The Torah's instructions for eating the Passover lamb include a phrase that seems straightforward but contains a legal depth charge: "with matzoth and maror shall they eat it" (Exodus 12:8). The Mekhilta draws two very different conclusions from these seven words.
The first reading treats the verse as establishing an absolute requirement. The eating of the Passover lamb is not optional — it is a categorical obligation. The verse does not say "if they eat it, let them eat it with matzah and bitter herbs." It says "they shall eat it." The command is unconditional. The Pesach (Passover) must be consumed, and it must be consumed with its accompaniments.
The second reading, introduced with the word "variantly," extracts a surprising practical ruling. The Pesach offering must be eaten "in a state of satiety" — meaning you need to eat enough of the actual lamb to feel satisfied. But matzah and maror? Those do not carry the same requirement. You can eat them without reaching satiety. A bite of bitter herbs, a piece of unleavened bread — that fulfills the obligation, even if you are still hungry.
This distinction shaped how Passover seders were conducted for centuries. The lamb was the main event, the food you were supposed to fill up on. The matzah and maror were essential accompaniments, yes, but they functioned more like sacred condiments — present at every meal, required by law, but not the substance of the feast. The Mekhilta is drawing a hierarchy within a single verse: all three foods are commanded, but the Pesach lamb stands above the other two in obligation and in the amount that must be consumed.