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The Gemara (גמרא) permits adding wood that fell into a Yom Tov oven if most wood is permitted, using bitul b'rov. Why is this permitted despite ain m'vat'lin issur l'chatchila? The shiur analyzes two distinct prohibitions—using fire from muktzah wood versus physically moving the wood—and explains that mikleh kol yisur (the issur disappears through use) resolves the fire question, while tiltul muktzah is a lighter d'rabbanan not subject to davar sheyesh lo matirin.
The shiur examines Beitzah 4b, where the Gemara (גמרא) discusses a case of wood that fell into a Yom Tov oven. Rav Assa's initial ruling permits being marbeh etzim (adding more wood) to achieve bitul b'rov—ensuring that the majority of wood is non-muktzah—thereby allowing one to cook with the fire. The Gemara challenges this with the principle that ain m'vat'lin issur l'chatchila (one may not deliberately nullify a prohibition). Rav Zweig presents a fundamental approach: there are actually two separate issues in this case—(1) deriving benefit from fire created by muktzah wood, and (2) the physical act of moving (tiltul) muktzah wood when stirring the oven. The first question the Gemara raises is whether bitul b'rov applies at all when the prohibited wood is nikar (recognizable). Rabbi Zweig suggests that the initial discussion concerns the fire itself, not the wood. Since fire from multiple pieces of wood mixes and cannot be traced to its source, bitul b'rov works for the fire even if the individual logs are identifiable. The problem is deriving hana'ah (benefit) from muktzah; the Gemara initially thought that if most of the heat comes from permitted wood, one may cook. The second kasha—"ki k'mapach b'issur k'mapach"—introduces the issue of stirring: the normal way of cooking involves moving the wood around, which would involve tiltul muktzah, a rabbinic prohibition.
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Beitzah 4b
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