The Weekly Daf #28 Bava Metzia 58-64 Week of 11 - 17 Elul 5754 / 18 - 24 August 1994 By Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions ========================================================================= This issue is dedicated in the memory of Mr. Isadore Kaplan O.B.M. ========================================================================= Survival Begins at Home The Case: Two people are walking along a deserted road and only one of them has a canteen of water. If both drink from this limited amount of water they will both die of thirst before reaching civilization. Should the owner of the water alone drink he alone will survive but his companion will die sooner. The Problem: Must they share the water? The Ruling: It is preferable that they both drink and die together rather than one drink and see his companion die earlier. The Sage Ben Patura "Your brother shall live with you" says the Torah, which means that your life comes first. Rabbi Akiva (Even Rabbi Akiva, whose opinion is accepted as law, will concede that if the water belongs to both of them they must share it. This is based on the principle of "who says your blood is redder than the other fellow's?" which mandates martyrdom where the only means of survival is another's life. -- Maharsha) Bava Metzia 62a ========================================================================= Dyeing for a Living It is forbidden to dress up an old item in order to pass it off as new to an unwitting buyer, whether the item be human, animal or vessel. The story is told of an old non-Jew who dyed his gray hair and beard black to appear younger and then tried to sell his services to the Sage Rava. After Rava refused because of the Talmudic counsel to employ needy workers from his own people this fellow succeeded in selling himself to Rabbi Papa ben Shmuel. But no sooner was he asked to bring some water to his new master than this cunning servant rinsed the dye from his hair and beard and chided Rabbi Papa for asking him to do such menial work "when I am older than your father." Rabbi Papa then cited a passage from King Solomon's "Proverbs" as an appreciation of the cautious wisdom of Rava which saved him from this pitfall. Bava Metzia 60b ========================================================================= Get Ready for the Ohr Somayach Winter JLE December 22nd '94 - January 8th '95 Contact Rabbi Zalman Corlin for details ========================================================================= SUBSCRIBE! to one of the many weekly "lists" published by Ohr Somayach Institutions: dafyomi - "The Weekly Daf," Rav Mendel Weinbach's insights into and comments on the seven pages of Talmud studied this week. ask - The Rabbi answers YOUR questions on Judaism. weekly - Summary of the weekly Torah portion. parasha-qa - Challenging questions on the weekly Torah portion. os-special - All the SPECIAL publications produced by Ohr Somayach. os-alum - "Yachad" - the Ohr Somayach Electronic Alumni Newsletter. Sho'el U'meshiv - Join our "virtual Beis Medrash" (NOTE: Not a list) There is NEVER a charge for any of the above lists (though your local information provider, such as Prodigy or CompuServe, might charge a nominal fee). To subscribe to any of these lists, send the message: subscribe {listname} {firstname} {lastname} to: listserv@jerusalem1.datasrv.co.il This address is only for SUBSCRIPTIONS. If you have any comments, questions and suggestions, we'd love to hear them! Send them to: newman@jerusalem1.datasrv.co.il Remember, these are all INTERNET addresses. Compuserve users must preface the address with "INTERNET:" ========================================================================= Dedication opportunities are available for The Weekly Daf Please contact us for details. ========================================================================= Jewish L EEEEEEEE Prepared by Ohr Somayach Institutions J L E 22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103 J L Exchange Jerusalem 91180, Israel J J L E Tel: 02-810315 Fax: 02-812890 JJJJ Learning EEEEEEEE Internet: newman@jerusalem1.datasrv.co.il ========================================================================= (C) 1994 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved. This publication may be distributed to another person intact without prior permission. We also encourage you to include this material in other publications, such as synagogue newsletters. However, we ask that you contact us beforehand for permission.