1)

(a)We ask why it is not possible to examine the eggs by their Simanim, and then cite a Beraisa that compares the Simanim of fish to the Simanim of eggs. The Tana's comparison is unacceptable however - because the Siman of fish is fins and scales, something that eggs do not possess.

(b)So we amend the Beraisa to read - 'the fetuses of fish' ...

(c)... by which the Tana means their eggs.

2)

(a)The Tana defines a Kasher egg as being Koderes va'Agolgo'les. We learn from ...

1. ... Koderes that - it is not sufficient for the egg to be a roundish shape (like a cheese or a lentil), even though part of it is flat, but that it must be round like a ball (ke'Kadur') ...

2. ... Agolgo'les that - it must be (not completely round, but) oval.

(b)In addition - it must be more round at one end and less round at the other, to be considered a Kasher egg?

(c)The Tana rules that an egg whose yellow ...

1. ... surrounds the white - is Tamei.

2. ... is mixed with the yellow - is that of a Sheretz ...

(d)... with reference to the egg of a toad or a lizard.

3)

(a)Nevertheless, Shmuel's father requires the Nochri's testimony, and one cannot simply examine ...

1. ... the shape of eggs - because he is speaking where the eggs have been cut.

2. ... the positioning of the white and the yellow - because he is speaking where they have been beaten as well.

(b)This answer is unacceptable however, based on a Beraisa, where the Tana permits selling a Nochri the egg of a bird that is a T'reifah - only if it has been beaten ...

(c)... because otherwise, we are afraid that he will re-sell it to a Yisrael.

(d)However once the egg has been beaten, a Yisrael is no longer permitted to purchase it from him - negating our previous answer.

4)

(a)Rebbi Zeira therefore concludes that Simanim are not min ha'Torah, and he proves it from the eight S'feikos of Rav Asi (cited earlier) - whose status ought otherwise to be determinable by examining their eggs.

(b)The Beraisa describes the Simanim of a Kasher egg - to determine which eggs are Safek Kasher (in which case we will be able to accept the testimony of the Nochri), and which are Vaday T'reifah (and we know for sure that the Nochri has lied).

(c)In any case, if only Kasher eggs possessed the Simanim described by the Tana, we could rely on them. And the reason that Shmuel's father requires the Nochri's testimony is - because of the similarity of a raven's egg to that of a dove.

5)

(a)We learned in the Beraisa that if the white in the yellow are mixed, it is the egg of a Sheretz. We query this statement however - with regard to its ramifications. What difference does it make whether it is the egg of a Tamei bird or that of a Sheretz, seeing as both are forbidden?

(b)Rav Ukva bar Chama therefore establishes the Beraisa with regards to Tum'as Sheretz - provided the baby has been formed and there is a hole in the egg which will then be Metamei ...

(c)... provided the baby is the size of a lentil.

(d)We refute Rav Ukva bar Chama's answer however - based on the possibility that the egg is that of a snake, which is not subject to Tum'ah.

6)

(a)So Rava establishes the Beraisa with regard to Malkos. The person who eats it is Chayav Malkos because of "Sheretz ha'Shoretz al ha'Aretz" - provided the baby Sheretz is already formed.

(b)The difference whether he receives Malkos for eating the egg of a Tamei animal, or a Sheretz - lies in the warning, which must include the source of the Isur that the sinner is about to transgress.

(c)The Beraisa learns from the Pasuk "Kol ha'Sheretz ha'Shoretz al ha'Aretz" - a prohibition to eat new-born birds before they have opened their eyes.

(d)We nevertheless need to establish the Beraisa specifically by the egg of a Tamei Sheretz - because the current Limud is really no more than an Asmachta (a support from the Pasuk), since the Isur pertaining to the egg of a Tahor bird is only mi'de'Rabbanan.

7)

(a)When the Beraisa permits Gi'ulei Beitzim it means that - if one boils a Tamei egg together with a Kasher one, the latter remains Kasher ...

(b)... because an egg in its shell does not transfer taste into the other eggs in the pot.

(c)The Tana also permits Beitzim Muzaros - eggs that are not formed by a male, which will therefore not hatch, irrespective of how long the hen sits on them. A finicky person will not eat them, because after a while, they become disgusting.

8)

(a)The Tana rules that - a blood- spot that one finds in an egg must be thrown out, and the rest of the egg may be eaten.

(b)Rebbi Yirmiyah qualifies this ruling, confining it to where the blood-spot is found on the knot - a knotty-like tissue formed from the seed of the male from which point the fetus is formed. It is generally found on the white at the sharper end of the egg.

(c)The reason that the rest of the egg is permitted is - because if it is found only there, it means that the defect has not spread beyond that point.

(d)If it is found on any other part of the egg - then the entire egg is forbidden, because it indicates that the defect has spread to the rest of the egg (see Tosfos DH 've'Hu').

9)

(a)Rebbi Yirmiyah seems to conform to the Beraisa cited by Dustai, the father of Rebbi Apturiki - which only permits the rest of the egg if the blood-spot is found in the white of the egg, but not if it is found in the yellow.

(b)Rav Gevihah from bei Kasil told Rav Ashi that this is the way Abaye established the Beraisa. According to the Beraisa expert - the Tana initially permitted the rest of the egg if it was found in the yellow, but not in the white.

10)

(a)Chizkiyah learns from the Pasuk ...

1. ... in Shemini (in connection with the Tamei birds) "ve'es *bas* ha'Ya'anah" that - the egg of a Tamei bird is forbidden (because otherwise, it would be unnecessary to mention the ostrich's daughter).

2. ... in Eichah "bas Ami le'Achzar, ka'Ye'einim ba'Midbar" that - the ostrich is called 'Ya'anah' and not bas ha'Ya'anah (thereby enabling us to make the previous D'rashah).

(b)And he interprets the Pasuk ...

1. ... in Michah "E'eseh Misped ka'Teinim, ve'Aveil ki'Benos Ya'anah" to mean that - the ostrich mourns for its daughters (its children).

2. ... in Yeshayah "Ve'shichnu Sham b'nos Ya'anah" to mean - like an ostrich dwelling with its children.

(c)On the other hand, we prove from the Pasuk "Techabdeini Chayas ha'Sadeh Teinim u'Benos Ya'anah" that - an ostrich is also called a bas-Ya'anah ...

(d)... because it is inconceivable that ostrich-eggs should praise Hash-m.

11)

(a)We nevertheless vindicate Chizkiyah, who interprets "bas ha'Ya'anah" in Shemini as an ostrich egg - because the Pasuk there writes them as two words (and not hyphenated, as in the other Pesukim).

(b)We query this however, from the word "K'dor La'omer" (in the Pasuk in Vayeira "K'dor La'omerMelech Eilam") - which is also written as two words (Note that out Sifrei Torah write it as one word), even though it is clearly one name.

(c)And we answer that - there at least, the two words are written on one line, whereas in the Pasuk in Shemini, "bas" and "Ya'anah" are written on two lines (Note that here too, this is not the case in our Sifrei Torah).