Beitza 25a

1- We discussed the Gemara where Rabbah bar R’ Huna rules that if one plugged a canal before Yom Tov it is permitted to take the fish from it on Yom Tov. The plugging of the canal or stream shows his intent to use the fish on Yom Tov. Thus the prohibition of ‘muktze’ is removed.

 

R’ Chisda, applies this ruling to the case of a newborn animal born before Yom Tov on one’s property.

 

Are these two cases similar? Or perhaps the trapping of the fish prior to Yom Tov shows his readiness to use the fish (זימון). On the other hand, knowing and seeing a newborn calf is perhaps not enough of a ‘preparation – ‘zimun’. The Gemara concludes that zimun is in fact required, except for newborn animals which do not require capture when they are close to the city.

 

2- We moved on to the next Mishna where it discusses issues related to slaughtering and transporting the slaughtered animal on Yom Tov.

 

The issue here is when one realizes, after all the meals have been prepared or eaten on Yom Tov, that his poor animal does not have much longer to live. If he were to wait to shecht it until after Yom Tov the animal will die and a significant loss would be incurred. He therefore wants to slaughter his cow on Yom Tov, lest it die and become a worthless ‘neveila’.

 

The problem is that shechting on Yom Tov is permitted only if there is sufficient  time for it to be eaten on Yom Tov. Now it’s late in the day with not much time left before Yom Tov concludes.

 

3- Under normal circumstances, from shechting to eating is a processes of a minimum of a few hours.

 

How? First one need to skin the animal. The soaking and salting adds another few hours. We then need to do the customary checking of the animal to ensure its kashrus. And of course cooking!

 

So it would seem that if, say, only a half an hour remains until Yom Tov ends, there would be no excuse to shecht this poor animal because nothing of it could be eaten before arrival of night!

 

Is there a shortcut to enable the eating of the meat closer to the shchita? Can we bypass the skinning, soaking, salting, bedika and cooking? That is the issue of the Mishna and following Gemara.

This topic is very interesting and  wide ranging with practical applications today.

 

Much more IY”H next week.