Beitzah 14a (יד.) — the Talmud in English

—

Alternatively, with morika,

saffron, whose flavor does not dissipate even if it remains for many days after being pounded; yet, on the other hand, a person does not know on the eve of a Festival whether he will need it the following day.

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: All items that are pounded

in a mortar [which are salt and spices]—

may be pounded

on a Festival

in their usual manner, even salt.

We raise a difficulty:

But you said

that it is explained in our Mishna that

salt

according to everyone

requires a change!

We answer:

He,

Rav Yehuda, who said that Shmuel said this,

followed the opinion of this tanna:

As it was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Meir said: Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel did not disagree concerning

the spices

that are pounded—

that they may be pounded in their usual manner, and

the

salt

may be pounded together

with them

without a change.

They disagreed only regarding one who pounds

salt

by itself.

As Beit Shammai say: Salt

is pounded

in a flask

and not in a mortar;

and

instead of pounding it with a stone pestle, he must pound it

with a

wooden

ladle.

They permitted him to pound only a small amount of salt, the quantity needed

for roasting, but not

a large quantity of salt, the amount appropriate

for a

cooked

dish.

And Beit Hillel say: With any utensil.

It follows that according to Beit Hillel, no change at all is necessary when pounding salt, since it may be pounded by itself in a mortar and with a stone pestle.

The Gemara had now assumed that according to Beit Hillel, one may pound with any utensil, even a muktze utensil that may not be moved on Shabbat.

We raise a difficulty:

Can it enter your mind that it may be done with any utensil?

Could one really think that Beit Hillel permitted pounding with it on a Festival?

We answer:

Rather, say:

Beit Hillel say that salt may be pounded in its usual manner

for any purpose—

that is, not specifically for roasting, but even for a cooked dish.

Rav Aḥa bar Adla said to his son:

Although my opinion follows Shmuel, that salt may be pounded in its usual manner, nevertheless one must make a slight change. Therefore,

when you pound

salt,

tilt the mortar

on its side, as a change,

and pound.

Rav Sheshet heard

on the Festival

the sound of a pestle,

the sound of the pestle with which salt was pounded in a stone mortar.

Rav Sheshet

said:

This

sound

is not from inside my house.

It is not coming from my house, because I had been stringent with them not to pound salt in a stone mortar in the usual manner.

We challenge this: How did Rav Sheshet know that this sound was not coming from his house?

Perhaps

they pounded the salt with a change,

tilting it,

that is, they tilted the mortar on its side, in which case it is permitted to pound salt. We answer:

He heard it,

since Rav Sheshet heard

that its sound was clear—

the sound was clear, and he understood from this that they had not tilted the mortar, because when one pounds with the mortar tilted, the sound is not clear.

We raise another difficulty:

Perhaps they were spices,

which may be pounded without a change ! We answer:

Spices

make a barking sound when pounded.

The sound of pounding spice seeds resembles barking; since he did not hear such a sound, he understood that they had pounded salt and not spices.

The Sages taught: One may not prepare

on a Festival

tissani

—a dish made from wheat that has been pounded extensively, until each kernel is divided into four parts. They prohibited preparing it because of the great exertion involved in pounding it.

And one may not pound

wheat at all

in a mortar.

We raise a difficulty:

Are there two?

Two contradictory laws were taught here. The first law implies that only pounding tissani was prohibited because it involves extensive exertion, whereas limited pounding for preparing porridge was not prohibited. The second law, however, implies that one may not pound at all, even when only limited exertion is involved.

We explain: There is only one law, and

this is what

the tanna

is saying: For what reason may one not prepare tissani?—

Because one may not pound in a mortar!

We challenge this:

Let him say, “One may not pound in a mortar,”

which would include the prohibition against pounding for any dish; why was the matter of tissani mentioned at all?

We explain:

If he had taught

only the general rule that

one may not pound in a mortar, we would have said

that

this applies

to not pounding tissani

in a large mortar,

since an unspecified “mortar” is generally large.

But with a small mortar,

that is, a mortar used for spices,

say that it is entirely acceptable

to pound even tissani in it.

It teaches us

that when the tanna says that one may not prepare tissani because one may not pound in a mortar, he means that no pounding whatsoever may be done in a mortar for preparing tissani—it is prohibited to pound tissani even in a small mortar. The general rule that one may not pound tissani means that it may not be pounded at all; therefore, the mortar mentioned in the statement includes even a small one.

We challenge this: Is no pounding whatsoever performed in a mortar?

But it was taught in a beraita: One may not pound in a large mortar, but one may pound in a small mortar [because using a small mortar when pounding wheat constitutes a change, rendering the pounding an activity performed in an unusual manner]. If so, we find that pounding in a mortar is permitted on a Festival!

We answer:

Abaye said: When this teaching was also taught,

that is, the first beraita, which states, “One may not pound in a mortar,”

it was taught with regard to a large mortar.

The beraita in question indeed stated two matters, rather than one matter as we sought to establish it. Rather, the tanna said as follows:

1. One may not prepare tissani at all, neither in a large mortar nor in a small one.

2. With regard to other forms of pounding, which do not involve extensive exertion, such as pounding spices or wheat kernels for porridge, one may not pound in a mortar.

Since an unspecified mortar is a large mortar, it follows that pounding for porridge is permitted in a small mortar.