2,711 pages of Talmud. A gem a day.

Avodah Zarah 4

Even when you disagree with the government and how it’s run, not having a government would be a bad thing. (Sorry John Lennon.) Why?

Just as among fish of the sea, the greater swallow up the smaller ones, so with men, were it not for fear of the government, men would swallow each other alive. This is just what we learnt: R. Hanina, the Deputy High Priest, said, Pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear thereof, men would swallow each other alive.

Anarchy. Sounds like fun but the reality isn’t. So we pray for the welfare of the government… even if we would like to change a few things (or a lot of things).

Avodah Zarah 3

Such great gems on our daf! I will just quickly highlight two. The first, I love, because Maimonides talks about this in his Guide for the Perplexed as to why bad things happen to good people.

Rabbi Hanina says: Everything is in Heaven’s hands, except colds and obstacles, as is said, “colds and snares are on the path of the crooked, he that guards his soul holds himself far from them;^”

Why do bad things happen? Colds: we are mortal and our bodies are fragile. We get sick, we age, we die. And snares: we live with others. That means we can hurt one another, trick one another and mess up.

The second gen is even better.

According to R. Simeon b. Lakish, it can be applied to the future life, for R. Simeon b. Lakish says: There is no Gehenna in the Future World, but the Holy One, blessed be He, brings the sun out of its sheath, so that it is fierce: the wicked are punished by it, the righteous are healed by it.

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld says, “This teaches us a powerful idea that Gehenim/hell is really the same thing as Ganeiden/heaven. It’s just how we approach it. What’s our perspective on life?

I adore this. How do we look at the world? Our perspective and attitude can make where we are heaven or hell.

Avodah Zarah 2

We kick of a new tractate with a fabulous daf! Have you ever wanted to know how we will be judged when we die? Well, this daf is for you.

As Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: All the mitzvot that the Jews perform in this world will come and bear witness for them in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “Let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified.” These are the Jews, as their good deeds bear witness for them and demonstrate their righteousness.

All the mitzvot we do will be there to testify that we should be blessed in the world to come. Those mitzvot come from the Torah, so what about the nations who reject Torah? (Remember, there are only 7 Noahide laws you have to follow as a non-Jew to be rewarded in the afterlife, the daf is setting us up to talk about wicked nations.)

When the verse states: “And let them hear, and say: It is truth” (Isaiah 43:9), these are the nations of the world, who will admit to the righteousness of the Jews.

These other nations will see that the Torah was true . . how will that look?

Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa taught, and some say that it was Rabbi Simlai who taught: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will bring a Torah scroll and place it in His lap and say: Anyone who engaged in its study should come and take his reward.

Immediately, the Roman Empire enters first before Him. . . The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to them: With what did you occupy yourselves? They say before Him in response: Master of the Universe, we have established many marketplaces, we have built many bathhouses, and we have increased much silver and gold. And we did all of this only for the sake of the Jewish people, so that they would be free to engage in Torah study.

Ha! We worked and built so we could allow the Jews to study! (Sounds like revisionist history if I’ve ever heard it.) But God knows better:

The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to them: Fools of the world! Are you attempting to deceive Me? Everything that you did, you did for your own needs. You established marketplaces to place prostitutes in them; you built bathhouses for your own enjoyment; and as for the silver and gold that you claim to have increased, it is Mine, as it is stated: “Mine is the silver, and Mine the gold, said the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:8). . . Immediately, the members of the Roman Empire leave disappointed.

The Roman Empire leaves, and the Persian Empire enters after it. . . The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to them: With what did you occupy yourselves? They say before Him in response: Master of the Universe, we have built many bridges, we have conquered many cities, and we have fought many wars. And we did all of this only for the sake of the Jewish people, so that they would engage in Torah study. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to them: Everything that you did, you did for your own needs. You established bridges to collect taxes from all who pass over them. You conquered cities to use their residents for forced labor [angareya]; and with regard to fighting the wars, I wage wars, and your success is from Me, as it is stated: “The Lord is a man of war” (Exodus 15:3). Is there no one among you who can declare that they have studied this Torah? Immediately, the members of the Persian Empire leave from before Him disappointed.

Neither nation is rewarded. Others come and the same thing happens. But, is this fair? Did God give them the Torah as well?

The nations will say before God: Master of the Universe, did You give us the Torah and we did not accept it? Since we never received the Torah, why are we being judged for not fulfilling its mitzvot? And Rabbi Yoḥanan says: This teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, took the Torah around to every nation and those who speak every language, such as the Edomites in Seir and the Ishmaelites in Paran, but they did not accept it, until He came to the Jewish people and they accepted it.

Now, clearly this is written by rabbis who believe they have the “truth.” But, within the superiority, there is some truth. No one people, no one faith (no matter how amazing) has the exclusive rights on doing what is right. Anyone can do the right thing. Anyone can do mitzvahs. If only we all would. Then we would have heaven, not only in the next life, but this one as well.

Shevuot 49

We and masechet Shevuot with a final rundown of what happens when someone else has your item/animal and something happens to it. We get the 4 different categories of people who would be watching the item, what might happen, and then all the ways someone might make a false oath about what happened to the item they were supposed to be guarding. What I found fascinating is that people may lie about what happened, but not be found liable to bring a guilt offering. Luckily, the daf gives us a rule (as there are many permutations of what kind of bailee made what kind of claim when what kind of incident actually happened):

This is the principle: Anyone who takes an oath to be lenient with himself is liable; if he takes an oath to be stringent with himself, he is exempt.

Here is an example of that: If the paid bailee or renter said: It died or was injured or captured, but the truth was that it was stolen or lost, and the owner said: I administer an oath to you concerning your claim, and he said: Amen, the paid bailee or renter is liable to bring a guilt-offering. If the paid bailee or renter said: It was lost or stolen, but the truth was that it died or was injured or captured, and the owner said: I administer an oath to you concerning your claim, and he said: Amen, he is exempt from bringing a guilt-offering.

Lying to get yourself out of trouble is punished, but not lying to make yourself liable for more than you would have been otherwise.

Guys – we just made it through another tractate! The over-all take away is about the seriousness of taking God’s name in vain, of having no conscience, of the damage lying does to society and to our souls.

Keep it real. Tomorrow we begin studying laws around Avodah Zarah, idolatry. Sheould be interesting!

Shevuot 48

I can’t find my sewing kit. It’s not where I usually put it, I have searched, I have asked my family, but, alas, I cannot find it. Where it not such a strange thing to steal, I might ask people who have been in my house over the past few weeks if they’ve taken it. But, again, it’s not the kind of thing someone would steal. But, what if something valuable was missing? What if I hired someone specifically to watch my money or jewelry? Then, I might want to question them . . .

On our daf today, we get a list of people who are “sometimes” required to take an oath. They’re not exactly being accused, but they have access to items of value.

The mishna teaches: And these people are sometimes required to take an oath that they do not owe anything even when there is no explicit claim against them: Partners, sharecroppers, stewards, a woman who does business from home, where she manages the property of orphans, and the member of the household appointed to manage the household’s affairs.

I can only imagine that if I were one of these people and I was asked to take an oath, I would be sorely offended. It would be a hard rift to sew. But, I can’t sew anything because I can’t find my sewing kit.

Shevuot 47

We are the company we keep. That’s today’s gem.

The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: The servant of a king is like a king.

Commenting on this Rashi teaches, “A king’s servant is a king, attach yourself to a captain and people will bow down to you; go near to an anointed (a distinguished) person and you become anointed (distinguished) yourself (cf. Rashi on Shevuot 47b and Genesis 15:18).”

We learn two profound lessons, the first, as I said above, is that we are judged like the company we keep. Therefore, we need to be careful who we spend our time with as people will judge us accordingly.

The second, is that if we serve the King (meaning God), then we will be like royalty.

Shevuot 46

Today’s gem: Sometimes people talk a big game, but don’t make any moves.

Doesn’t Rav Naḥman say: With regard to one who takes an ax in his hand and says: I will go and chop down so-and-so’s palm tree, and the palm tree is found chopped down and tossed on the ground, we do not say that he chopped it down, but rather we search for evidence? Evidently, a person is prone to bluster without acting on his threat.

It’s interesting. Lying is, generally, a bad thing we are supposed to do all we can to avoid. Yet, there are certain cases in Judaism where you should lie (like when a Nazi asks if there are Jews hiding), where you can lie (like when a creepy guy asks a woman if she’s single), and when everyone knows you’re lying so it’s fin (I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!). But, what if you say “I’m going to kill my husband for putting the empty mil carton back in the fridge?” and then the husband ends up dead? Like Rav Nahman teaches, we don’t suspect that aggrieved milk drinking wife without more evidence then her bluster.

Shevuot 45

In this book of oaths, we get a situation today where an employer hires a worker and then isn’t sure if he paid the worker or not! He thinks he did, but the worker says he hasn’t been paid – so, what do they do? Who takes the oath?

The Sages uprooted the oath from the employer and imposed it upon the hired worker due to the fact that his wages are his livelihood.

The worker depends on his wage to live. He needs to be protected!

The Gemara asks: Due to the need to protect the hired worker’s livelihood, do we penalize the employer by leaving him vulnerable to a dishonest worker?

Doesn’t the employer also need to be protected?

The Gemara answers: The employer himself is amenable to the hired worker taking an oath and collecting his wages, so that laborers will accept employment from him. If the workers are not protected in this manner, they will be wary of accepting work.

So, he wants workers to want to work for him. Plus, he may be distracted because he is so busy:

Rather, the reason the worker takes the oath is that the employer is distracted with managing his laborers, so it is reasonable to assume that he forgot to pay.

But he still wants an oath to alleviate the concerns of the employer, to ensure him that he is not being cheated.

The gem? The daf wants to protect workers. There is a reason Jews have historically been so involved in workers rights, not just because we are workers, but because it’s the right thing to do, the commanded thing to do, to protect workers from being taken advantage of.

Shevuot 44

In Exodus 22:25-26 we are commanded, “If you take your neighbor’s garment in pledge, you must return it before the sun sets; it is the only available clothing—it is what covers the skin. In what else shall [your neighbor] sleep? Therefore, if that person cries out to Me, I will pay heed, for I am compassionate.”

Likewise, in Deuteronomy 24: 12-13 we are commanded, “If that party is needy, you shall not go to sleep in that pledge; you must return the pledge at sundown, that its owner may sleep in the cloth and bless you; and it will be to your merit before your God יהוה.”

Yesterday, the daf asked if a creditor owes a borrower money if they lose their collateral pledge. Today, these verses serve to prove that the creditor owns whatever is given in pledge until the money is repaid:

As Rabbi Yitzḥak says: From where is it derived that a creditor acquires collateral given to him and is considered its owner as long as the item is in his possession? As it is stated with regard to a creditor who returns the collateral to the debtor for his personal use: “And it shall be a righteousness for you” (Deuteronomy 24:13).

The gem is found in the Hebrew. When it says “it shall be a righteousness to you” it uses the word צְדָקָ֔ה tzedakah. It’s counted as though we are doing charity when we return the borrowed item if the borrower still needs it.

So, it’s commanded of us, we have no choice, but it still counts as doing a righteous mitzvah, as tzedakah. So, do the right thing, even when you don’t want to or have to – because – for those who need it, and for God – it still counts.

Shevuot 43

One of the saddest places to shop, if not the saddest, is a pawn shop. I can remember the first time I went into one, realizing that every item for sale represented a previous owner that was in financial straights. Maybe a few were people just selling things they no longer needed, but most who go to a pawn shop need cash and willingly take mush less than an item is worth as collateral for a loan they hope to repay. If they pay the money they borrowed back, with interest, within the agreed upon time period, they get it back. But those items on sale? Those represent times the borrower couldn’t manage to come up with the money. It’s sad.

Today’s daf examines an odd twist to this kind of an arrangement. It asks, what happens when the lender claims they lost that item left as collateral?

Rav Ashi says that we maintain that two oaths are taken in this case, as this party, the creditor, takes an oath that the collateral is not in his possession, and that party, the debtor, takes an oath concerning how much the collateral was worth.

That’s step one . . . and good luck on them agreeing to the worth of the collateral now that it can’t be assessed by a third party! (This goes onto tomorrows daf as well, lots to unpack!)

Shmuel says: With regard to one who lent one thousand dinars to another and took from him the handle of a sickle as collateral, if the handle of the sickle is lost, the creditor has lost the entire sum of one thousand dinars, even though the lost collateral was worth less. But if he took two handles as collateral and only one of them was lost, the creditor does not lose the entire debt; he loses only the value of the handle that he lost.

According to Shmuel’s opinion, if the collateral is lost, the debt is canceled, let the debtor say to him: You have already received repayment of the debt by means of the collateral.

Makes sense, you lost my ring? I am not giving you the money you lent me back. But, what if the ring is worth more then the money borrowed?

With regard to one who lends money to another on the basis of collateral, and the collateral was lost, he must take an oath that it was in fact lost and may then take his money; this is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Akiva says that the debtor can say to the creditor: Didn’t you lend me the money only on the basis of the collateral? Since the collateral was lost, your money is lost as well.

So, it’s disputed (surprise!). Thank God for codes of law. Here is Rambam’s

Mishneh Torah, Hiring 10:1

The following rules apply when a person gives a loan to a colleague and takes security in return. He is considered to be a paid watchman. This applies regardless of whether he lent him money or lent him produce, and regardless of whether he took the security at the time when he gave him the loan or afterwards.
Accordingly, if the security is lost or stolen, he is responsible for its value. If the security was lost because of causes beyond the lender’s control -e.g., it was taken by armed thieves or the like – the lender must take an oath that it was lost due to forces beyond his control, and the owner of the security must repay his debt until the last p’rutah.

So, maybe it’s not only a bad idea to pawn items, but a bad idea to be a pawn broker . . .