In the korech section of the hagadah there is an introductory paragraph. In most hagadot that I have seen, the phrasing says:

Sefaria.org used here

הָיָה כּוֹרֵךְ מַצָּה וּמָרוֹר וְאוֹכֵל בְּיַחַד, לְקַיֵּם מַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: עַל מַצּוֹת וּמְרורִים יֹאכְלֻהוּ.

He would wrap the matsa and marror and eat them together, in order to fulfill what is stated, (Exodus 12:15): "You should eat it upon matsot and marrorim."

However, in a number of Hagaddot, such as Passover Haggadah: The Feast of Freedom" The Rabbinical Assembly, 1982 and, I think Rav Riskin's Hagadah, IIRC, I have seen the phrasing:

הָיָה כּוֹרֵךְ פסח מַצָּה וּמָרוֹר וְאוֹכֵל בְּיַחַד

He would wrap the matsa and marror and Pesach sacrifice and eat them together

To me, it seems that the 2nd version is correct, assuming that Hillel was doing things correctly, as he was supposed to eat the Pesach sacrifice and the verse says, "On matzot and maror you shall eat it"

Yet, many hagaddot, don't mention the fact that he included the Pesach lamb. So are there various opinions as to what he actually did? What are the opinions based upon?

  • 2
    Related: judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/56536/… It's a machloket Rashi and Rashbam vs. Rambam. Delving into the sources linked in that question may uncover their bases. – Isaac Moses Mar 19 '15 at 17:14
  • @IsaacMoses - thanks for the related link. In a sense, it's a dupe, but the context of the question has this info rather than the question itself. I have no problem if this question is closed as a dupe. – DanF Mar 19 '15 at 17:27
  • it's not a dupe, but the answer to this one could inform answers to mine. – Isaac Moses Mar 19 '15 at 17:28
  • @IsaacMoses - any such thing as "merging"? – DanF Mar 19 '15 at 17:30
  • There is such a thing. When two questions that already have answers are dupes, mods can close one and do a merge, which migrates the answers from the closed one to the open one. That would not be appropriate here. This is a distinct but related question. – Isaac Moses Mar 19 '15 at 17:32

I was taught that it is because we do not have the korbon Pesach any more that we do not mention it (out loud). That is why many haggados have the "pesach" in parentheses or as you show it without vowels. This is similar to the reason that we do not point to the seder plate when saying "Pesach" in the Rabban Gamliel said portion, while we say Matza Zu and point. Thus, the answer to your question (as I was taught) is that Hillel did put the korbon Pesach on Matza with Maror, but we just do not say it explicitly.

I found this answer, which gives the basic statement as a preface to explaining the reason behind Hillel's custom.

The Hillel Sandwich




(Most of the article has been omitted from the quote)

Discipline and Freedom



The ultimate goal, however, is attained only when we recognize that these two forces do not contradict one another. Joined together, they present the highest freedom, whose nobility and power is fully revealed when it wears the crown of lofty servitude — the service of the Holy King, a service that is freedom in its purest state.


  • Nice. Worthy to discuss at my Seder. – DanF Mar 20 '15 at 2:04

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .