🎉 Mishnah Beitzah 3

אֵין צָדִין דָּגִים מִן הַבֵּיבָרִין בְּיוֹם טוֹב, וְאֵין נוֹתְנִין לִפְנֵיהֶם מְזוֹנוֹת. אֲבָל צָדִין חַיָּה וָעוֹף מִן הַבֵּיבָרִין, וְנוֹתְנִין לִפְנֵיהֶם מְזוֹנוֹת. רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, לֹא כָל הַבֵּיבָרִין שָׁוִין. זֶה הַכְּלָל, כָּל הַמְחֻסָּר צִידָה אָסוּר, וְשֶׁאֵינוֹ מְחֻסָּר צִידָה מֻתָּר:

One may not trap fish from their ponds on a Festival even with the intention of eating them, as this falls into the category of hunting, a type of labor that is not permitted on a Festival. Nor may one place food before them, as it is not his duty to feed them; rather, they maintain themselves by eating smaller fish or different types of algae that grow in the water. However, one may trap an animal or a bird from their enclosures [beivarim], as they are viewed as already captured, and therefore the action is not considered an act of hunting. And one may also place food before them as one does for other household animals. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Not all enclosures are identical with respect to the halakhot of hunting. This is the principle: With regard to any animal inside such an enclosure whose trapping is inadequate, meaning that the enclosure is large and contains hiding places so that it is still necessary to pursue and apprehend the animal, it is prohibited for one to catch it; and with regard to any animal whose trapping is not inadequate, as it is possible to seize it immediately without having to engage in further pursuit, it is permitted for one to catch it.

מְצוּדוֹת חַיָּה וָעוֹף וְדָגִים שֶׁעֲשָׂאָן מֵעֶרֶב יוֹם טוֹב, לֹא יִטֹּל מֵהֶן בְּיוֹם טוֹב, אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁנִּצּוֹדוּ מֵעֶרֶב יוֹם טוֹב. וּמַעֲשֶׂה בְנָכְרִי אֶחָד, שֶׁהֵבִיא דָגִים לְרַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל, וְאָמַר, מֻתָּרִין הֵן, אֶלָּא שֶׁאֵין רְצוֹנִי לְקַבֵּל הֵימֶנּוּ:

If traps for animals, birds, and fish were set on the eve of a Festival, one may not take anything from them on the Festival, unless he knows that the animals found in the traps had already been caught on the eve of the Festival. And an incident is related where a certain gentile brought fish to Rabban Gamliel, and the latter said: The fish are permitted, but I do not wish to accept them from him, as I despise him.

בְּהֵמָה מְסֻכֶּנֶת לֹא יִשְׁחֹט, אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן יֵשׁ שָׁהוּת בַּיּוֹם לֶאֱכֹל מִמֶּנָּה כַּזַּיִת צָלִי. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר, אֲפִלּוּ כַזַּיִת חַי מִבֵּית טְבִיחָתָהּ. שְׁחָטָהּ בַּשָּׂדֶה, לֹא יְבִיאֶנָּה בְמוֹט וּבְמוֹטָה. אֲבָל מֵבִיא בְיָדוֹ אֵבָרִים אֵבָרִים:

If an animal is in danger of dying, in which case its meat would be prohibited as the animal had not been properly slaughtered, and one wishes to slaughter it in the hope that it will be found fit for eating and he will be spared a loss, he may not slaughter it on a Festival unless there is still time in the day for him to eat an olive-bulk of roasted meat from the animal, so that it is possible to say that he slaughtered the animal for the sake of the Festival. Rabbi Akiva says: There need not be enough time for him to roast it; rather, it is sufficient even if there is only time to eat an olive-bulk of raw meat from the place where the animal is slaughtered, i.e., from its neck, without going to the trouble of removing its hide and roasting it. If one slaughtered an animal on a Festival in the field, he may not bring it to his house on a pole or on a set of poles carried by two people, as this appears similar to a weekday activity. Rather, he must alter his usual weekday manner of performing this action and bring it in by hand, limb by limb. A male firstborn of cattle, sheep, or goats belonging to a Jew is sanctified from birth and must be given to a priest to be sacrificed on the altar in the Temple. If a firstborn animal acquired a physical blemish that disqualifies it from being sacrificed as an offering, it still must be given to a priest, but it may be redeemed, slaughtered, and eaten as non-sacred meat.

בְּכוֹר שֶׁנָּפַל לְבוֹר, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, יֵרֵד מֻמְחֶה וְיִרְאֶה, אִם יֶשׁ בּוֹ מוּם, יַעֲלֶה וְיִשְׁחֹט. וְאִם לָאו, לֹא יִשְׁחֹט. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, כֹּל שֶׁאֵין מוּמוֹ נִכָּר מִבְּעוֹד יוֹם, אֵין זֶה מִן הַמּוּכָן:

If a firstborn animal fell into a cistern on a Festival, and there is concern that it might die there, Rabbi Yehuda says: An expert in these matters goes down into the cistern and examines the animal. If it has a permanent blemish, owing to which it may be slaughtered and eaten, he may raise it from the cistern and slaughter it; but if it does not have a blemish, or if its blemish is temporary, he may not slaughter it. Rabbi Shimon says: Even if it has a blemish, it is prohibited to slaughter it, as any firstborn animal whose blemish is not perceptible while it is still day, i.e., on the day before the Festival, is not considered to be among the animals prepared prior to the Festival for use on the Festival.

בְּהֵמָה שֶׁמֵּתָה, לֹא יְזִיזֶנָּה מִמְּקוֹמָהּ. וּמַעֲשֶׂה וְשָׁאֲלוּ אֶת רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן עָלֶיהָ וְעַל הַחַלָּה שֶׁנִּטְמְאָה, וְנִכְנַס לְבֵית הַמִּדְרָשׁ וְשָׁאַל, וְאָמְרוּ לוֹ, לֹא יְזִיזֵם מִמְּקוֹמָם:

With regard to an animal that died, one may not move it from its place on a Festival. And such an incident once occurred and they asked Rabbi Tarfon about it. And on that same occasion they also asked him about ḥalla that had been separated from dough and then became ritually impure on a Festival. Such ḥalla is not fit to be eaten by anyone, nor may it be used in any other manner, e.g., as animal feed or as fuel for a fire, on that day. Rabbi Tarfon entered the study hall and inquired about these matters, and the Sages said to him: One may not move them from their place.

אֵין נִמְנִין עַל הַבְּהֵמָה לְכַתְּחִלָּה בְּיוֹם טוֹב, אֲבָל נִמְנִין עָלֶיהָ מֵעֶרֶב יוֹם טוֹב וְשׁוֹחֲטִין וּמְחַלְּקִין בֵּינֵיהֶן. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, שׁוֹקֵל אָדָם בָּשָׂר כְּנֶגֶד הַכְּלִי אוֹ כְנֶגֶד הַקּוֹפִיץ. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אֵין מַשְׁגִּיחִין בְּכַף מֹאזְנַיִם כָּל עִקָּר:

One may not register to have a portion of an animal on a Festival ab initio, since it is prohibited to divide up an animal into portions for different people, as this is similar to conducting business, a weekday activity, on a Festival. But one may register for the animal on the eve of the Festival, and then those who registered for the animal may slaughter and divide it between them on the Festival itself in accordance with the agreement reached the day before. The next day, each pays the slaughterer according to his portion of the animal. Rabbi Yehuda says: A person selling meat on a Festival who wishes to know its weight in order to determine its price may not weigh it against regular weights in the ordinary weekday manner, but he may weigh the meat against a vessel or against a cleaver [kofitz] and then calculate the weight of the meat by weighing the vessel or cleaver later. And the Rabbis say: One may not look at the pans of a balance scale at all, meaning that they may not be used for weighing in any manner or for any other purpose.

אֵין מַשְׁחִיזִין אֶת הַסַּכִּין בְּיוֹם טוֹב, אֲבָל מַשִּׂיאָהּ עַל גַּבֵּי חֲבֶרְתָּהּ. לֹא יֹאמַר אָדָם לַטַּבָּח, שְׁקוֹל לִי בְדִינָר בָּשָׂר. אֲבָל שׁוֹחֵט וּמְחַלְּקִים בֵּינֵיהֶן:

One may not sharpen a knife on a Festival in the ordinary weekday manner. However, one may do so in an unusual fashion, e.g., to run one knife over another, thereby sharpening the blade. A person may not say to a butcher on a Festival: Weigh for me a dinar’s worth of meat, since if he mentions a sum of money, it looks like a commercial transaction. But the butcher may slaughter an animal and apportion it among his customers without stipulating a price.

אוֹמֵר אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ, מַלֵּא לִי כְלִי זֶה, אֲבָל לֹא בַמִּדָּה. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אִם הָיָה כְלִי שֶׁל מִדָּה, לֹא יְמַלְאֶנּוּ. מַעֲשֶׂה בְאַבָּא שָׁאוּל בֶּן בָּטְנִית, שֶׁהָיָה מְמַלֵּא מִדּוֹתָיו מֵעֶרֶב יוֹם טוֹב וְנוֹתְנָן לַלָּקוֹחוֹת בְּיוֹם טוֹב. אַבָּא שָׁאוּל אוֹמֵר, אַף בַּמּוֹעֵד עוֹשֶׂה כֵן, מִפְּנֵי בֵרוּרֵי הַמִּדּוֹת. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אַף בְּחֹל עוֹשֶׂה כֵן, מִפְּנֵי מִצּוּי הַמִּדּוֹת. הוֹלֵךְ אָדָם אֵצֶל חֶנְוָנִי הָרָגִיל אֶצְלוֹ, וְאוֹמֵר לוֹ, תֵּן לִי בֵּיצִים וֶאֱגוֹזִים בְּמִנְיָן, שֶׁכֵּן דֶּרֶךְ בַּעַל הַבַּיִת לִהְיוֹת מוֹנֶה בְּתוֹךְ בֵּיתוֹ:

One person may say to another on a Festival: Fill this vessel for me, and I will return its contents or reimburse you after the Festival, but he may not ask him to fill the vessel in a particular measure. Rabbi Yehuda says: If it was a measuring utensil, he may not fill it. There was an incident involving Abba Shaul ben Botnit, a Sage who was also a grocer, who would fill his measures on the eve of a Festival and give them to his customers on the Festival. In this way he would know exactly how much he had given each person, without conducting any measurements on the Festival itself. Abba Shaul, a Sage distinct from Abba Shaul ben Botnit, says: He would do this even on the intermediate days of a Festival because of the clarity of the measures, i.e., in order to clarify precisely how much must be given to each customer, since the measurement is more precise once the foam of the liquid being measured has subsided. And the Rabbis say: Even on a weekday it is proper to do so, because of the draining of the measures. This method allows all the liquid to drain fully out of the seller’s measuring utensil so that the amount is exact. A person may go on a Festival to a grocer from whom he is accustomed to buy and say to him: Give me eggs and nuts of such-and-such a number, as it is the manner of a homeowner to count this way in his own house. Counting eggs or nuts is not considered a commercial activity, as people regularly mention the number of eggs and nuts that they need.