Arakhin 38

רוחבו מהו ישיבתו מהו עוביו מהו היקיפו מהו תיקו:

My breadth, what is [the law]? 'My sitting', or 'My thickness', what is [the law]? 'My circumference', what is [the law]?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'My stand' may mean my height; 'my breadth' may mean a staff as long as I am broad, or a staff as broad as I am; 'my thickness', too, is ambiguous; 'my circumference' may imply a staff, crooked and of the same circumference as myself, or one as thick as my circumference.');">¹</span>

משקל ידי עלי וכו':

- The questions remain unanswered.

ת"ר

I VOW THE WEIGHT OF MY HAND.

משקל ידי ומשקל רגלי עלי רבי יהודה אומר

Our Rabbis taught: [If one said:] 'I vow the weight of my hand and the weight of my foot', R'Judah says: Let him bring a barrel, fill it with water, place his hand therein up to the elbow, and his foot up to the knee; then let him weigh the flesh, bones and sinews of an ass and put it in [to the barrel] until it is filled up.

מביא חבית וממלא מים ומכניס ביד עד האציל וברגל עד הארכובה ושוקל בשר חמור גידים ועצמות ונותן לתוכה עד שתתמלא

And although there is no proof for it [in the Bible],<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That the weight of flesh, bones and sinews of an ass correspond to those of men.');">²</span>

ואע"פ שאין ראיה לדבר זכר לדבר שנאמר

there is a mnemonical allusion: Whose flesh is as the flesh of asses.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ezek. XXIII, 20.');">³</span>

(יחזקאל כג, כ) אשר בשר חמורים בשרם

R'Jose said to him: How is it possible to account exactly one kind of flesh as against another kind of flesh, one kind of bones as against another kind of bones, and one kind of sinews as against another kind of sinews?

א"ל ר' יוסי

R'Judah answered him: They estimate [the weight of the flesh, bones and sinews].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Probably the meaning is that the weighing demanded by R. Judah is but to serve as an aid to estimating the weight of the hand itself].');">⁴</span>

היאך אפשר לכוין בשר כנגד בשר גידים כנגד גידים עצמות כנגד עצמות

Said R'Jose to him: If you must estimate, estimate the hand [itself]?

א"ל ר' יהודה

And R'Judah?

אומדין

As far as possible we do it by weight.'

א"ל ר' יוסי

The hand up to the elbow'?

עד שאומדין ימודו את היד

An objection was raised: The hands and feet in the Sanctuary were washed up to the joint [of the palm]?

ור' יהודה

In [the language of] the Torah [hand means] up to the joint, but with regard to vows, go after human parlance!

כמה דאפשר עבדינן

But according to the Torah [language, does it mean] up to the joint?

ביד עד האציל

What then of tefillin with regard to which thy hand<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ex. XIII, 9.');">⁵</span>

ורמינהו

is written; and the School of Mennaseh taught: 'thy hand', that means on the biceps muscle?

קידוש ידים ורגלים במקדש עד הפרק

[Rather say thus,] In the Torah [it means] the whole biceps-muscle, but with regard to vows, go after human parlance, and as to washing the hands and feet in the Sanctuary.

דאורייתא עד הפרק בנדרים הלך אחר לשון בני אדם

that<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The limit of the joint of the palms.');">⁶</span>

ודאורייתא עד הפרק

is a traditional teaching.'

והא גבי תפילין דכתיב

The foot up to the knee'?

{שמות יג } ידך ותנא דבי מנשה

But there is a contradiction against this.

ידך זו קיבורית

[It is written,] Feet,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ex. XXIII, 14.');">⁷</span>

דאורייתא קיבורית כולה בנדרים הלך אחר לשון בני אדם וקידוש ידים ורגלים במקדש הילכתא גמירי לה

that excludes people with wooden legs?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Men with artificial feet are not obliged to go 'on foot', i.e., on pilgrimage to the Temple on the three festivals, v. Hag. 3a. This shows that the foot does not stretch to the knee.');">⁸</span>

ברגל עד הארכובה

- With regard to vows, go after human parlance.

ורמינהו

But in the Torah does [the term] foot exclude people with wooden legs?

רגלים פרט לבעלי קבין

What of halizah where it is written: his foot,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Deut. XXV, 9.');">⁹</span>

בנדרים הלך אחר לשון בני אדם

and yet it was taught if she drew off his shoe [that was strapped] from the knee below, her halizah [ceremony] is valid?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. Yeb. 101a.');">¹⁰</span>

ודאורייתא פרט לבעלי קבין

- It is different there, because Scripture says: From off his foot.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Deut. XXV, 9.');">⁹</span>

והא גבי חליצה דכתיב

If that be so, then even if [the shoe was strapped] above the knee, it should also be [valid]? - It reads: from above', not 'from over above'.

{דברים כה } רגלו ותנא

R'Papa said: It is evident therefrom<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since a halizah performed with a shoe strapped below the knee is valid.');">¹¹</span>

חלצה מן הארכובה ולמטה חליצתה כשרה

that what is called istawira<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the ankle (in an anatomical sense) .');">¹²</span>

שאני התם דאמר קרא

goes down to the ground.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the entire length of the foot from the ankle.');">¹³</span>

מעל רגלו אי הכי למעלה מהארכובה נמי

For if you should think it is divided [into two], then the istawira would be 'above the foot' and the thigh<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., that part of the leg up to the knee joint from the ankle upward.');">¹⁴</span>

מעל ולא מעל דמעל

'over above' [the foot].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And consequently the halizah should be invalid.');">¹⁵</span>

אמר רב פפא ש"מ

- R'Ashi said: You may even say that it is divided [into two], yet whatsoever is horizontally with the foot<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the whole istawira is regarded as part of the foot.');">¹⁶</span>

האי איסתוירא עד ארעא נחית דאי סלקא דעתך מיפסק פסיק הוה ליה איסתוירא מעל ושקא מעל דמעל

is [like] the foot.

רב אשי אמר

<big><b>MISHNAH: </b></big>[IF SOMEONE SAID] I VOW THE WORTH OF MY HAND, THEY ESTIMATE HIS WORTH WITH HIS HAND AND [WHAT IT WOULD BE] WITHOUT HIS HAND.

אפילו תימא מיפסק פסיק כל דבהדי כרעא ככרעא דמי:

IN THIS RESPECT VOWS OF WORTH ARE MORE STRINGENT THAN VALUATIONS.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Because one cannot vow the valuation of the hand or any other non-vital organ.');">¹⁷</span>

<big><strong>מתני׳</strong></big> דמי ידי עלי שמין אותו כמה הוא שוה ביד ובלא יד

<big><b>GEMARA: </b></big>How do we estimate him? - Raba said: We estimate him as one estimates in the case of injury.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. B.K. 83b. He is looked upon as if he were a slave to be sold in the market, and they assess how much he was worth (before the injury) and how much he is worth now.');">¹⁸</span>

זה חומר בנדרים מבערכין:

Said Abaye: Are the two cases alike?

<big><strong>גמ׳</strong></big> היכי שיימינן ליה

There the man is reduced in value, here he is in physical integrity! - Rather, said Abaye: They estimate how much a man would give for a slave who does his work with but one hand as against what he would give for a slave who does his work with both hands.

אמר רבא

[You say,] 'With one hand'?

אומדין אותו אומד של נזקין

What does that imply?

א"ל אביי

That the other is cut off?

מי דמי

But that is the very case [of damage just mentioned].

התם גברא זילא הוא הכא גברא שביח הוא

Rather [say, How much a man would give.

אמר אביי

as against the case] where one of his hands is assigned to the first master.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' He must not do work with it for the second master at all. He is therefore physically of full integrity and the analogy is warranted.');">¹⁹</span>

אומדין כמה אדם רוצה ליתן בעבד העושה מלאכה בידו אחת לעושה בשתי ידיו

Raba asked: If they have estimated him in a case of injury and he said: 'I vow my worth', what is [the law]?

ידו אחת מאי ניהו ואידך פסיקא

Do we say, 'surely they have estimated him once already', or is an estimate by ten different from an estimate by three?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' One who vows his market-value must be estimated by a body of ten with the case of our Mishnah, whereas one's assessment in the case of injuries can be determined by a court of three (v. Sanh. 2a) .');">²⁰</span>

היינו הך

And if you find a reason for saying that the estimate by ten is different from one by three, what i [the law] if he said: I vow my worth and he was estimated, whereupon he said again.

אלא ידו מוכתבת לרבו ראשון

I vow my worth?

בעי רבא

Is it here definite since ten have estimated him, or perhaps he may have increased in value meantime!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And consequently he must be assessed anew.');">²¹</span>

אמדוהו אומד של נזקין ואמר דמי עלי מהו

[And if you were to say that he has increased in value meantime,] what is [the law] if he said: I vow my worth, and they did not estimate him, and then he again said: I vow my worth?

מי אמר

[Do we say] in this case he is surely

הא אמדוהו חדא זימנא או דילמא

שאני אומדנא דבי עשרה מאומדנא דבי תלתא

אם תמצא לומר

שאני אומדנא דבי עשרה מאומדנא דבי תלתא אמר

דמי עלי ואמדוהו וחזר ואמר

דמי עלי מהו

הכא ודאי אמדוהו בי עשרה או דילמא שבח ביני וביני

אמר

דמי עלי ולא אמדוהו וחזר ואמר

דמי עלי מהו

הכא ודאי