Pesachim 2A

מתני׳ אור לארבעה עשר בודקין את החמץ לאור הנר. כל מקום שאין מכניסין בו חמץ, אין צריך בדיקה. ובמה אמרו ״שתי שורות במרתף״⁠ — מקום שמכניסין בו חמץ. בית שמאי אומרים: שתי שורות על פני כל המרתף, ובית הלל אומרים: שתי שורות החיצונות שהן העליונות.

Mishnah: On the evening [or] of the 14th of the month of Nisan, one searches for leavened bread in his home by candlelight. Any place into which one does not typically take leavened bread does not require a search, as it is unlikely that there is any leavened bread there. And with regard to what the rabbis of previous generations meant when they said that one must search two rows of wine jugs in a cellar, i.e., a place into which one typically takes some leavened bread, the early tanna’im are in dispute. Beit Shammai say that this is referring to searching the first two rows across the entire cellar, and Beit Hillel say: There is no need to search that extensively, as it is sufficient to search the two external rows, which are the upper ones. This dispute will be explained and illustrated in the Talmud.

גמ׳ מאי ״אור״? רב הונא אמר: נגהי, ורב יהודה אמר: לילי. קא סלקא דעתך דמאן דאמר נגהי ⁠— נגהי ממש, ומאן דאמר לילי ⁠— לילי ממש.

Talmud: The Talmud asks: What is the meaning of the term or, translated as: The evening of? The Talmud provides two answers. Rav Huna said: It means light, and Rav Yehuda said: In this context, it means evening. At first glance, it could enter your mind to suggest that the one who said light means that one searches for leaven by the actual light of day, on the morning of the 14th of Nisan, and the one who said evening is referring to the actual evening of the 14th.

מיתיבי: ״הבקר אור והאנשים שלחו״⁠ — אלמא ״אור״ יממא הוא! מי כתיב ״האור בקר״? ״הבקר אור״ כתיב, כמאן דאמר: צפרא נהר, וכדרב יהודה אמר רב. דאמר רב יהודה אמר רב: לעולם יכנס אדם בכי טוב, ויצא בכי טוב.

To clarify the meaning of the word or, the Talmud analyzes biblical verses and rabbinic statements. The Talmud raises an objection from a verse: “As soon as the morning was or, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys” (Genesis 44:3). Apparently, or is day. The Talmud rejects this contention. Is it written: The light was morning? “The morning was light” is written. In this context, or is a verb not a noun, as the one who said: The morning lightened. And this is in accordance with that which Rav Yehuda said that Rav said, as Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: A person should always enter an unfamiliar city with “it is good” (Genesis 1:4), i.e., before sunset, while it is light, as the Torah uses the expression “it is good” with regard to light upon its creation. This goodness is manifest in the sense of security one feels when it is light. And likewise, when one leaves a city he should leave with “it is good,” meaning after sunrise the next morning.