Searching for Leaven with Lamps: Symbolism and Function in Bedikat Ḥametz (Pesachim 7b-8a)
Appendices: Shedding Light - Analysis of the Hebrew term for “lamp” (נר - “ner”); Eating and Appetite on Passover Eve (Pesachim 107b-108a)
In honor of the upcoming Passover holiday. Chag Sameach!
In this sugya, the Talmud explores both the hermeneutic and practical bases for the halacha that the pre-Passover search for leaven (bedikat ḥametz) must specifically be conducted by the light of a lamp (נר - ner).
Rav Ḥisda presents a striking chain of biblical associations: from the prohibition “leaven shall not be found” (Exodus 12:19), to Joseph’s steward’s search of the sacks (Genesis 44:12), to Zephaniah’s prophecy of divine searching “with lamps” (Zephaniah 1:12), culminating in the proverb that “the human soul is God’s lamp” (Proverbs 20:27).
The school of R' Yishmael affirms this derivation, though it emphasizes that these connections serve as an allusion rather than absolute proof.
The sugya continues with a baraita stating that one may not use sunlight, moonlight, or even a torch (אבוקה - avukah) for this search—only a lamp. This halakhic preference, though initially puzzling (a torch emits more light), is justified through functional reasoning: a lamp fits into crevices, shines forward, is less dangerous, and offers a steadier light. Rava poetically reinforces the lamp’s symbolic modesty, comparing the righteous before the Shekhinah to a small lamp before a blazing torch.
The sugya closes with a survey of physical spaces that do or do not require searching. Storage areas and structural gaps are generally exempt, unless they are accessible and likely to contain leaven. The boundaries of obligation, such as shared walls or obstructed spaces beneath beds, are discussed with attention to human behavior and property arrangements.
Outline
Deriving the Requirement to Search for Leaven with a Lamp: Talmudic Derivation through Hermeneutics (Exodus 12:19; Genesis 44:12; Zephaniah 1:12; Proverbs 20:27)
Halakhic Teaching: Only a Lamp
The Righteous as Lamps Before the Shekhina’s Torch (Habakkuk 3:4)
Why Not a Torch?—Functional Arguments
Locations Exempt and Required for Leaven Searches Before Passover
Dividing Spaces and the Limits of Searching for Leaven: Jointly Owned Wall; Bed as a Divider
Appendix 1 - Shedding Light: Analysis of the Hebrew term for “lamp” (נר - “ner”), especially as it pertains to our sugya
Realia: The Materiality of the “ner”
Etymology and Semantic Range: Root and Cognates
Literary and Theological Function in the Sugya
Appendix 2 - Debates on Eating and Appetite on Passover Eve (Pesachim 107b-108a)
Permitted Snacking Before the Seder; Biblical Allusion to Appetite-Stimulation (Jeremiah 4:3)
Rava's Wine Strategy; Rav Sheshet’s Fast
The Passage
Deriving the Requirement to Search for Leaven with a Lamp: Talmudic Derivation through Hermeneutics (Exodus 12:19; Genesis 44:12; Zephaniah 1:12; Proverbs 20:27)
The Mishnah rules that the search for leaven (bedikat ḥametz) must be done by the light of a lamp (נר).
Rav Ḥisda derives this requirement through a chain of verbal analogies and juxtapositions:
“Finding” (מציאה - Exodus 12:19) is linked to “finding” (Genesis 44:12),
which is linked to “searching” (חיפוש - in the same verse),
which is linked to “searching with lamps” (Zephaniah 1:12),
and finally to “lamp” (נרות - Proverbs 20:27), described as God’s means of examining inward parts.
The School of R’ Yishmael concurs, offering the same verses as an allusion,1 prefacing: “even though there is no proof (ראיה) for the matter, there is an allusion2 to the matter“.
לאור הנר וכו׳.
מנא הני מילי?
אמר רב חסדא:
למדנו
מציאה ממציאה,
ומציאה מחיפוש,
וחיפוש מחיפוש,
וחיפוש מנרות,
ונרות מנר.
מציאה ממציאה —
כתיב הכא: ״שבעת ימים שאר לא ימצא בבתיכם״,
וכתיב התם: ״ויחפש, בגדול החל, ובקטן כלה, וימצא״.
ומציאה מחיפוש דידיה.
וחיפוש מנרות --
דכתיב: ״בעת ההיא, אחפש את ירושלים בנרות״,
ונרות מנר,
דכתיב: ״נר (אלהים) [ה׳] נשמת אדם, חפש כל חדרי בטן״.
תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל:
לילי ארבעה עשר, בודקים את החמץ לאור הנר.
אף על פי שאין ראיה לדבר, זכר לדבר,
שנאמר: ״שבעת ימים שאר לא ימצא״,
ואומר: ״ויחפש, בגדול החל, ובקטן כלה״,
ואומר: ״בעת ההיא, אחפש את ירושלים בנרות״,
ואומר: ״נר (אלהים) [ה׳] נשמת אדם, חפש״.
[...]
The mishna states that one searches for leaven by the light of the lamp, etc.
The Gemara asks: From where are these matters, i.e., that the search should be conducted by the light of the lamp, derived?
Rav Ḥisda said:
We derive it by the hermeneutic principles of verbal analogy and juxtaposition: The term
finding in one context is derived from finding in another context,
and finding is derived from the word searching,
and this searching is derived from searching elsewhere,
and searching there is derived from the word lamps,
and lamps is derived from lamp.
The Gemara cites the relevant verses included in the above derivation:
Finding in one context is derived from finding in another context by verbal analogy,
as it is written here: “Seven days leaven shall not be found in your houses” (Exodus 12:19),
and it is written there: “And he searched, starting with the eldest, and ending with the youngest; and the goblet was found in Benjamin’s sack” (Genesis 44:12).
And the word finding in this verse is connected to searching in that same verse by juxtaposition, as the verse says: “And he searched... and was found.”
And searching is derived from lamps by means of juxtaposition,
as it is written: “And it shall come to pass that at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps” (Zephaniah 1:12).
And finally, the word lamps is derived from lamp by means of juxtaposition,
as it is written: “The spirit of man is the lamp of God, searching all the inward parts” (Proverbs 20:27). Together these verses indicate that the search for leaven must be conducted by the light of the lamp.
Similarly, the school of R' Yishmael taught:
On the night of the fourteenth one searches for leavened bread by the light of the lamp.
Although there is no absolute proof for this matter, there is an allusion to this matter,
as it is stated: “Seven days leaven shall not be found in your houses,”
and it says: “And he searched, starting with the eldest, and ending with the youngest; and the goblet was found.”
And it says: “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,”
and it says: “The spirit of man is the lamp of God, searching all the inward parts.”
[...]
Halakhic Teaching: Only a Lamp
A baraita states that one may not use sunlight, moonlight, or a torch (אבוקה)—only a lamp, because the light of a lamp is best (יפה) for searching.
The same verses as in the previous section are cited, with the same preface that these are only allusions, not proof.
תנו רבנן:
אין בודקין
לא לאור החמה,
ולא לאור הלבנה,
ולא לאור האבוקה,
אלא לאור הנר,
מפני שאור הנר יפה לבדיקה.
ואף על פי שאין ראיה לדבר, זכר לדבר,
שנאמר: ״שבעת ימים שאר לא ימצא בבתיכם״,
ואומר: ״ויחפש, בגדול החל״,
ואומר: ״בעת ההיא, אחפש את ירושלים בנרות״,
ואומר: ״נר ה׳ נשמת אדם חפש כל חדרי בטן״.
[...]
The Sages taught:
One does not search for leaven,
neither by the light of the sun,
nor by the light of the moon,
nor by the light of a torch.
Rather, the search should be conducted by the light of a lamp,
because the light of a lamp is effective for searching.
And even though there is no proof for this matter, there is an allusion to this matter,
as it is stated: “Seven days leaven shall not be found in your houses” (Exodus 12:19),
and it says: “And he searched, starting with the eldest, and ending with the youngest; and the goblet was found in Benjamin’s sack…” (Genesis 44:12).
And it says: “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps” (Zephaniah 1:12),
and it says: “The spirit of man is the lamp of God, searching all the inward parts” (Proverbs 20:27).
[...]
The Righteous as Lamps Before the Shekhina’s Torch (Habakkuk 3:4)
Rava asks about the meaning of Habakkuk 3:4, which describes divine light and hidden power.3
Rava interpret this to mean that the righteous are like a small lamp (נר) compared to a blazing torch (אבוקה) when standing before the Shekhina.
אמר רבא:
מאי דכתיב:
״ונגה כאור תהיה
קרנים מידו לו
ושם חביון עזו״,
למה צדיקים דומין בפני שכינה?
כנר בפני האבוקה.
[...]
Rava says:
What is the meaning of that which is written,
“And a brightness appears as the light;
He has rays at His side;
and there is the hiding of His power” (Habakkuk 3:4),
which indicates that God will provide rays of glory for the righteous in the future?
The Sages explained this verse by means of a parable:
To what are the righteous comparable before the Divine Presence?
They are comparable to a lamp in the face of a torch.
[...]
Why Not a Torch?—Functional Arguments
The Talmud challenges the lamp preference, since torches emit stronger light. Several Amoraim respond with practical distinctions:
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak: a lamp fits into cracks;4 a torch doesn’t.
Rav Zevid: lamp lights ahead (לפניו), torch behind (לאחריו).
Rav Pappa: torch poses fire risk.5
Ravina: lamp provides steady (משך) light (נהורא); torch flickers (מיקטף).
אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק:
זה — יכול להכניסו לחורין ולסדקין,
וזה — אינו יכול להכניסו לחורין ולסדקין.
רב זביד אמר:
זה — אורו לפניו,
וזה — אורו לאחריו.
רב פפא אמר:
האי — בעית,
והאי — לא בעית.
רבינא אמר:
האי — משך נהורא,
והאי — מיקטף איקטופי.
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said:
The baraita does not prohibit the use of a torch due to its failure to provide sufficient light. Rather, it is due to the fact that one can put this lamp into holes and crevices, as it is a small flame,
and one cannot put that torch into holes and crevices, as it is a large flame.
Rav Zevid said:
This lamp projects its light before it, facilitating the search,
and that torch projects its light behind it, on the person conducting the search.
Rav Pappa said:
The reason is that when using this torch one fears starting a fire,
and when using that lamp he does not fear starting a fire.
Ravina said:
This lamp consistently draws light,
and the light of that torch fluctuates. Although overall the torch provides greater light than a lamp, it is less effective for use in a search.
Locations Exempt and Required for Leaven Searches Before Passover
A baraita lists areas in a home that are exempt from the mandatory search for leaven before Passover.
These include upper and lower wall holes (that are hard to access), as well as various utility and storage spaces such as veranda (יציע) and closet (מגדל) roofs, cowsheds (רפת בקר), chicken coops (לולין), straw storehouses (מתבן), wine cellars (אוצרות יין), and oil storerooms (אוצרות שמן).
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel disagrees in part, stating that a bed dividing a room requires a search if there is space between the floor and the bottom of the bed (as leaven might be hidden there).
כל מקום שאין מכניסין כו׳.
[...]
תנו רבנן:
חורי בית העליונים והתחתונים,
וגג היציע,
וגג המגדל,
ורפת בקר,
ולולין,
ומתבן,
ואוצרות יין
ואוצרות שמן —
אין צריכין בדיקה.
רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר:
מטה החולקת בתוך הבית ומפסקת —
צריכה בדיקה.
[...]
We learned in the mishna: Any place into which one does not typically take leaven does not require searching.
[...]
the Sages taught in a baraita:
The upper and lower holes in the wall of a house that are difficult to use,
as well as a veranda roof,
a closet roof,
a cowshed,
chicken coops,
a storehouse for straw,
a wine cellar,
and a storeroom for oil;
all these do not require that a search be conducted.
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says:
A bed that divides the area inside a house and space separates the bottom of the bed from the floor
requires a search, as there might be leaven beneath it.
[...]
Dividing Spaces and the Limits of Searching for Leaven: Jointly Owned Wall; Bed as a Divider
A baraita states that when two houses share a wall with a hole between them, each owner searches for leaven only as far as his hand can reach.
Any ḥametz deeper in the hole is not retrieved but instead nullified (מבטלו) mentally (בלבו).
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel states that if a bed divides a room and has wood or stones stored beneath it with a gap separating them, that space does not require searching for leaven.
חור שבין אדם לחבירו —
זה בודק עד מקום שידו מגעת,
וזה בודק עד מקום שידו מגעת,
והשאר --
מבטלו בלבו.
רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר:
מטה החולקת בתוך הבית,
ועצים ואבנים סדורים תחתיה,
ומפסקת —
אינה צריכה בדיקה.
With regard to a hole in a wall that is between a house belonging to one person and a house belonging to another,
this neighbor searches to the point that his hand reaches,
and that neighbor searches to the point that his hand reaches.
And as for leaven found in the rest of the hole,
each one renders it null and void in his heart.
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says:
A bed that divides the area inside a house,
with wood and stones placed under it,
and space separates the bottom of the bed from the wood and stones beneath it,
does not require searching.
Appendix 1 - Shedding Light: Analysis of the Hebrew term for “lamp” (נר - “ner”), especially as it pertains to our sugya
Realia: The Materiality of the “ner”
From a material culture (realia) perspective, the ner in Talmudic Eretz Yisrael was a small, hand-held clay oil lamp, filled with olive oil, with a simple wick protruding from the nozzle.
See Wikipedia, “Oil lamp“:
An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source.
The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times.
They work in the same way as a candle but with fuel that is liquid at room temperature, so that a container for the oil is required.
A textile wick drops down into the oil, and is lit at the end, burning the oil as it is drawn up the wick.
Oil lamps are a form of lighting, and were used as an alternative to candles before the use of electric lights […]
Sources of fuel for oil lamps include a wide variety of plants such as nuts (walnuts, almonds and kukui) and seeds (sesame, olive, castor, or flax).
Also widely used were animal fats (butter, ghee, fish oil, shark liver, whale blubber, or seal).
And ibid., section “Judaism“:
Lamps appear in the Torah and other Jewish sources as a symbol of "lighting" the way for the righteous, the wise, and for love and other positive values.
While fire was often described as being destructive, light was given a positive spiritual meaning.
The oil lamp and its light were important household items, and this may explain their symbolism.
Oil lamps were used for many spiritual rituals.
The oil lamp and its light also became important ritualistic articles with the further development of Jewish culture and religion.
The Temple Menorah, a ritual seven-branched oil lamp used in the Second Temple, forms the center of the Chanukah story.
Archaeological finds from the late Second Temple and Roman periods confirm the widespread use of such lamps in domestic spaces.
The Talmud in our sugya explains that the oil lamp’s design—compact, directional, stable—accounts for its halakhic superiority in bedikat ḥametz:
It can be inserted into crevices (ḥorim ve-sedakin).
Its flame is stable and non-threatening compared to a torch (avukah).
It casts a forward-focused light.
Thus, the Talmudic preference for a ner is technologically and ergonomically grounded, not merely symbolic. The material constraints of the lamp become a halakhic determinant.
See also Hebrew Wikipedia, “מנורת שמן“, section “בהלכה“, my translation:
The second chapter of Tractate Shabbat (chapter incipit "With What May One Light?" - Bameh Madlikin - במה מדליקין), deals primarily with the types of oil and wicks that are valid for lighting the Shabbat lamp.
Validity is conditioned on the flame being steady, thereby eliminating concern that a person might try to adjust a flickering flame on Shabbat and thereby violate the prohibited labor of kindling fire (מבעיר - mav’ir).
In addition, there are other laws regarding permitted uses of the lamp's light on Shabbat (see Hebrew Wikipedia “שימוש באור נרות בשבת“), due to the concern that one might forget and tilt the lamp to enhance its light (שמא יטה).
Further laws in the chapter pertain to the laws of muktzeh (=items set aside and restricted from use on Shabbat).
Etymology and Semantic Range: Root and Cognates
The root נ־ו־ר / נ־י־ר (in ner) relates to light/fire.
Cognate with Ugaritic nār, Akkadian nūru, and Arabic nūr—each signifying light, fire, or illumination.6
The Hebrew word ner shifts diachronically:
In Biblical Hebrew, it’s often a metaphor for divine light or presence (ner tamid, “eternal flame”).
In Rabbinic Hebrew, it’s used primarily in a domestic and functional sense (e.g., Sabbath or Chanukah lamp).
Regardless, the term ner carries deep resonance, linking divine illumination with household ritual practice.
Literary and Theological Function in the Sugya
The Talmudic derivation is not merely a gezeirah shavah (verbal analogy), but an act of literary midrash: tracing a symbolic arc from:
“Not found” in Exodus 12:19 → the legal prohibition of ḥametz
to Joseph’s sack search → an image of hidden transgression
to Zephaniah’s divine search “with lamps” → God’s scrutiny of sin
to Proverbs 20:27: “The lamp of God is the human soul” → internal conscience as divine searchlight.
This produces a multi-layered intertextual theology:
The ner becomes an agent of both physical and moral illumination.
It signals that the search for ḥametz is inward as well as outward: an act of spiritual introspection.
As Rav Ḥisda’s chain shows, the ner is not simply a better flashlight—it is a ritual object infused with ethical-metaphysical valence.
Appendix 2 - Debates on Eating and Appetite on Passover Eve (Pesachim 107b-108a)
Permitted Snacking Before the Seder; Biblical Allusion to Appetite-Stimulation (Jeremiah 4:3)
R' Yosei allows dipping (מטביל) and eating light refreshments.7
This includes small snacks like fruit or meat that don’t satisfy.
R' Yitzḥak would eat vegetables.
A baraita supports this, allowing the server (שמש) to dip animal intestines (בני מעיין) and serve them to guests (who are eating the Paschal lamb, to stimulate their appetite).
Though not a definitive proof, a verse in Jeremiah is cited by the baraita as a thematic parallel: “Break up your fallow ground (ניר) and do not sow among thorns” .8
אמר רבי (יוסי): אבל מטביל הוא במיני תרגימא.
רבי יצחק מטביל בירקי.
תניא נמי הכי:
השמש מטביל בבני מעיין
ונותנן לפני האורחים.
ואף על פי שאין ראיה לדבר, זכר לדבר,
שנאמר:
״נירו לכם ניר
ואל תזרעו אל קוצים״.
R’ Yosei said: It is prohibited to eat a proper meal from minḥa time onward; however, one may dip and eat types of refreshments, e.g., fruit or meat that do not constitute a full meal and will not fill one’s stomach.
The Gemara relates that R’ Yitzḥak would dip and eat vegetables.
That opinion, that it is permitted to snack after minḥa time on Passover eve, was also taught in a baraita:
During the afternoon of Passover eve, the waiter may dip in the intestines of the animals that had been slaughtered in preparation for the Festival meals
and place them before the guests who had registered for the Paschal lamb. This was done to whet their appetites, so they would eat the Paschal lamb and matza that evening with greater relish.
The baraita continues: And although there is no absolute proof for this matter, there is an allusion to this matter,
as it is stated:
“Break up for yourselves a fallow ground,
and do not sow among thorns” (Jeremiah 4:3).
This verse teaches that one must undertake preparations to achieve positive results. Similarly, one should eat a small amount in the afternoon to enable him to consume more in the evening.
Rava's Wine Strategy; Rav Sheshet’s Fast
Rava drank wine throughout Passover eve (מעלי יומא דפיסחא) to whet his appetite9 for eating matza at night.
He defends this based on a mishna that permits drinking wine between the 1st and 2nd seder cups (of the the Passover Seder’s 4 cups) but forbids it between the 3rd and 4th. If wine caused satiety (סעיד), all extra drinking would be barred. The allowance implies that wine increases appetite.
Rav Sheshet, by contrast, would fast the entire day.
רבא הוה שתי חמרא כולי מעלי יומא דפיסחא,
כי היכי דניגרריה לליביה
דניכול מצה טפי לאורתא.
אמר רבא:
מנא אמינא לה דחמרא מיגרר גריר?
דתנן:
בין הכוסות הללו, אם רצה לשתות — ישתה,
בין שלישי לרביעי — לא ישתה.
ואי אמרת מסעד סעיד, אמאי ישתה?!
הא קא אכיל למצה אכילה גסה.
אלא שמע מינה: מגרר גריר.
רב ששת הוה יתיב בתעניתא כל מעלי יומא דפסחא.
The Gemara relates that Rava would drink wine the entire day of Passover eve,
so as to whet his appetite
to enable him to eat more matza at night.
Rava said:
From where do I say it, that wine whets the appetite?
As we learned in a mishna:
During the Passover seder, between these cups that one is obligated to drink, e.g., between the first two of the four cups of wine, if one wants to drink he may drink.
However, between the third and fourth cups, which are consumed after the meal, one may not drink.
And if you say that wine satisfies a person, why may one drink extra cups?!
He will later eat matza when he is already satiated, which will constitute an excessive eating.
Rather, learn from this that wine whets the appetite.
The Gemara relates that Rav Sheshet would fast the entire eve of Passover.
Rather than a conclusive proof, reinforcing the lamp’s symbolic role in thorough searching.
זֵכֶר (zekher).
Jastrow defines this word as follows:
memorial, remembrance, symbol, mnemonical allusion.
This Talmudic phrase (““even though there is no proof for the matter, there is an allusion to the matter“) is a common one; see the many examples in the search results here.
For another example, see Pesachim.53a.8, where Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel lists a number of signs (סימן - from Greek) of landscape (each one is a plant that indicates a certain type of physical environment):
The presence of milin (identified as gallnut oaks, used in ink production) is a sign of a mountainous region (הרים)
Palm trees (דקלים) are presented as an indicator of valley terrain (עמקים - likely due to their typical growth patterns and water needs).
Reeds (קנים) are associated with the presence of streams (נחלים - “streams, wadis”, suggesting water-rich environments).
The sycamore tree (שקמה) is noted as characteristic of the lowlands or plain areas (שפלה)
Though not a conclusive proof, a biblical allusion is offered for the final item in the list (#4):
“He made cedars (ארזים) as abundant (לרוב) as sycamores in the plain” (linking the abundance of sycamore to plains).
The full passage:
תניא
רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר:
סימן להרים — מילין.
סימן לעמקים — דקלים.
סימן לנחלים — קנים.
סימן לשפלה — שקמה.
ואף על פי שאין ראיה לדבר, זכר לדבר,
שנאמר:
״ויתן המלך את הכסף בירושלים כאבנים
ואת הארזים נתן כשקמים אשר בשפלה לרוב״.
It was taught in a baraita that
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says:
A good sign for mountains is that gallnut oaks, used in the preparation of ink, grow there.
A good sign for valleys is palm trees.
A good sign for streams is reeds.
A good sign for the plain is a sycamore tree.
And although there is no proof for these indicators, there is an allusion to the matter in the verse,
as it is stated:
“And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem like stones,
and he made cedars to be as the sycamore trees in the plain” (I Kings 10:27).
And see also Pesachim.107b.5-108a.2, which incidentally is also about Passover eve (erev Pesach), where the Talmud discusses a debates on Eating and Appetite on Passover Eve. I quote the whole piece in my appendix, at the end of this piece.
Suggesting future glory for the righteous, in the World-to-Come.
“holes (חורין) and crevices (סדקין)”.
“[causes] fear (בעית)”
See also my extended note on the cognate Aramaic term “nura” (נורא), in my piece “Pt3 Exploring the Greatness of R' Hiyya (Bava Metzia 85b-86a)“, on section “Story of Elijah and R’ Yehuda Hanasi“, where I show that the Talmud (especially in the Aramaic Stam) consistently describe heavenly items as made of fire (nura).
Compare also the cognate Aramaic term nehora (נהורא), which is used in our sugya as well.
מיני תרגימא - after minḥa on Passover eve, even though full meals are forbidden.
The word תרגימא comes from Greek, see Jastrow:
a popular adaptation of τράγημα […]
[that which comes after the meal, as the interpretation is read after reading from the original,] dessert […]
[see] טרגימא.
And in that latter entry:
טרגימא, טרוגימא m. (τράγημα, τρῶγμα) sweetmeats, dessert (dried fuits etc.).
Pes[achim] 107b … מטביל במיני ט׳ Ar. (ed. תרג׳) he may make a luncheon of various sweetmeats.
On this Greek word, see Wiktionary, trắgēmă:
(mostly in the plural) dried fruits or sweetmeats, eaten as dessert
Compare my discussion in an extended note in another piece of mine of another Mishnaic Hebrew word for desert: פרפרת.
Implying that advance preparation—like stimulating appetite—enhances future success—in this case, enjoyment of the Paschal meal.
ניגרריה לליביה - literally: “to drag his heart”, an idiom meaning “to whet his appetite”.