1)

(a)According to the Yerushalmi, the reason for the prohibition of drinking between the third and fourth cups - is because one may become drunk and not recite Hallel.

(b)During the meal is different, because wine that one drinks during the meal does not cause drunkenness. (Note: according to the Yerushalmi, the concession to drink, is confined to between the first and second cups, but not to between the second and third).

2)

(a)Rav Sheshes used to fast every Erev Pesach - because he was an Istenis (who was so sensitive that, had he eaten anything all day, he would have been unable to eat anything at all at the Seder.

(b)He must have interpreted 'Samuch l'Minchah' in our Mishnah as Minchah Ketanah - seeing as he was concerned about eating Matzah at the Seder (had he interpreted it as Minchah Gedolah, because of the Pesach, then he would not have needed to be so stringent).

(c)The Gemara thought that maybe he interpreted it as Minchah Gedolah, and the reason for the prohibition is because of the Pesach. Nevertheless, he fasted from the morning - because he followed the opinion of ben Beseira, who maintains that the time of Shechitah of the Korban Pesach is already from the morning.

(d)ben Beseira interprets "Bein ha'Arbayim" to mean between the evening of yesterday and that of today.

3)

(a)One is obligated to lean (a symbol of freedom) whilst eating Matzah - because Matzah represents freedom (i.e. the Exodus from Egypt), but not Maror - which represents slavery.

(b)The Beraisa which requires leaning whilst drinking the wine - is either speaking about the first two cups, whereas the Beraisa which does not - is speaking about the last two, or vice-versa. The reason for the first opinion is because we go after when the freedom began; and the reason for the second opinion is because, on the contrary, until the Exodus was complete, we were still slaves.

(c)The Halachah therefore is - that we are obligated to lean for all four cups.

4)

(a)A Perakdan is someone who is lying on his back.

(b)Leaning to the right causes a person to eat with his left hand which is awkward (by a left-hander this would matter) - and besides, due to the location of the wind-pipe and the esophagus, this might just cause the wind-pipe to open whilst eating, and result in the person choking - a reason that applies equally to left-hander.

(c)Rashi explains that 'Shema Yakdim Kanah l'Veshet' is the Gemara's added reason for not eating when one is a Perakdan.

(d)In that case, why does the Gemara insert 'Shema Yakdim' ... after telling us about not leaning to the right, and not immediately after the Din of Perakdan?

5)

(a)A woman does not need to lean because it is disrespectful to do so in front of her husband, whom she is obligated to respect. Presumably 'Einah Tzerichah' means that therefore she is forbidden to do so. (According to the She'iltos, it is because it is not normally the way of a woman to lean - i.e. so there is no point in doing so . It is not clear however, why the Gemara then adds the words 'in front of her husband'. Perhaps the She'iltos did not have these words in his text.)

(b)If she is an important woman in her own right, then she is obligated to lean.

(c)A son is obligated to lean in the presence of his father - because we take it for granted that a father would in no way take umbrage if his son leans in his presence.

6)

(a)Abaye gave testimony that when the disciples sat at the Seder-table of Rabah, they used to lean against each other's knees, but that, after Rabah died and they sat by Rav Yosef, he told them that this was not necessary (and therefore forbidden) since the respect for one's Rebbe should be equivalent to one's respect of Hash-m.

(b)According to Rav Yosef, the Beraisa, which obligates a pupil to lean in front of his teacher, is speaking about an apprentice who is learning a trade from his master, and not about a disciple who learns Torah from his Rebbe.

(c)Even a waiter is obligated to lean at the Seder.

7)

(a)Women are obligated to eat Matzah and Maror which are basically mid'Oraisa, and the Torah included all those who are forbidden to eat Chametz. The four cups, on the other hand, are purely mid'Rabanan, and there is good reason to suppose that women are precluded from the Mitzvah just as they are precluded from most Mitzvos mid'Rabanan which are time-bound.

(b)The Rabanan did not exempt them, because the four cups symbolize the miracle of the exodus from slavery to freedom, and they too, were included in that miracle - either because they were also saved or because (due to the righteous women of that generation) they were instrumental in the salvation.

8)

(a)Shmuel says that each of the four cups must contain the equivalent amount of wine to dilute a 'Kos Yafeh' - meaning a quarter of a Revi'is of wine.

(b)What Shmuel means is that each cup must contain a quarter of a Revi'is of undiluted wine, so that, when diluted with three parts water (as was the regular procedure with the strong wine of those days), it made up a Revi'is.

9)

(a)If one drank ...

1. ... a Revi'is of undiluted wine, one is Yotzei. When Rava says 'Yedei Cheirus Lo Yatza', he means to say that one has not fulfilled the Mitzvah in the ideal manner.

2. ... the four cups consecutively - one is not Yotzei - because they must be drunk according to the order of the Seder (i.e. each cup applies to one of the four sections of the Seder). One is however Yotzei the Mitzvah of drinking wine on Yom-Tov (see Tosfos DH 'Yedei').

3. ... only the majority of the cup, and gave the remainder to one's small children - one is Yotzei.

(b)The Rashbam rejects his grandfather's explanation of 'Bas Achas' - that one poured all four cups into one large one - because if one did, it is obvious that that is only considered one Kos, and one would not need Shmuel to tell us that one is not Yotzei.

(c)The Gemara concludes that Shmuel, who requires the equivalent amount of wine in the cup to dilute a Kos Yafeh, concurs with the Beraisa, which requires a Revi'is for each cup. Originally, the Gemara thought that the 'Kedei Mezigas Kos Yafeh' of Shmuel (who did not mention a Revi'is - like the Beraisa did), is not a quarter of a Revi'is of undiluted wine for each Kos, but a whole Revi'is (see Tosfos DH 've'At').

10)

(a)Even assuming that old wine is better that fresh wine, one will nevertheless fulfill one's obligation at the Seder with fresh wine

(b)With the requirement of ...

1. ... taste - Rebbi Yehudah precludes - fresh wine (or old wine, according to others).

2. ... appearance - he precludes white wine.

(c)Rebbi Yehudah learns from the Pasuk in Mishlei "Al Teire Yayin Ki Yis'adom" - that real wine is red.

11)

(a)When the Chachamim obligated even small children to drink four cups of wine - Rebbi Yehudah asked them what small children will gain by drinking wine (the Rashbam explains that they are not Chayav Mitzvos).

(b)According to Rebbi Yehudah, one distributes roasted wheat-kernels (the equivalent of candies).

(c)Once Pesach arrives, it is forbidden to eat new dried wheat-kernels, because of the problem of Chadash (which remains in effect until the second day of Pesach - nowadays it is until the third day).

(d)One dispenses with it by using last year's produce.