Study Beitzah folio 14B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
רבא אמר, לא קשיא: הא לן, והא להו.
Rava said: This is not difficult; the baraitot do not contradict one another. This ruling, which permits a small mortar and pestle, is for us, the residents of Babylonia, who do not have servants, and that statement is for them, the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael, who have many servants. Since servants might treat the prohibition lightly, by using a large mortar and pestle and claiming they had used only a small one, they are prohibited from pounding in all cases.
רב פפי אקלע לבי מר שמואל. אייתי ליה דייסא ולא אכל. ודלמא במכתשת קטנה עבדוה? דחזייה דהוה דייק טפי.
The Talmud relates: Rav Pappi happened to come on a Festival to the house of Mar Shmuel. He brought to him porridge, made from wheat groats, but he did not eat it, out of concern that the wheat might have been pounded on the same day. The Talmud asks: And perhaps they performed the pounding with a small mortar and pestle, in a permitted manner? The Talmud answers: This cannot be the case, as he observed that it was well ground, which cannot be achieved by means of a small mortar and pestle.
The Talmud asks: And perhaps they prepared it the day before, on the Festival eve? The Talmud answers: This cannot be the case, as he observed that the husks of the groats were bright, an indication that they had been prepared recently. And if you wish, say instead that he refrained from eating for another reason, because the house of Mar Shmuel is different, as he had slaves, and slaves are lax with regard to prohibitions. Therefore, Mar Shmuel ought to have prohibited all forms of grinding in his house, to ensure that no one grind anything in an inappropriate manner.