THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5775 Issue XXIV Parshas Tzav- Shabbos HaGadol How Much Matzah, Maror, and Wine Must You Consume? Employee vs Independent Contractor By Rabbi Y. Sasportas
Shiurim – halachic quantities – as they pertain to the Pesach Seder
The subject of shiurim is one of the central aspects of the Pesach Seder. One is obligated to consume a kezayis of matzah and maror, and to drink four kosos – each containing a reviis of wine. Although Chazal (see Keilim 17:8 and Eruvin 83a) establish that a kezayis is the equivalent of an average olive and that a reviis measures 1½ eggs, simply employing an ordinary olive or egg to determine the proper shiur is not a viable option nowadays because many Acharonim contend that contemporary olives and eggs are much smaller than they were in the times of Chazal. Determining the shiur based on their current size will therefore yield a smaller volume than one is actually required to consume.
This contention is based on the fact that the Gemara (Pesachim 109a) states that a reviis of liquid can be contained in a cube measuring 10.8 cubic fingerbreadths – אצבעות. (A fingerbreadth is the width of an average person’s thumb measured at the joint – Daas Torah, Yoreh Deah 35:116; and Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim 1:136). Since a kebeitzah – the size of an egg- is equivalent to of a reviis, it follows that an egg measures 7.2 cubic fingerbreadths. Surprisingly, though, Tzlach (Pesachim 116b ד"ה והואיל וחביבא) writes that he attempted to determine the size a kebeitzah in this manner, and found that it amounted to double the size of an average egg! He therefore concludes that eggs must have diminished in size since the time of Chazal, so that the average contemporary egg is about half the size of eggs in the times of Chazal. This being the case, a reviis, which is equivalent to 1½ kebeitzah, is actually the size of 3 contemporary eggs. The same is true regarding the size of a kezayis, which is also relative to that of an egg.
(Tosafos (Yoma 80aד"ה ושיערו) maintain that a kezayis is half of a kebeitzah while Rambam (see Hil. Eruvin 1:9) implies that it measures less than one-third of a kebeitzah. Although a present-day olive is only the size of about of an egg, the correct shiur of a kezayis may actually be as large as an entire egg! (The contemporary measurements for these shiurim will be discussed below).
Shiurim – halachic quantities – as they pertain to the Pesach Seder
The subject of shiurim is one of the central aspects of the Pesach Seder. One is obligated to consume a kezayis of matzah and maror, and to drink four kosos – each containing a reviis of wine. Although Chazal (see Keilim 17:8 and Eruvin 83a) establish that a kezayis is the equivalent of an average olive and that a reviis measures 1½ eggs, simply employing an ordinary olive or egg to determine the proper shiur is not a viable option nowadays because many Acharonim contend that contemporary olives and eggs are much smaller than they were in the times of Chazal. Determining the shiur based on their current size will therefore yield a smaller volume than one is actually required to consume.
This contention is based on the fact that the Gemara (Pesachim 109a) states that a reviis of liquid can be contained in a cube measuring 10.8 cubic fingerbreadths – אצבעות. (A fingerbreadth is the width of an average person’s thumb measured at the joint – Daas Torah, Yoreh Deah 35:116; and Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim 1:136). Since a kebeitzah – the size of an egg- is equivalent to of a reviis, it follows that an egg measures 7.2 cubic fingerbreadths. Surprisingly, though, Tzlach (Pesachim 116b ד"ה והואיל וחביבא) writes that he attempted to determine the size a kebeitzah in this manner, and found that it amounted to double the size of an average egg! He therefore concludes that eggs must have diminished in size since the time of Chazal, so that the average contemporary egg is about half the size of eggs in the times of Chazal. This being the case, a reviis, which is equivalent to 1½ kebeitzah, is actually the size of 3 contemporary eggs. The same is true regarding the size of a kezayis, which is also relative to that of an egg.
(Tosafos (Yoma 80aד"ה ושיערו) maintain that a kezayis is half of a kebeitzah while Rambam (see Hil. Eruvin 1:9) implies that it measures less than one-third of a kebeitzah. Although a present-day olive is only the size of about of an egg, the correct shiur of a kezayis may actually be as large as an entire egg! (The contemporary measurements for these shiurim will be discussed below).
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