The Gemara provides four explanations why Beit Hillel forbids eating an egg laid on Yom Tov. Three different explanations claim it is a rabbinic prohibition to prevent the person from violating a Torah law. On yesterday’s daf TB Beitza 2 Rabbi Nakhman said it was a muktze issue. Since the egg was not set aside for Yom Tov in advance for the purpose of eating, one is forbidden to eat the egg on the festival. Rav Yosef said it was a different rabbinic prohibition, “Rav Yosef said: An egg laid by a chicken designated for food is prohibited for a different reason: It is a decree due to fruits that fall from a tree (Eiruvin 39b). Fruits that fall from a tree on Shabbat or a Festival may not be eaten, and the same applies to eggs that emerge from a chicken.” (Sefaria.org translation) On today’s daf Rabbi Yitzḥak cites a different rabbinic prohibition. “Rabbi Yitzḥak said a different reason: An egg that was laid on a Festival is prohibited as a decree due to liquids that seeped from the fruit (Eiruvin 39b), which is prohibited on that day. The legal status of an egg that was laid on a Festival is like that of liquids that seeped from a fruit on a Festival.” (Sefaria.org translation)
Rabba alone believes that eating
this egg would violate a Torah prohibition of preparation (הֲכָנָה). “Rather, Rabba said: Actually, the above
explanation should be rejected. We are dealing with a chicken designated for
food and we are dealing with an egg that was laid on a Festival that
occurs after Shabbat, i.e., on a Sunday. And the relevant issue is
not the halakhot of muktze; rather, one may not eat the egg due
to the prohibition against preparation from Shabbat to a Festival.
“And in this regard, Rabba holds
that any egg laid now was already fully developed yesterday, and
merely emerged from the chicken today. Consequently, an egg laid on a Festival
that occurred on a Sunday may not be eaten, as it was prepared on Shabbat,
despite the fact that it was prepared naturally, by Heaven, rather than by man.
“The Gemara comments: And Rabba,
who prohibits one to derive benefit even from something that was not prepared
by man, conforms to his standard line of reasoning. As Rabba said:
What is the meaning of that which is written with regard to the
manna: “And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare
that which they bring in” (Exodus 16:5)? According to Rabba, it can be
inferred from this verse that on an ordinary weekday, “the sixth day,” one
may prepare what is needed for Shabbat, and similarly, on an
ordinary weekday one may prepare what is needed for a
Festival. However, on a Festival one may not prepare for Shabbat, and
likewise on Shabbat one may not prepare for a Festival.” (TB Beitza 2b, Sefaria.org translation)
The Gemara asks on today’s daf TB
Beitza 3 why Rav Yosef and Rabbi Yitzḥak don’t agree
with Rabba and then provides a surprising answer. “The
other Sages also did not state their explanations in accordance with
the opinion of Rabba, as they do not accept that
there is a Torah prohibition of using items whose preparation was from
Shabbat to a Festival or from a Festival to Shabbat.” (Sefaria.org translation) I am hard pressed to find another example
where the amora’im disagree whether
something is a Torah prohibition are not. If you know of one, please let me
know.
The Meiri
was bothered with his answer so he explained the way the problem away by saying
that these rabbis are not disagreeing that there is a prohibition of
preparation. The only disagree concerning the Rabba’s concept of preparation (“הֲכָנָה דרבה”),
preparation that was done naturally (like this egg laid on the festival).
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