| Tractate of the Talmud | |
|---|---|
| Seder: | Moed |
| Number of mishnahs: | 42 |
| Chapters: | 5 |
| Babylonian Talmud pages: | 40 |
| Jerusalem Talmud pages: | 22 |
| Tosefta chapters: | 4 |
Beitza (Hebrew: ביצה) or Bei'a (Aramaic: ביעה) (literally "egg", named after the first word) is a tractate in Seder Mo'ed, dealing with the laws of Yom Tov (holidays). As such, in medieval commentaries on the Talmud, the text is sometimes referred to as "tractate Yom Tov."[1][2]
It was originally composed in Talmudic Babylon (c.450–c.550 CE).[1] Seder Mo'ed is the second seder (order) in the Mishna, and Beitza is the seventh, eighth, or a later tractate within Mo'ed in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem)[3][4] and typically fourth in the Talmud Bavli (Babylon).[5]
It begins with a discussion of whether it is permitted to eat an egg laid around the time of a festival: "With regard to an egg that was laid on a Festival, Beit Shammai say: It may be eaten, and Beit Hillel say: It may not be eaten."[6][1]