the recitation of the Hallel prayer. Etymology The name of the tractate Pesachim is the Hebrew plural of the name of the Passover festival Pesach, and there are two explanations given for this: Firstly, the tractate contains two distinct parts, which were originally separate, until combined into a single tractate during the Geonic period (by 1040 CE). Until then, the tractate was divided into two parts called Pesaḥ Rishon ("First Passover" or "Passover I") and Pesaḥ Sheni ("Second Passover" or "Passover II"). After the two parts were combined, the tractate was called Pesachim, in the plural. One part, now comprising chapters one to four and chapter ten, addresses the laws of Passover that apply always and everywhere, such as the removal of chametz from the home, the eating of matzah, and the Seder on Passover night. The second part, now chapters five to nine, concern the laws of how the Passover sacrifice was offered and eaten at the Temple in Jerusalem while it existed. This part is more relevant thematically to Seder Kodashim, the order of the Mishna concerned mainly with the sacrificial offerings in the Temple. In the only surviving manuscript that contains the complete text of the Babylonian Talmud, known as the Munich Codex, the current tenth chapter appears as the fourth, so that the chapters concerning the practical observances of the festival follow one another consecutively. The early medieval Jewish commentators, known as the Rishonim, also refer to the first part of the tractate as "Pesach Rishon", and the second part about the sacrifices as "Pesach Sheni". The Meiri (1249–1315) states clearly in his introduction to the tractate that during the immediately preceding Geonic period, Pesachim was divided into two tractates. This distinction is also marked explicitly in the Vilna edition in the Hadran at the end of the fourth chapter () and ninth chapter () of the tractate. A second reason given for the plural name of the tractate is that there are, in fact, two Passovers: the "second Pesach" on the 14th of Iyar was instituted a month after Passover for those who were unable to offer the Passover sacrifice on the eve of the holiday on 14th of the month of Nisan, in accordance with . Accordingly, the title of the tractate in the plural recognizes this, although the Mishnah almost entirely concerns the first or "Great" Passover. Subject matter The subject matter of