Weekly DAFootnotes Bava Kama 114-119 Issue #17 3 - 8 Kislev 5762 / 18-23 Nov. 2001 By Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions ===================================== NOT SLAVES TO SLAVES What is the difference between a "poel" (worker), an "eved" (slave) and a "sachir" (hired man)? Regarding the first the Sage Rav rules that a worker has the right to quit his job even in the middle of the day. The reason given is that in the Torah (Vayikra 25:55) Hashem declares "The Children of Israel are slaves to Me, they are My slaves (only)," implying that they are not to be "slaves to slaves." Does this mean that it is improper for a person to hire out his services for a long period of time, just as it is improper for him to sell himself as a slave unless he is in the most desperate of circumstances? The commentaries differ on this point. Tosefot (Bava Metzia 10a) makes a distinction between a slave who cannot unilaterally end his bondage and an employee who can do so, that the latter cannot be considered in violation of "they are My slaves only." Rabbi Mordechai Ashkenazi, however, contends that there is a limit to how long one may hire himself to another. While it is true that a worker is not a slave but rather a "hired man" and the above passage was cited only as proof of his right to quit, there is a limit to how long he can still be considered only a hired man and not a slave. This limit is found in the passage (Yeshaya 16:14) which defines "three years as the years of a hired man." Once he commits himself to employment for more than three years he has exceeded the term of a hired man, and although not actually becoming a slave he is violating the spirit of the Divine command to avoid being "slaves to slaves." This latter opinion is cited by Rema in Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat (333:3), who cautions workers, including teachers and scribes, against hiring themselves out for three years. (The commentaries point out that this is a printing error and should read "more than three years" as it appears in the source.) Bava Kama 116b ON ROBBING THE POOR The gravity of the sin of theft is highlighted by King Shlomo in Mishlei (22:22-23) when he warns: "Do not rob the poor because he is poor, nor oppress the impoverished one in the gate, for Hashem takes up their abuse and robs the life of those that rob them." Theft is forbidden regardless of whether the victim is rich or poor. Why then does this passage stress the robbery perpetrated against a poor man? Rashi on our gemara explains this as a warning to avoid rationalizing the robbing of a poor man because his belongings are of insignificant value. In his commentary on Mishlei, however, Rashi offers a different perspective. Don't rob the poor man because he seems to lack the power to oppose you, for Hashem will take up his cause. A third approach is proposed by Maharsha based on the passage's comparison of robbing money to robbing the life of the victim. If one robs the sick man he still has enough left to live on, while if one robs the poor man he is left with nothing left to support himself. The other part of Shlomo's warning about oppressing the poor man at the gate is also the subject of various interpretations. Rashi here writes that this is a reference to tithes, which are given to the poor in the third and sixth year of the seven-year cycle of tithes, and to other agricultural gifts to the poor which the Torah imposes upon the owners of fields and orchards. In regard to these gifts which are distributed "within your gate" we are warned not to disenfranchise the poor. The commentaries on Mishlei prefer to see "gate" as a reference to the portals of justice, and the passage as a warning not to exploit the power of wealth to distort justice in a dispute with the poor. Maharsha translates "basha'ar" not as "in your gates," as the aforementioned do, but rather as "in your price." This is then a warning to the prosperous merchant not to exploit the difficult situation of the poor man to force him to sell below the fair price or to buy at too high a price. Bava Kama 119a ===================================== 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 Weekly DAFootnotes is now available as part of the Ohr Somayach Interactive AvantGo channel! See www.ohr.edu for details. ===================================== (C) 2001 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved.