Pesachim 115 a, b

Today the rabbis clearly refocus on the halachot of Pesach.  They discuss whether or not mitzvot nullify each other; about combining mitzvot and how those combinations might change other halachot.  Hillel (not Hillel the Elder but the late Nasi from Eretz Yisroel) shares his belief on eating matzah together with bitter herbs: one who eats matzah, which is obligated by Torah law, with bitter herbs, which is obligated by Rabbinic law, has nullified the Torah law of mitzva of eating matzah.  This concept is discussed further regarding dipping into a liquid and washing one's hands.  Dipping required handwashing.  But do we wash our hands twice if we dip twice?

From this conversation we move into questions about how we should eat matzah, bitter herbs and charoset.  They wonder about how the meal should be served and how the four questions should be asked.  We need not chew the matzah to observe the mitzvah of eating matzah; we must chew the bitter herbs - taste their bitterness - to observe the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs. And the rabbis bring back the concept of combining mitzvot:  if we eat the two together, we have observed the mitzvah of eating matzah but not of maror, for we have not experienced their full bitterness.

It would seem that people ate at individual tables.  We are taught that each person should have both matzah and charoset in front of them on this small table.  That table is then removed after the seder rituals but before the meal.  The Gemara tells the story of Rabbi Abaye sitting before Rabba when Abaye was a child.  When the tables were removed, Abaye asked why they were removing the tables before the meal.  Rabba stated that Abaye need not ask one of the four questions,  as he already asked why this night is different from all other nights.

At the end of the daf, Rav Shmuel wonders about lechem oni, the bread of the afflicted (Deuteronomy 16:3).  Different spellings of oni affect the meaning of this phrase.  Suggestions include 'bread over which one answers many matters', and 'bread of the poor'.  The bread of the poor might imply that a slice of bread - or a piece of the matzah, rather than a loaf - should be eaten.

Daf 115 is the source of a number of mitzvot that I practice each year on Pesach.  It continues to amaze me when I see the origins of my traditions.  They are based on the thoughts of a group of scholars.  The halacha has no direct link to the 'word of G-d', or even to Torah law much of the time.  Instead these men argue what they believe using the words of Torah as proof - at least some of the time.  What a legacy, this connection to the rabbis through text and ritual.