A.
ואכלו את הבשר צלי אש ומצות על מררים יאכלהו (“And [the bnei Yisra’él] will eat the meat [of the paschal sacrifice] roasted with fire, and [with] matzoth on bitter herbs they will eat it;” XII, 8).
This week’s parasha is a major source of the laws and customs relating not only to that first Passover in Egypt, but every subsequent one. On this verse, the Ba’âlei Tosafoth tell us in their collective commentary on the Torah, Da’âth Zqénim: לכן נהגו העם לעשות בליל פסח שלש מצות זכר לשלש סאין שאמר אברהם אבינו "מהרי שלש סאים סולת" ופסח הי' (“Therefore it has become the popular custom to make three matzoth on Passover night in memory of the three se’im which Avraham our father said, ‘Hurry, three se’im of fine flour [knead and make cakes],’ [Genesis XVIII, 6]; and [the occasion [was Passover”).
This is based, of course, on the oft-repeated assertion of Chazal that the patriarchs voluntarily observed the entire Torah before it was officially commanded to Israel (עיי' יומא כ"ח:). Accepting this, it must be acknowledged that a se’a is a rather large unit of colume, equivalent to nearly 249 cc (לפי שיטת הרב נאה); other than the fact that there were three of them, it is hard to relate this much dough to the three mazzoth lying before the ba’al ha-séder on Pesach. So what did Avraham really present to his guests?
B.
If we revisit the account of that angelic visit in Genesis XVIII, we find that Rashi asserts that every kindness which Avraham showed his visitors was repaid by the Al-Mighty to his descendants in the desert after the Exodus; thus, the water which they were offered, concerning which Avraham said, “Let a little water be taken” (i.e., by someone else, a shaliach) was repaid through a shaliach (Moshe; cf. Numbers XX, 11). whereas the bread or matza, concerning which Avraham said, “Let me take,” was repaid by G-d directly (עיי' בראשית י"ח ד', רש"י ושפתי חכמים שם), through the gift of the man (Exodus XVI, 31).
But if we turn to the midrash, we find that it appears to be a matter of controversy as to whether or not Avraham actually gave his guests bread: אפרים מקשאה תלמידו דר"מ משום ר"מ אמר פירסה נדה ונטמאה העיסה. רבנן אמרי אפי' פת הביא לפניהם (“Efrayim the questioner, a student of Rabbi Me’ir, said in the same of Rabbi Me’ir, "[Sara] began menstruating and the dough was rendered tamé." The Rabbis say, "Even bread [Avraham] brought before them;'” ב"ר פמ"ח סי' ט"ו ), and Rashi himself (ibid., v. 8) cites Rabbi Me’ir according to his student, Efrayim.
So there seems to be a contadiction between Rashi’s earlier assertion and this one: Did Avraham bring them bread, or not?
Expert on hospitality that he was, it would seem that whatever bread Avraham lay before his guests would have to have been brought immediately (עיי' ספר היראה לרבינו יונה שכך נוהגים מכניסי אורחים), and hence had nothing at all to do with the three se’im of tamé dough. If this is correct, then we can understand Rashi’s comments to refer to two different batches of matza, the first of which was offered by Avraham in greeting his guests, and the second of which was what he asked Sara to prepare. Thus, Rashi’s comments can be seen to make sense, for it would seem that the dispute recorded in the midrash concerns only the second batch. not the first.
That established, let us consider the opinion of the Rabbanan. According to them, just how much matza did Avraham offer?
C.
Avraham initially told his visitors: ואקחה פת לחם וסעדו לבכם (“And let me take some bread, and [you], satisfy your hearts”). The Gr"a states that the minimum definition of a satisfying meal is the volume of three eggs (פירוש הגר"א על משלי כ"ב ט' בשם הרי"ף). Hence, if we assume that Avraham, as the host, ate with his guests at this initial repast, we can calculate that it consisted of twelve eggs’ volume.
Now, Sara was preparing three se’im of flour. A standard se’a contains 144 eggs’ volume (עירובין פ"ג., רש"י שם ד"ה במדברות ), so three se’im total 432 eggs. Add to this the first twelve eggs, and we have 444.
Next, the volume of an egg is considered in halacha to equal the volume of two olives (zéythim; עיי' טור או"ח סי' תפ"ו, בית יוסף שם, ובשו"ע). So, 444 eggs equals 888 zéythim. Assuming that Avraham participated in the entire meal with his three guests, we may assume that he took one-fourth of the total, or 222 zéythim, for himself.
Talmudic sources tell us: האדם הגדול בענקים זה אברהם אבינו כו' ואכילתו ושתייתו כן הי' כנגד שבעים וארבעה אנשים וגו' (“The greatest man amongst the giants was Avraham our father.... And his eating and drinking were such, equivalent to [those of] seventy-four [ordinary] men;” סופרים פכ"א ה"ט, עיי' נחלת יעקב שם דזה מבוסס על יהושע י"ד ט"ו).
Finally, the absolute minimum shi’ûr to fulfill the mitzva of achilath matza is a k’zayith, one olive’s volume (שו"ע או"ח סי' תע"ה סעיף א') for an ordinary person. If so, Avraham’s “giant” appetite, presumably, obligated him to a proportional shi’ûr of 74 zéythim, exactly one-third of the 222 zéythim which the Rabbanan would say that he took. In other words, he had three minimum matzoth mitzva.
This, I believe, is the basis of the calculation made by our holy ancestors, to which the Ba’âlei Tosafoth refer, which led them to place three matzoth before the ba’âl ha-séder on the night of Passover.
D.
However, this brings up another fundamental question concerning Avraham’s halachic observance which must be dealt with.
Elsewhere in the Talmud (יומא פ:) it is firmly established that the same shi’ûrei halacha, the measures of food and drink relevant to fulfillment of the mitzvoth or violations of prohibitions, apply equally to everybody, even somebody as large as Og, king of the Bashan (another famous giant; cf. Deuteronomy III, 11). If so, what did Avraham’s enormous capacity matter? Why would not the shi’ûr of a k’zayith apply equally to him?
The answer, I believe, lies in the voluntary nature of Avraham’s observance, which was informed by his experience as a ben Noach. The Minchath Chinnuch points out that, unlike a member of Israel, who becomes subject to the mitzvoth of the Torah and responsible for them at the age of thirteen, there is no fixed age at which a ben Noach becomes a bar mitzva. The matter is determined על פי שכלו, at whatever pont he becomes cognizant of the mitzvoth which apply to him and their responsibilities and ramification (מצוה ק"צ, ד"ה אבל). It is, in short, a matter of emotional maturity and logical reasoning.
So, I believe it likely that Avraham applied his power of intellect, of svara, to these observances, too, and accordingly fixed a shi’ûr for himself proportional to his demonstrably greater capacity than that of others. however, when the Torah came to be commanded to Israel, and halacha was fixed for all generations, the shiûr of the common man prevailed.
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