Did Hillel include the Passover lamb in his sandwich or not?

Question

In the korech section of the hagadah there is an introductory paragraph. In most hagadot that I have seen, the phrasing says:

Sefaria.org used here

הָיָה כּוֹרֵךְ מַצָּה וּמָרוֹר וְאוֹכֵל בְּיַחַד, לְקַיֵּם מַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: עַל מַצּוֹת וּמְרורִים יֹאכְלֻהוּ.

He would wrap the matsa and marror and eat them together, in order to fulfill what is stated, (Exodus 12:15): "You should eat it upon matsot and marrorim."

However, in a number of Hagaddot, such as Passover Haggadah: The Feast of Freedom" The Rabbinical Assembly, 1982 and, I think Rav Riskin's Hagadah, IIRC, I have seen the phrasing:

הָיָה כּוֹרֵךְ פסח מַצָּה וּמָרוֹר וְאוֹכֵל בְּיַחַד

He would wrap the matsa and marror and Pesach sacrifice and eat them together

To me, it seems that the 2nd version is correct, assuming that Hillel was doing things correctly, as he was supposed to eat the Pesach sacrifice and the verse says, "On matzot and maror you shall eat it"

Yet, many hagaddot, don't mention the fact that he included the Pesach lamb. So are there various opinions as to what he actually did? What are the opinions based upon?

Answer 1

I was taught that it is because we do not have the korbon Pesach any more that we do not mention it (out loud). That is why many haggados have the "pesach" in parentheses or as you show it without vowels. This is similar to the reason that we do not point to the seder plate when saying "Pesach" in the Rabban Gamliel said portion, while we say Matza Zu and point. Thus, the answer to your question (as I was taught) is that Hillel did put the korbon Pesach on Matza with Maror, but we just do not say it explicitly.

I found this answer, which gives the basic statement as a preface to explaining the reason behind Hillel's custom.

The Hillel Sandwich

Together or separate? The Sages disagreed on how one should eat the matzah and maror (bitter herbs) at the Passover Seder.

The Talmud in Berachot 49a admonishes us not to perform mitzvot 'bundled together' ("chavilot chavilot"). We do not want to give the impression that mitzvot are an unwanted burden, an obligation that we wish to discharge as quickly as possible. For this reason, the majority opinion is that the two mitzvot of eating matzah and maror should be performed separately.

But Hillel's custom was to place the pesach offering and the maror inside the matzah and eat them together like a sandwich. Why did Hillel combine these mitzvot together?

(Most of the article has been omitted from the quote)

Discipline and Freedom

Now we may better understand the disagreement between Hillel and the other sages. Freedom, as symbolized by the matzah, reveals the inherent holiness of Israel and our natural love for God and Torah. This innate character enables us to overcome desires that do not concur with our elevated goals. It is through our persistence and dedication to the overall goal that we reveal our inner resources of freedom.

Both of these traits, freedom and servitude, need to be free to act without interference from one another. When a spirit of freedom and independence is appropriate, it should not be constrained by a servile attitude; and when discipline and a sense of duty are needed, they should not be disrupted by a desire for freedom. Thus, according to the majority opinion, we should eat the matzah and maror separately, indicating that each trait should be expressed to its fullest.

The ultimate goal, however, is attained only when we recognize that these two forces do not contradict one another. Joined together, they present the highest freedom, whose nobility and power is fully revealed when it wears the crown of lofty servitude — the service of the Holy King, a service that is freedom in its purest state.

Thus Hillel would eat the matzah and maror together. He sought to emphasize that freedom and slavery are not contradictory concepts. Generally speaking, the quality of servitude belongs more to the preparatory stage; but in the overall picture, the two forces are interrelated, complementing one another to attain the final goal.