Beitza (
Hebrew: ביצה) or Bei'a (
Aramaic: ביעה) (literally "egg", named after the first word) is a tractate in the Order of
Moed, dealing with the laws of
Yom Tov (holidays). It is Moed's seventh tractate in the
Mishna, but the eighth in the
Talmud Yerushalmi and typically fourth in the
Talmud Bavli.
Structure
The tractate consists of five chapters with a total of 42 mishnayot. Its Babylonian
Talmud version is of 40 pages and its
Jerusalem Talmud version is of 22 pages.
An overview of the content of chapters is as follows:
Chapter 1 (
Hebrew: בֵּיצָה,
romanized: Beitzah,
lit. 'Egg') has ten mishnayot. The main theme of this chapter is the law of
muktzeh, which is "a thing laid aside" and that cannot be used at the present time. There is a difference of opinion between the schools of
Shammai and
Hillel as to the force of the law of muktzeh, specifically the application of the carrying prohibition to holy days. [1]
Chapter 2 (
Hebrew: יוֹם טוֹב,
romanized: Yom Tov,
lit. 'Holiday') has ten mishnayot.
Chapter 3 (
Hebrew: אֵין צָדִין,
romanized: Ein Tzadin) has eight mishnayot.
Chapter 4 (
Hebrew: הַמֵּבִיא,
romanized: Hamevi) has seven mishnayot.
Chapter 5 (
Hebrew: מַשִּׁילִין,
romanized: Mashelin) has seven mishnayot.