Beitzah 40 - Siyum Masechet Beitzah, October 10, 4 Cheshvan

English Study Guide 40

If one wants to give guests food to take home, the food will be limited by the techum of the host, unless he/she had someone acquire it on erev Yom Tov on behalf of the others. The Gemara brings a debate between Rav and Shmuel regarding one who gives fruits to another to watch - according to whose techum can they be moved? The owner or the one watching? Do their opinions fit in with their opinions in a case of property damages? Or are the cases not comparable? The Gemara raises several questions on Rav's opinion from the cases in our Mishna. A case is brought of a piece of meat hung for a guest on a door. Rav Huna ruled that it depended on whether it was placed there by the guest or the innkeeper. The Gemara questions both aspects of his ruling based on laws regarding techumim and the Gemara concludes that the issue had nothing to do with techumim but rather whether one can assume the meat placed there was the same meat as was taken by the guest or does one need to be concerned that it may have been switched by non-kosher meat? One can water and slaughter domestic animals on Yom Tov but not desert animals. Why did they water the animals? Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi and the rabbis disagree about which animals fall into which category. One can infer from here that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi holds by laws of muktze. But didn't he answer a question about Rabbi Shimon's opinion that dates that won't ripen on a tree and are put in a basket to ripen are not muktze because there are no laws of muktze other than figs and grapes that are set aside to dry? The Gemara offers three answers.