Beitza 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." It was originally composed in Talmudic Babylon (c.450–c.550 CE). 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) and typically fourth in the Talmud Bavli (Babylon). 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."

Structure

The tractate consists of five chapters with a total of 42 mishnayot. Its Babylonian Talmud version is of 40 pages and its Jerusalem Talmud version is of 22 pages. An overview of the content of chapters is as follows: