Queste cose sono delle sentenze indulgenti di Beth Shammai e delle rigide sentenze di Beth Hillel: un uovo che fu covato su Yom Tov —Beth Shammai dice: può essere mangiato e Beth Hillel dice: potrebbe non essere mangiato. [Stiamo parlando di uno Yom Tov dopo Shabbath. Beth Hillel afferma che potrebbe non essere mangiato, perché ogni uovo che viene covato oggi è completato il giorno prima, così che Shabbath si è trovato "preparato" per Yom Tov. Ma la Scrittura affermava (Esodo 16: 5): "E sarà il sesto giorno, che prepareranno (per Shabbath) ciò che porteranno"— e il sesto giorno è generalmente chol (banale, non un giorno santo) —da cui: Chol si prepara per Shabbath e chol si prepara per Yom Tov (che è anche chiamato "Shabbath"), ma Yom Tov non si prepara per Shabbath e Shabbath non si prepara per Yom Tov. E la preparazione del tipo di (la preparazione di) l'uovo, anche se è nelle mani del Cielo, è comunque chiamata "preparazione"].
Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
ביצה שנולדה ביום טוב – we are dealing with the Holy Day [that occurs] right after Shabbat, and the reason for the School of Hillel is that they say that a person should not eat it (i.e., an egg) because every egg that is born/hatched today, it was completed the day before and it is found that Shabbat is preparing for the Holy Day. And the Torah states (Exodus 16:5): “But on the sixth day, when they apportion [what they have brought in, it shall prove to be double the amount they gather each day].” But a regular “Friday” is a secular/non-holy day. One can prepare on a non-sacred day for Shabbat, and one can prepare on a non-sacred day for the Holy Day and the Holy Day is called “Shabbat,” but on a Holy Day, one cannot prepare for the Shabbat, nor can one prepare on the Sabbath for a Holy Day, and the preparation of an egg, even though it is in the hands of Heaven, is called “preparation.”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
Introduction
This entire chapter contains cases where Beth Shammai was lenient and Beth Hillel was strict. Generally speaking the opposite is true, hence these are exceptional cases.
Most of the examples in these mishnayoth are from the laws concerning festivals. There is a halakhic concept in Judaism called “muktzeh”. There are many forms of “muktzeh”; I will explain the one form germane to these two mishnayoth. [For more information you can look at the Steinsaltz reference guide]. Anything consumed on Shabbat or a festival has to have been available before the day begins. This “availability” must be both physical and mental. In other words the thing must have been physically available before the day began and the person must have known the day before that he might use the object during the Sabbath or festival. Anything that is not available before the day began is considered “muktzeh”. We will see some examples as we proceed.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
שאור בכזית – in regards to eating, the whole world doesn’t disagrees that both {the Schools of Hillel and Shammai) agree that the minimum [prohibited amount of leaven] is an olive’s bulk, since the Biblical verse begins with leaven (Exodus 12:19): “No leaven shall be found in your houses [for seven days]…” and it (i.e., the verse) concludes (ibid.): “For whoever eats what is leavened,” to inform you that leaven is equivalent to Hametz, just as the one, so is the other. But they dispute regarding getting rid of it. The School of Shammai holds that since the All-Merciful wrote concerning both “leaven and Hametz,” we learn from it that the measure of one is not the same as the measure of the other, and we don’t derive getting rid of it from [the prohibition of] eating of it. But the School of Hillel holds that we do derive getting rid of [Hametz] from [the prohibition of] eating of it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
The following cases are [examples] of the lenient rulings of Beth Shammai and of the rigorous rulings of Beth Hillel. An egg which is laid on a festival Beth Shammai says: it may be eaten, and Beth Hillel says: it may not be eaten. An egg which is laid on a festival is considered by Beth Hillel to be “muktzeh” something which was not available to be consumed on the eve of the festival and therefore is forbidden on the festival itself. Beth Shammai holds that since the chicken was available on the eve of the festival, the egg is as well, for if the person had slaughtered the chicken he could have eaten the egg inside.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
Beth Shammai says: yeast as much as an olive [in quantity], and leavened food as much as a date, and Beth Hillel says: as much as an olive [in quantity] in both cases. On Passover it is forbidden to eat either leavened products or the leaven itself, which is yeast. According to Beth Shammai if one eats as a much as olive’s worth of yeast or a date’s worth of leavened food, he is liable for having transgressed the laws of Passover. Beth Hillel holds that in both cases one who eats an olive’s worth is liable. Note that smaller amounts are not permitted either. A smaller amount is still forbidden but one who consumes a smaller amount has not transgressed the Biblical prohibition of eating yeast or leavened food on Passover.
