Rabbi Shimon HaAmasoni apparently interpreted the word 'et' as something that added on to a halachic requirement. He then came across on verse that changed his mind. He was not discouraged by this realization, and he looked to Rabbi Akiva's interpretations of the word 'et' to inform himself.
There are certain consecrated items that are unquestionably prohibited to use in the process of betrothal. Today's daf elucidates some of what we learned in yesterday's Misha. To begin with, a heifer with its neck broken can not be used for the purposes of betrothal; neither can the bird that a leper might use at the end of his/her isolation. As well, the enabling and atoning rites are discussed in this context.
Animals that have been copulated with by people (men or women), animals that are used to worship idols and animals that are worshipped as idols are all disqualified from other use, including betrothal.
Further, the hair of a nazirite, a first-born donkey, and a dish of meat that has been cooked in milk cannot be used for the purposes of betrothal, either. We learn that non-sacred animals were not to be killed inside of the courtyard of the Temple.
Each time that the rabbis speak to one of these prohibited items, they use proof texts - verses from the Torah or baraitas that might suggest ways that we should read the original text. Sometimes those proof texts seem obvious, but other times it seems as if there so no connection at all between between the text and its proof. If I were to try to justify my own interpretations based on Torah text, they would be thrown away. But we miss the context of our rabbis' interpretations.
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