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Text Excerpt
צריך לשקועיה בחרוסת, משום קפא. דאי סלקא דעתך לא צריך לשקועיה — נטילת ידים למה לי? הא לא נגע! ודילמא לעולם אימא לך: לא צריך לשקועיה, וקפא מריחא מיית. אלא למה לי נטילת ידים — דילמא משקעו ליה.
one must submerge it in the ḥaroset, due to the bitterness and poison in the lettuce. For if it could enter your mind that one need not thoroughly submerge the lettuce in ḥaroset, why do I need him to wash hands before eating bitter herbs? He did not touch the liquid with his hands, and therefore he did not render it ritually impure. The Talmud rejects this contention: Actually, I will say to you: According to the halakha, one need not submerge the lettuce in ḥaroset and the poison dies. The poison is nullified from the smell of the ḥaroset. The Talmud asks: But in that case, why do I need the washing of hands before dipping? The Talmud answers: Perhaps one will submerge the lettuce, and it is therefore necessary to wash one’s hands to avoid the possible transfer of ritual impurity.
ואמר רב פפא: לא נישהי איניש מרור בחרוסת, דילמא אגב חלייה דתבלין מבטיל ליה למרוריה, ובעינן טעם מרור, וליכא. אדבריה רב חסדא לרבנא עוקבא, ודרש: נטל ידיו בטיבול ראשון — נוטל ידיו בטיבול שני.
And Rav Pappa said: A person should not leave bitter herbs in the ḥaroset for a lengthy period of time, lest the sweetness of the spices in the ḥaroset nullify its bitterness. And the bitter herbs require a bitter taste, and they are not bitter when marinated in ḥaroset. The Talmud reports: Rav Ḥisda authorized Rabbana Ukva to deliver a lecture, and he taught: If one washed his hands for the first dipping, he should wash his hands again for the second dipping.
אמרוה רבנן קמיה דרב פפא: הא בעלמא איתמר. דאי סלקא דעתך הכא איתמר, למה לי נטילת ידים תרי זימני? הא משא ליה ידיה חדא זימנא!
The rabbis said this halakha before Rav Pappa and added: This halakha was stated generally, i.e., concerning one who dips food twice anytime, not with regard to Passover night. For if it could enter your mind that this was stated here, concerning Passover, why do I need washing of the hands twice? This person has already washed his hands once. As he knows he will dip again, he will be careful to preserve his hands in a state of ritual purity and consequently there is no need for him to wash his hands a second time. This is not the case with regard to dipping throughout the rest of the year, when one does not know at the start that he will dip again.