At the end of thje 4th perek, it says the hadran of the perek and adds "uslika pesach rishon". at the end of the 9th perek it says slika pesach sheni. Then it has arvei pesachim. Was Masechet Pesachim split to different masechtot originally? Where did Arvei pesachim fit in? What si the story behind this?
Kol tuv,
Rafi Goldmeier
The following is what the Kollel wrote in the Background to the Daf, Introduction to Maseches Pesachim:
>> Maseches Pesachim, is the third tractate in Seder Moed, discusses the many unique and intricate laws of Pesach. Since Pesach is the first festival of the year (as the Gemara mentions in Rosh Hashanah 4a), the Mishnah discusses its laws immediately after the laws of Shabbos and Eruvin.
In a sense, Pesachim is actually two distinct Masechtos. Half of Pesachim (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 10) deals with the laws of Pesach that are relevant even when the Beis ha'Mikdash is not standing (such as the removal of Chametz from one's home, the Mitzvah of Matzah, the laws of Erev Pesach, and the Pesach Seder). The other half (chapters 5 to 9) discusses the laws of the Korban Pesach, including the manner in which it is offered and eaten. This part of Pesachim is more relevant to Seder Kodshim than to Seder Moed.
In fact, many Rishonim actually consider Pesachim to be two distinct Masechtos, and they call the practical part "Pesach Rishon" and the Kodshim part "Pesach Sheni." The Me'iri, in his introduction to Pesachim, writes that the Ge'onim actually split Pesachim into two "Masechtos." Indeed, we find explicit mention of this division in the common printing of Pesachim (Vilna edition) at the end of the fourth chapter (57b) and the end of the ninth chapter (99a).)
Although many Rishonim wrote commentaries on the practical part of Pesachim, very few wrote full commentaries on the Kodshim section, with the exception of the Me'iri and Tosfos Shantz (whose commentary is nearly identical to that of Tosfos).
Even the practical part of Pesachim has its measure of Kodshim-related discussions. The second half of the first chapter diverges into a lengthy and involved discussion of the laws of Tum'ah and Taharah. (This is known as "the Sugya of Rebbi Chanina Segan ha'Kohanim." See Charts and Insights to Pesachim 14a-20b for useful summaries and study guides.)
There are two exceptionally short pages (Amudim) of Gemara in Pesachim (57b and 99a) due to the printers' addition of extensive Halachic summaries of the laws of the Korban Pesach (on 57b) and of the Korban Pesach Sheni (on 99a). The earliest printed, full edition of the Talmud (Venice, 1522) did not include these Halachic summaries. Instead, the remainder of the page after the end of chapter four (Daf 57b) and chapter nine (Daf 99a) was left blank, just as the remainder of the last page of every Maseches is left blank. Apparently, at the time of the Venice printing of the Talmud, "Pesach Rishon" and "Pesach Sheni" were still treated as distinct Masechtos, and it was deemed inappropriate to begin one on the same page that the other ended. At a later time these Halachic summaries were added as page-fillers. These Halachic summaries are based almost exclusively on the Rambam's rulings, with a small number of rulings culled from other Rishonim added in parentheses (which might be from a later date). It is not clear who authored these Halachic digests. <<
if so, how did the 2 masechtas get combined, and why was arvei pesachim moved from the first (after perek 4) to after the second?
Rafi
Pesachim was never actually divided into separate Masechtos. It was always one Maseches, with two distinct themes.
As for the order of Perakim, like Maseches Shabbos, Pesachim follows the order of the day. It starts with Bedikas Chametz (eve of 14th Nissan) and Bi'ur Chametz (morning of 14th Nissan), concluding with the Seder of the night of Pesach (eve of 15th Nissan).
Be well,
Mordecai Kornfeld