Weekly DAFootnotes Bava Kama 86-92 Issue #13 Week of 4-10 Cheshvan 5762 / October 21-27, 2001 By Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions ===================================== WHO IS A BROTHER JEW? Who is considered a brother Jew? This question arises in our gemara in reference to whether one who injures a Canaanite slave is obligated to compensate his owner for the embarrassment he causes the slave just as he is obligated to compensate him for loss of value, pain, medical expenses and unemployment. This sort of slave is Jewish in the sense that he is obligated in all of the commandments incumbent on a Jewish woman but he is forbidden to marry a Jewish woman until he is emancipated. The chapter in the Torah (Devarim 25:11-12) that establishes the rule of compensation for embarrassment speaks of a man battling with his "brother." Rabbi Yehuda's view is that this word excludes a Canaanite slave, who is not considered a brother because of his inability to enter the Jewish community in marriage. The other Sages, however, contend that he is considered a brother because of the obligation of commandments that he shares. In regard to this latter opinion the gemara raises the question as to why a slave — or for that matter a convert to Judaism who is obligated in all commandments — cannot qualify to be a king. A king, comes the response, must be chosen "from amongst your brothers" (Devarim 17:15) which means from "the choicest of your brothers." In this elimination of the convert as a candidate for the throne, our gemara makes no distinction between a first generation convert or one who is born to a parent who is a regular Jew. The gemara elsewhere (Kiddushin 76b) does make a distinction between a convert born of two convert parents and one whose mother is a regular Jewess ,in regard to eligibility for appointment to any position of authority. Does this distinction extend as well to a king? The focus for the different opinions on this subject is King Agrippas, a descendant of the slave Herod who slew his Hasmonean masters and seized the throne during the Second Temple period. When he publicly read from the Torah during the performance of the mitzvah of Hakhel, he wept when he came to the above passage which speaks of the king being chosen from "amongst your brothers," for he felt that this disqualified him. The people, however, comforted him that he was indeed their brother. This compliment, which our Sages (Mesechta Sotah 41b) denounce as flattery, brought upon the people a grave punishment. Rashi's approach is that the mother of Agrippas was a regular Jewess and he was therefore legally qualified to be king. The fact that his father was of slave status, however, tainted this choice so that it was improper for the people to flatter him as if there was no problem at all. Tosefot (Bava Batra 3a) challenges this approach and concludes that both his parents were of slave status; by their flattery, the people meant to accord him "brother" status based only upon his obligation in commandments. Tosefot elsewhere (Sotah ibid.) concurs with Rashi that Agrippas' mother was a regular Jewess but contends that although for lower positions of authority it is sufficient for the candidate to have a regular Jewish mother, he cannot qualify to be a king unless both parents are regular Jews. The deadly flattery according to his approach is in considering him a brother even for the role of king. Bava Kama 88a WITH AN EYE TO THE FUTURE One of the seven women whose prophecies, explicit or implied, are recorded in Tanach is Avigail. In her dialogue with King David, whom she eventually married, she taught us an important lesson in life, says our gemara. While he was still the uncrowned king of Israel, David had a clash with a wealthy wicked man by the name of Naval the Carmelite. Despite the fact that David's followers provided Naval with much needed protection for his flocks, this miserly man refused to provide them with the little food which David had requested of him. When David set out to slay him as a rebel against one who had been chosen by Hashem to be king, he was prevented from doing so by Naval's clever and beautiful wife, Avigail. She brought him a generous supply of food and begged him to spare her husband. She succeeded in her undertaking, say our Sages (Megillah 14b), by convincing him that her husband's action, as wickedly ungrateful it was, could not be considered insurrection worthy of a death penalty because Saul was the king and it was not commonly known yet that David had been designated as his successor. In the course of her conversation with David, this wise woman said "Hashem will certainly do good for my master and may you then remember your maidservant." (Shmuel I 25:31) Her intention, says the Sage Rabbah bar Mori, was to convey to David her prophecy that her husband was soon to die and to hint to remember her to take her as his wife. This, he pointed out to the Sage Rava, was a classic example of the folk-saying that "the goose flies low but its eyes look far into the distance." Ten days after this encounter Naval died and David sent his servants to propose marriage in his behalf. Rashi here points out that the lesson to be learned from the folk-saying and Avigail's personification of it is that one should not hesitate because of his humility to request what he needs, whether in matters of Torah, of livelihood or the payment of a debt. In Mesechta Megillah (ibid.) there is another folk-saying cited in regard to Avigail's action: "While the woman speaks she is also spinning" is a description of the future Avigail was spinning for herself while she was discussing her husband's fate with David. Bava Kama 92b ===================================== If you like this e-mail please share it with a friend. ===================================== To subscribe to this list please e-mail DafYomi-subscribe@ohr.edu To unsubscribe e-mail DafYomi-unsubscribe@ohr.edu ===================================== (C) 2001 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved.