Talmud - Beitza 6a ביצה ו׳ א׳

§ Rava said: If one died on the first day of a Festival, gentiles should attend to his burial. If he died on the second day of a Festival, Jews should attend to his burial. And even with regard to the two Festival days of Rosh HaShana, the halakha is that the legal status of the two days is like that of the two days of the Festivals; however, that is not so with regard to an egg that was laid on the first day of Rosh HaShana, as it remains prohibited on the second day.

The Sages of Neharde’a say: Even with regard to an egg, Rosh HaShana is no different from other Festivals, as an egg laid on the first day is permitted on the second. As what do you think i.e., what is your concern; perhaps witnesses will fail to arrive, and the court will proclaim the month of Elul full, i.e., thirty days long, and begin counting the year only from the following day? In that case, both days are kept as sacred ab initio. Didn’t Rav Ḥinnana bar Kahana say that Rav already said in this regard: From the days of Ezra and onward we have not found that the month of Elul was full, as the Sages employed various methods to ensure that there would be no need to add a thirtieth day. Consequently, Rosh HaShana would always occur on the thirtieth day after the beginning of Elul.

Mar Zutra said: We said that Jews should attend to the dead on the second day of Rosh HaShana only when the burial of the corpse has already been delayed and for some reason the burial was not on the day that he died. In that case, the body might begin to decay, and the dignity of the dead is at stake. However, if the burial has not been delayed, and there is no concern for the dignity of the corpse, its burial may not be attended to on the Festival; rather, we delay it until the Festival has ended.

Rav Ashi said: Even though the burial was not delayed, but it is the day that he died, we still do not delay the burial. What is the reason for this? With regard to the dead, the Sages equated the legal status of the second Festival day with that of a weekday. This is true to such an extent that on a Festival it is permitted even to cut material to fashion a cloak for the deceased. And similarly, it is permitted to cut myrtles for the deceased, to be placed on the bier in their honor.

Ravina said: And nowadays, when there are ḥabarei, this practice must be adjusted. The ḥabarei were Persian priests who made false accusations against Jews in Babylonia. They cited the fact that Jews were burying their dead on the second Festival day as proof that the day was not holy, and they forced them to work on that day. Since we are concerned about this possibility, we do not bury the dead on the second day.

The Gemara relates: Ravina sat before Rav Ashi on the two Festival days of Rosh HaShana, which occurred that year on Thursday and Friday. Ravina observed that Rav Ashi was sad. He said to him: Why is the Master sad? He said to him: Because I did not prepare a joining of cooked foods, and therefore I cannot prepare food or light a candle on Rosh HaShana for the upcoming Shabbat. When a Festival immediately precedes Shabbat, a joining of cooked foods is prepared before the Festival with ready-to-eat food. It is kept until Shabbat, symbolically indicating that any food prepared on the Festival for Shabbat is merely a continuation of that initial preparation.

Ravina said to him: And let the Master prepare a joining of cooked foods now, on the first day of Rosh HaShana, a Thursday. Didn’t Rava say: A person may prepare a joining of cooked foods from one Festival day of the Diaspora to another, by stipulating the following condition: If today is a weekday and tomorrow is holy, this shall be my joining of cooked foods, by means of which I may prepare food tomorrow for Shabbat; if today is holy and tomorrow a weekday, it is permitted to prepare food tomorrow as it is on any regular weekday, and a joining of cooked foods is not needed.

Rav Ashi said to him: You can say that Rava stated this halakha with regard to the regular two Festival days of the Diaspora; but did he actually say so with regard to the two Festival days of Rosh HaShana? The two days of Rosh HaShana are considered one long day, and they are both equally holy.

Ravina replied: Didn’t the Sages of Neharde’a say that even an egg is permitted on the two days of Rosh HaShana, which are treated exactly the same as other Festival days in the Diaspora? The same ruling should apply to a joining of cooked foods. Rav Mordekhai said to Ravina: This does not resolve Rav Ashi’s difficulty, as the Master, Rav Ashi, explicitly said to me that he does not hold in accordance with this opinion of the Sages of Neharde’a. Rather, he maintains that Rosh HaShana differs from other Festivals, and in this case there is no way to make up for failure to prepare a joining of cooked foods.

§ It was stated that amora’im disputed the following case: With regard to a chick that hatched on a Festival, Rav said: It is prohibited. And Shmuel, and some say Rabbi Yoḥanan, said: It is permitted. The Gemara explains the reasoning for their respective opinions. Rav said: It is prohibited because it is muktze. And Shmuel, and some say Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is permitted, since it itself is rendered permitted through slaughter. The slaughter of the chicken, which renders it fit to be eaten, is made possible by its hatching. Consequently, hatching likewise removes the prohibition of muktze.

Rav Kahana and Rav Asi said to Rav: And what is the difference between this case and that of a calf born on a Festival, since you agree that a calf may be slaughtered on that day? He said to them: There is a difference. Since a calf inside its mother is considered prepared on account of its mother, by slaughter, the halakha is as follows: If a cow is slaughtered, the calf inside its womb is also permitted. Therefore, that calf never had the status of muktze, whereas the chick was considered muktze before it hatched.

Rav Kahana and Rav Ashi further challenged Rav: And what is the difference between this case and that of a tereifa? If the mother has a condition that will cause it to die within twelve months, neither it nor the calf inside it may be eaten. Nevertheless, after it is born the calf may be slaughtered on a Festival and it is permitted. Rav was silent and did not offer an answer, as though he did not know how to respond to the question.

Rabba said, and some say it was Rav Yosef: What is the reason that Rav was silent? Let him say to them: Even a calf born to a tereifa mother is not considered fully muktze, since it is prepared on account of its mother to be fed to dogs. On a Festival, it is permitted to slaughter a tereifa and give it to dogs as food, and therefore the calf is not fully muktze even before it is born. By contrast, a chick in its shell is not intended as food for dogs, and therefore a chick that hatched on a Festival was unfit for use when the Festival began. Consequently, it was considered muktze and it is now nolad, an object that came into being on Shabbat or a Festival, and it is therefore prohibited.

Abaye said to him:

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Beitza 6a discusses burial rules on the two days of festivals and Rosh Hashanah, plus whether an egg laid on the first day may be eaten on the second.