For the source text click/tap here: Beitzah 14
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The Mishnah on our daf discusses the preparation of spices and salt. We find that Bet Shammai insist that some change be made in the way spices are ground up (grinding is one of the activities ordinarily forbidden on Shabbat), while Bet Hillel allow grinding to be done normally.
Both agree, however, that salt should be ground in an out-of-the-ordinary way – by using a wooden pestle rather than the standard stone pestle.
In the Gemara, Rav Huna and Rav Chisda argue about the distinction made between spices and salt. One says that salt is a basic need – all cooking requires salt – so it should have been prepared before the holiday began; spices, on the other hand, are not necessarily required for cooking, so they can be prepared as needed. The other explains that salt retains its flavor, so it could have been prepared before the holiday began. Spices, which lose their strength once they are ground, can be prepared as they are needed, even on the holiday.
We examine the grinding of spices and the history of the mortar and the pestle. (and the Slavic tale of the baba Yaga!)