Chicken and Egg

What came first the chicken or the egg? Philosophers have debated this question since time in memoriam, and today I’d like to take a crack at it.

Why you might ask? Because at the moment I’m learning Talmud and the section I’m learning is called betzah, translated literally: egg. The first discussion in this tractate is centered around a discussion about whether or not it’s permitted to eat an egg that was laid on a festival. I won’t go into the details, except to say learning Talmud is always a fascinating and frustrating academic exercise. Based on what I’ve learned during these last few weeks I’d like to offer an answer to the original question I’ve posed: what came first the chicken or the egg? According to the Rabbi’s it doesn’t matter, the real question we should be asking is: can we eat them!

(Personally I can’t think of any answer more Jewish then that)

L’Shalom.