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Text Excerpt
מתני׳ כיצד צולין את הפסח? מביאין שפוד של רמון, ותוחבו לתוך פיו עד בית נקובתו, ונותן את כרעיו ואת בני מעיו לתוכו, דברי רבי יוסי הגלילי. רבי עקיבא אומר: כמין בישול הוא זה, אלא תולין חוצה לו. אין צולין את הפסח לא על השפוד ולא על האסכלא. אמר רבי צדוק: מעשה ברבן גמליאל שאמר לטבי עבדו: צא וצלה לנו את הפסח על האסכלא.
Mishnah: How does one roast the Paschal lamb? One brings a spit [shappud] of pomegranate wood and thrusts it into the mouth of the lamb until it reaches its anus, and one then puts its legs and entrails inside it and roasts it all together; this is the statement of R' Yosei HaGelili. R' Akiva says: One does not insert its legs and entrails inside it, as this is a type of cooking. Anything placed inside the offering does not get roasted directly by the fire and is considered to have been cooked. Rather, one suspends the legs and entrails from the spit above the animal’s head outside it. One may not roast the Paschal lamb on the metal spit nor on a metal grill [askela]. However, R' Tzadok said: There was an incident with Rabban Gamliel, who said to his slave Tavi: Go and roast the Paschal lamb for us on the grill.
גמ׳ וניתי של מתכת? איידי דחם מקצתו חם כולו, וקמטוי מחמת השפוד, ורחמנא אמר ״צלי אש״, ולא צלי מחמת דבר אחר. וניתי של דקל? איידי דאית ליה שיבי, מפיק מיא והוי כמבושל. וניתי של תאנה? איידי דמחלחל, מפיק מיא והוה ליה כמבושל.
Talmud: The Talmud suggests: Let them bring a metal spit. The Talmud answers: With regard to a metal utensil, once part of it is hot, it is all hot, and the meat is roasted due to the heat of the spit. And God states in the Torah that the Paschal lamb must be roasted in fire and not roasted through something else. The Talmud asks why it is necessary to use specifically a spit of pomegranate wood: Let them bring a spit of palm wood. The Talmud answers: Since the palm branch has grooves between the leaves, it gives off a small amount of water from the grooves during roasting. The meat of the offering that touches the spit is as though it is cooked. The Talmud suggests: Let them bring a spit of fig wood. The Talmud answers: Since it is hollow and has sap inside, it gives off water, and it is as though the meat is cooked.