Beitzah 3 - September 3, 26 Elul

Study Guide Beitzah 3

This month's learning is sponsored by Rabbi Lisa Malik in honor of her daughter, Rivkah Wyner, "who recently made aliyah, and in memory of Rivkah's namesake, Lisa's maternal grandmother, Regina Post z"l, a Holocaust survivor from Lubaczow, Poland who lived in Brooklyn, NY during the post-Shoah stage of her life. Babi Gina's yahrzeit was on the 24 Elul. It is very fitting that Rivkah's first day out of biddud after her flight from the States & her first day of work was on her great-grandmother's 22nd yahrzeit. It is also so special that 24 Elul 5781 coincided with the Daf Yomi Siyum of Masechet Sukkah!  In Rabbi Malik's words, "Sukkot is the holiday that most reminds me of my grandmother, a true Eshet Chayil and my spiritual mentor, who used to serve her yummy fricassee, chicken soup, roast chicken, potato kugel, & broccoli kugel by placing the dishes in a bucket that was lowered by a pulley from the 2nd floor to the green faux malachite Sukkah in her backyard on East 8th Street and Avenue J in Midwood/Flatbush. My Babi Gina would be so proud of her great-granddaughter for making aliyah & the daily spiritual practice of Daf Yomi learning to which I have committed myself since January 2020. She would be especially proud that I am studying with a master teacher, the fabulous Rabbanit Michelle Cohen Farber, who also attended the Yeshivah of Flatbush.  I look forward to completing the next 3 masechtot while spending time with Rivkah in Jerusalem over the next 3 months!"

Today's daf is sponsored by Dana Melzer in honor of her grandfather, Rev Ely Meltzer. "My grandfather was a devoted lifelong Talmud scholar and teacher." And by Deborah Dickson in honor of Ruby Levant's Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat. "Wishing a huge Mazal Tov to Audrey and Geri who are listening to the daf, and to the Levant family!"

The gemara raises some questions on the third explanation of the mishna – that the issue with an egg laid on Yom Tov is because it is similar to fruits that have fallen off a tree. Rabbi Yitzchak says that the egg is forbidden so that people don’t think that one is permitted to drink liquids that drip out of a fruit. The gemara raises questions with this answer as well. After all four explanations are brought, they explain what issue each of them had with the other answers. They conclude that Rabbi Yochanan held by the opinions of Rabbi Yitzchak based on the way he resolved a contradiction between two mishnayot. There are two other possible resolutions to that contradiction. A braita is introduced that says that in a doubtful situation regarding an egg, the egg is forbidden. This is brought as a question against Rav Yosef and Rabbi Yitzchak’s explanations of the mishna as the prohibition is rabbinic and as such, in a situation of doubt one should be lenient! The first answer given is that the case is not relating to an egg that is laid but an egg that there is a doubt whether it came from a chicken that was a treifa. A question is raised against this from the continuation of the braita regarding laws of nullification. This is eventually resolved as well.