושמא ימות בשעתו ונמצא עומד בחטאיו; לפיכך ישוב מחטאיו מיד (משנה תורה ספר המדע הלכות תשובה פרק ז)

אף על פי שאין אדם מחוייב לקנות טלית ולהתעטף בה, כדי שיעשה בה ציצית, אין ראוי לאדם חסיד, לפטור עצמו ממצוה זו; אלא לעולם ישתדל אדם להיות עטוף בכסות המחוייבת בציצית, כדי שיקיים מצוה זו. (משנה תורה - ספר אהבה - הלכות ציצית פרק ג)

לעולם ישתדל אדם שיהיו מעיו רפין כל ימיו, ויהיה קרוב לשלשול מעט. (משנה תורה - ספר המדע - הלכות דעות פרק ד)

מי שנטרפה דעתו של אביו או של אימו, ישתדל לנהוג עימהם כפי דעתם, עד שירוחם עליהן (משנה תורה - ספר שופטים - הלכות ממרים פרק ו)

Looking at these citations collectively, it would seem that רמב"ם uses the term ישתדל in instances where an individual can only go so far, but it is reasonable, and at times inevitable, that his efforts can still come up short. Despite this, he should not be totally turned off and should still persist in the fulfillment of the commandment (an indefatigable march to the unattainable – like Joyce’s ineluctable modes of…) . One can try to marry the daughter of a scholar, but that is not always so practical or possible – relationships are funny – but he should still try. Wearing תפילין all day is in fact an imperative, but the natural order of one’s daily life is replete with reasons why one would have to remove them (e.g. bathroom), but one should still try. Taking care of nutty parents is difficult – no matter how hard one attempts to bend himself to their disposition, he may fail – but he should still try. Doing תשובה is difficult and demands every ounce of one’s being, but one should still try.

Now, what makes this particular מצוה distinct is, as Rav Ally pointed out, that it is the only instance where רמב"ם advises one should try that is also a לאו; however, it is, as רמב"ם himself points out, a לאו שניתק לעשה, so it is somewhat muted in the sense that one who transgresses it really has no punishment coming his way. (Indeed, there is only one other instance I can think of (though admittedly, I’m not much of a רמב"ם expert) where the רמב"ם refers to לאו שניתק לעשה:

עבר בעל חוב, ונכנס לבית הלווה ומישכנו, או שחטף המשכון מידו בזרוע--אינו לוקה, שהרי ניתק לעשה: (משנה תורה - ספר משפטים - הלכות מלווה ולווה פרק ג)

(This scenario doesn’t lend itself to a ישתדל formulation)

Lastly, one should consider that older additions of the משנה תורה include this הלכה as part of the previous law, which suggests a certain continuance of the narrative:
כשאדם אוכל את הפסח, חותך את הבשר ואוכל, וחותך את העצמות מן הפרק, ומפרקן אם רצה; וכשיגיע לגיד הנשה, מוציאו, ומניחו עם שאר הגידים והעצמות והקרומות, שיוצאין בשעת אכילה--שאין מנקין אותו כשאר הבשר, ואין מחתכין אותו, אלא צולין אותו שלם. ואם חתכו חתיכות חתיכות, כשר--והוא, שלא יחסר אבר. וצריך אדם להשתדל שלא ישאיר מבשר הפסח עד בוקר

Accordingly, I think the רמב"ם shied away from drafting this מצוה as an imperative because practically, there is so much going on during the סדר night, that it is reasonable that a person could try as hard as he can, and still leave a little meat on a bone or forget a small item – we all get distracted on the סדר night. And with the recognition that it is a לאו שניתק לעשה , a person might feel it’s not worth the effort and take advantage of the reconciliatory clause provided by the תורה. So though yes, it is a biblical commandment not to leave over, but the practicalities involved are such that one can just feel overwhelmed that he just throws his hands up – you try and scrape all the meat off the bone without breaking it! – nonetheless, with all the obstacles, one should still try….

Then again, as Jedi Master Yoda said, “There is no try – Do!”

Dear Uninvisible,

Your scholarship is truly impressive!!! But a lav hanitak láseh is still an issur dóraisa. In no other lav hanitak does the Rambam say Yishtadel.

You suggested that due to its level of difficulty the Rambam says yishtadel. Well laniyus daati there are many other more difficult issurim than nossar hapesach.

But maybe you are right. We will bli neder ask the Rambam when we see him.

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I agree -- it is still d'orisa. I was just suggesting here thatthat the practicalities in meeting the expectatins of this mitzvah, which is kol shehu, not kazayit (see chinuch who says "klum") are quite difficult. It would appear that Rambam uses yishtadel when someone can only try, and doing less is what is assur. Shvirat etzem and issues with gid hanasheh and other laavin make this mitzvah extraordinarily difficult to observe, even with best intentions (see Raavad on gid hanashe and apply implications as well as the their machloket in 10:9).

the "tzarich l'hishtadel" is only referring to the issur of nossar.

I find it very difficult to eat when I am completely full. The מצוה of אכילת קרבן פסח is to be done ideally על השובע. It reminds of a conversation that resonated throughout my childhood:

"Finish it!"

"I can't, I'm so full, I couldn't possibly put anything else in there without throwing up."

"Well you had better try!"

Just to add, if I remember correctly should one vomit after the סדר then one has to do it all over again. So maybe the idea is to try as hard as possible, but we can't force it - each person knows him/herself the best. Make a valiant effort, but don't go past your outer limits.