Arakhin 33
תניא רבי אליעזר הגדול אומר
It was taught: R'Eliezer the great said: If the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to enter in judgment with Abraham, Isaac or Jacob, not [even] they could stand before His reproof! As it is said: Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord, which He did to you and to your fathers.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I Sam. XII, 7.');"><sup>1</sup></span>
למאי הלכתא
Would you say: It refers to virtue so that one holds: if the generation is virtuous, so is the leader; the other view being: if the leader is virtuous, so is the generation; but surely there is Zedekiah who was virtuous, whereas his generation was not so; and there is Jehoiakim who was not virtuous, whilst his generation was so.
אילימא למעליותא דמר סבר
For R'Johanan said in the name of R'Simeon B'Yohai: What is the meaning of: In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Jer. XXVI, 1.');"><sup>4</sup></span>
הא איכא צדקיה דהוה מעלי ודריה לא הוה מעלי והא יהויקים דלא הוה מעלי ודריה הוה מעלי
The Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to reduce the world to formlessness and emptiness because of the generation of Zedekiah, but when he considered Zedekiah, his anger subsided? - Rather, it refers to anger and gentleness respectively.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The temperament of the leader, gentle or otherwise, depends upon the spirit of his time.');"><sup>6</sup></span>
אף בערכין כן וכי מפני מה עני שהעריך את העשיר נותן ערך עני שאין העשיר חייב כלום
IF A MAN SAID: I TAKE UPON MYSELF THE OFFERING OF THIS LEPER, AND THE LEPER WAS POOR, HE BRINGS THE OFFERING OF A POOR MAN.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lev. XIV, 21-32.');"><sup>10</sup></span>
ערכי עלי ושמע עני ואמר
RABBI SAYS: I SAY THE SAME APPLIES WITH REGARD TO A VALUATION.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' There are two views as to what Rabbi means: (i) Rabbi disagrees with the Tanna, for according to the former, a poor man would under all circumstances incur no liability beyond that of a poor man's valuation, i.e., according to his means; even though he heard the rich man vow his own valuation and thereupon he (the poor man) said: I take upon myself what this man has said. According to Rabbi, however, in such a case the poor man would be liable to pay the rich man's (i.e., the normal) valuation, since in saying: 'I take upon myself what this man has said' he deliberately assumes the full liability, and he would owe the sum until able to pay it. (ii) Maimonides interprets Rabbi's attitude to be in accord with the first Tanna's, opposing only the suggestion that it is not so with offerings'. because if the same conditions which prevail at the leper's vow prevailed in the case of a valuation, the same rules would apply, according to the view of the Tanna which Rabbi holds.');"><sup>12</sup></span>
<big><strong>גמ׳</strong></big> השג יד במעריך הוא
BECAUSE THE RICH MAN HAD NOT INCURRED ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER'BUT IF THE RICH MAN SAID: I EVALUATE MYSELF' AND THE POOR MAN, HEARING THAT, SAID: WHAT THIS MAN HAS SAID, I TAKE UPON MYSELF, THEN HE MUST PAY THE VALUATION OF A RICH MAN.
כדכתי'
<big><b>GEMARA: </b></big>Surely 'sufficiency of means' is written only in connection with evaluation?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Our Mishnah uses the term 'vows' instead of 'evaluates', whereas the rule of paying according to one's means applies not to the vower (of a man's market value) , but to the valuations.');"><sup>13</sup></span>
(ויקרא כז, ח) אשר תשיג יד הנודר יעריכנו הכהן
As it is written: According to the means of him that vowed shall the priest value him.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The Torah uses in this particular case 'vowing' in its general meaning, which includes also the vowing of one's valuation, that is why the Mishnah, too, uses the same term, not in the stricter but in the general sense. (Lev. XXVII, 8) .');"><sup>14</sup></span>
השנים בנידר
But is [payment according to] the years of his age with regard to one [whose worth has been] vowed, is it not only [stated] with regard to one who has been subject to valuation? - Since he [the Tanna] had spoken of 'sufficiency of means' in connection with 'one who vows', he speaks, touching the years, also of one who had been the subject of a vow.
ואע"ג דמדירו עשיר
But perhaps the All Merciful spared only [the leper] himself, but not him who vowed, as it is written: [If] he [be too poor]?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The suggestion is that the Torah, out of pity for a poor leper, would allow him to bring the lesser sacrifice, but might not be willing to extend the same consideration to a healthy poor man, who without any compulsion assumed his liability.');"><sup>16</sup></span>