Study Beitzah folio 4B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
איכו השתא, אשתלאי ואמרי לך: רב ורבי יוחנן — הלכה כרבי יוחנן. הא אמר רבא: הלכתא כותיה דרב בהני תלת, בין לקולא בין לחומרא.
Had I issued a ruling for you then, I would have forgotten the correct response, and I would have said to you, based on the accepted principle that in the case of a dispute between Rav and R' Yoḥanan, the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of R' Yoḥanan, that the eggs are permitted. However, Rava said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rav with regard to these 3 issues, in connection to the sanctity of Festivals and Shabbat, whether his ruling is lenient, or whether it is stringent. This is one of those 3 cases in which the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rav.
אמר רבי יוחנן: עצים שנשרו מן הדקל בשבת — אסור להסיקן ביום טוב. ואל תשיבני ביצה, מאי טעמא? ביצה משום דביומא נמי חזיא לגומעה ולא קא שרי לה עד למחר — מידע ידיע דבת יומא אסרוה. עצים דלא חזו ליומייהו, אי שרי להו למחר — אתי למימר: ביומייהו נמי שרו, ואתמול משום שבת הוא דלא חזו להסקה.
§ R' Yoḥanan said: With regard to branches that fell from a palm tree on Shabbat, it is prohibited to kindle them on a Festival that occurs the next day. And do not reply to me by asking why I permit an egg to be eaten on the following day. What is the reason for the distinction between the two cases? In the case of an egg, because on the day of Shabbat itself it is also fit to be swallowed raw and nevertheless it is permitted to be eaten only the following day, one knows that an egg is prohibited on the day it was laid. In contrast, with regard to branches, which are not fit for kindling on the day of Shabbat, as kindling a fire is prohibited, if you permit them to kindle the wood on the Festival that occurs on the following day they will mistakenly come to say that on the day that they fell off the tree they are also permitted. And as for the reason the branches were not kindled yesterday when they fell from the tree, it was due only to Shabbat, as they were not fit for kindling then.