Bava Metzia 122

ובעניינא דשכיר כתיב

and it [the injunction against robbery] is written in connection with a hired worker.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lev. XIX, 13: Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning — and is by preference to be applied to the latter. ');">¹</span> What is the need of the injunction, Ye shall not steal,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. II. ');">²</span>

(ויקרא יט, יא) לא תגנובו דכתב רחמנא למה לי לכדתניא (שמות כ, יב) לא תגנוב על מנת למיקט לא תגנוב על מנת לשלם תשלומי כפל

which the Divine Law wrote? — For that which was taught: 'Ye shall not steal,'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Adopting the reading as amended by Asheri and others. [The verse 'Thou shalt not steal', Ex. XX, 13, given in cur. edd. is explained as an injunction against abduction; v. Sanh. 86a.] ');">³</span> [even] in order to grieve;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., even if the intention is merely to cause the owner temporary grief at his loss, and then return it. ');">⁴</span>

א"ל רב יימר לרב אשי לאו דכתב רחמנא במשקלות למה לי א"ל לטומן משקלותיו במלח היינו גזל מעליא הוא לעבור עליו משעת עשייה

'ye shall not steal,' [even] in order to repay double.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' One may not stage a theft in order to repay double and thus make a gift to his fellow. ');">⁵</span> R. Yemar said to R. Ashi: For what purpose did the Divine Law state [separately] the prohibition against [false] weights?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Seeing that it is tantamount to robbery. ');">⁶</span>

ת"ר (ויקרא יט, לה) לא תעשו עול במשפט במדה במשקל ובמשורה במדה זו מדידת קרקע שלא ימדוד לאחד בימות החמה ולאחד בימות הגשמים במשקל שלא יטמין משקלותיו במלח ובמשורה שלא ירתיח

— He replied: [To forbid] the steeping of weights in salt.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which naturally makes them heavier, and then using them when buying. ');">⁷</span> But that is pure robbery! — [To teach] that one transgresses at the very moment that this is done.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., merely steeping is forbidden, even without subsequent use. ');">⁸</span>

והלא דברים ק"ו ומה משורה שהיא אחד משלשים (ושלשה) בלוג הקפידה עליו תורה ק"ו להין וחצי הין ושלישית ההין ורביעית ההין ולוג וחצי לוג ורביעית הלוג

Our Rabbis taught: <i>Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, and in weight, or in measure:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lev. XIX, 35, [H] 'meteyard', is lineal measure; [H] 'measure', means liquid measure of capacity. ');">⁹</span></i> 'meteyard' means land measurement, [and] it forbids measuring for one in summer and for another in winter.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Rashi: when brothers divide a landed legacy, one's portion must not be measured off in summer and another's in winter, because the measuring cord gives in winter and shrinks in summer. ');">¹⁰</span>

אמר רבא למה לי דכתב רחמנא יציאת מצרים ברבית יציאת מצרים גבי ציצית יציאת מצרים במשקלות

'In weight', prohibits the steeping of weights in salt; and 'in measure' [teaches] that one must not cause [the liquid] to foam.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The foam subsiding, the measure is found to be short. ');">¹¹</span> Now surely, you can reason a <i>minori</i>: if the Torah objected to a [false] mesurah, which is but a thirty-sixth of a <i>log</i>, how much more so a <i>hin</i>, half a <i>hin</i>, a third of a <i>hin</i>, and a quarter of a <i>hin</i>; a <i>log</i>, half a <i>log</i> or quarter <i>log</i>.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 1 hin = 12 logs = 6.072, lit. 1 log = 0.506 lit. J.E. XII, 484. ');">¹²</span>

אמר הקב"ה אני הוא שהבחנתי במצרים בין טפה של בכור לטפה שאינה של בכור אני הוא שעתיד ליפרע ממי שתולה מעותיו בנכרי ומלוה אותם לישראל ברבית וממי שטומן משקלותיו במלח וממי שתולה קלא אילן בבגדו ואומר תכלת הוא

Raba said: Why did the Divine Law mention the exodus from Egypt in connection with interest, fringes and weights?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Interest: Take thou no usury from him, nor increase&nbsp;… I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt (Lev. XXV, 36, 38); fringes: Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make fringes in the borders of their garments&nbsp;… I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt (Num. XV, 38, 41); weights: Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God which brought you out of the land of Egypt (Lev. XIX, 36). ');">¹³</span> The Holy One, blessed be He, declared, 'It is I who distinguished in Egypt between the first-born and one who was not a first-born;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Though this, particularly where the child is a first-born on the father's and not on the mother's side, is not always known to man but only to God. ');">¹⁴</span>

רבינא איקלע לסורא דפרת א"ל רב חנינא מסורא דפרת לרבינא יציאת מצרים דכתב רחמנא גבי שרצים למה לי א"ל אמר הקב"ה אני הוא שהבחנתי בין טפה של בכור לטפה שאינה של בכור אני עתיד ליפרע ממי שמערב קרבי דגים טמאין בקרבי דגים טהורין ומוכרן לישראל

even so, it is I who will exact vengeance from him who ascribes his money to a Gentile and lends it to an Israelite on interest,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gentiles being permitted to take interest, Jews pretended that their money belonged to them, and then lent it upon interest. ');">¹⁵</span> or who steeps his weights in salt, or who [attaches to his garment threads dyed with] vegetable blue<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [Probably indigo blue, an imitation of the genuine blue; [H], obtained from the blood of a mollusc, is enjoined in Scripture; Num. XV, 38.] ');">¹⁶</span>

אמר ליה אנא המעלה קא קשיא לי מאי שנא הכא המעלה דכתב רחמנא

and maintains that it is [real] blue.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' These fraudulent actions may escape the notice of man, but not of God, who can distinguish what to man is indistinguishable. ');">¹⁷</span> Rabina happened to be in Sura on the Euphrates.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [Not the Sura of academy fame, but a town on the right bank of the Euphrates, 45 parasangs N. of Circesium; v. Obermeyer, op. cit. p. 38.] ');">¹⁸</span>

א"ל לכדתנא דבי רבי ישמעאל דתנא דבי רבי ישמעאל אמר הקב"ה אילמלא (לא) העליתי את ישראל ממצרים אלא בשביל דבר זה שאין מטמאין בשרצים דיי

Said R. Hanina of Sura on the Euphrates: Why did Scripture mention the exodus from Egypt in connection with [forbidden] reptiles?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lev. XI, 44, 45: Neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt. ');">¹⁹</span> — He replied: The Holy One, blessed be He, said, I who distinguished between the first-born and one who was not a first-born, [even] I will mete out punishment to him who mingles the entrails of unclean fish with those of clean fish and sells them to an Israelite.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In a wider sense, [H] (reptiles) is used of all forbidden creatures, as here. ');">²⁰</span>

א"ל ומי נפיש אגרייהו טפי מרבית ומציצית וממשקלות א"ל אע"ג דלא נפיש אגרייהו טפי מאיסי למכלינהו:

Said he: My difficulty is 'that bringeth you up'! Why did the Divine Law write 'that bringeth you up' here?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Whereas in connection with interest etc. the expression is 'who brought you out of'; v. p. 366, n. 13. ');">²¹</span> — [To intimate] the teaching of the School of R. Ishmael, he replied. Viz., The Holy One, blessed be He, declared, 'Had I brought up Israel from Egypt for no other purpose but this, that they should not defile themselves with reptiles, it would be sufficient for me.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., I elevated them above such baseness, 'who brought you up' being understood in a spiritual sense. ');">²²</span>

ואיזהו תרבית המרבה בפירות כיצד לקח הימנו חטים בדינר זהב וכו': אטו כל הני דאמרינן עד השתא לאו רבית הוא

But, he objected, is their reward [for abstaining from them] greater than [the reward for obeying the precepts on] interest, fringes and weights?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' This being implied by his answer. ');">²³</span> — Though their reward is no greater, he rejoined, it is more loathsome to eat them [than to engage in the other malpractices].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So that 'brought you up', i.e., elevated you above such repulsiveness, is more appropriate to this than to the other laws. ');">²⁴</span>

א"ר אבהו עד כאן של תורה מכאן ואילך של דבריהם וכן אמר רבא עד כאן של תורה מכאן ואילך של דבריהם

AND WHAT IS <i>TARBITH</i>? THE TAKING OF INTEREST ON PRODUCE. E.G., IF ONE PURCHASES WHEAT AT A GOLD <i>DENAR</i>, etc. Is then the preceding example<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [Lit., 'is that stated' according to MS.M.; cur. edd. 'Are all these stated'.] Viz., lending a sela' that five denarii should be returned. ');">²⁵</span> not interest? — R. Abbahu said: Hitherto it [i.e., the first instance] is interest in the Biblical sense, but from here onward by Rabbinical law.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'according to these words'. Lending a sum of money for a larger return is Biblically forbidden; but buying ahead, as illustrated in the Mishnah, was prohibited by the Rabbis. ');">²⁶</span>

ע"כ (איוב כז, יז) יכין רשע וילבש צדיק עד כאן ותו לא אלא אפי' ע"כ יכין רשע וילבש צדיק

And Raba said likewise: Hitherto it is interest in the Biblical sense, but from here onward in the Rabbinical sense. So far,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., usury as defined in the first clause. ');">²⁷</span> <i>He</i> [sc. the wicked] <i>shall prepare it, and the just shall put it on</i>.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Job XXVII, 17: i.e., if a man received interest, his heirs ('the just') are under no obligation to return it, but may put it to their own use. ');">²⁸</span>

ע"כ רבית קצוצה מכאן ואילך אבק רבית

'So far' and no further?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Surely not! If interest that is Biblically forbidden is not returnable by the heirs, surely that which is only forbidden by the Rabbis need not be returned! ');">²⁹</span> — But, [say] even thus far, <i>'He shall prepare it, and the just put it on</i>.' Thus far it is direct<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'fixed'. ');">³⁰</span>

א"ר אלעזר רבית קצוצה יוצאה בדיינין אבק רבית אינה יוצאה בדיינין רבי יוחנן אמר אפילו רבית קצוצה נמי אינה יוצאה בדיינין

interest, from here onward it is indirect interest.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'dust of interest' [H]. Lending a sela' for five denarii is direct interest: speculating on 'futures' is only indirect interest, for it is not certain that the wine will appreciate in value. ');">³¹</span> R. Eleazar said: Direct interest can be reclaimed in court,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'through the Judges'. ');">³²</span>

א"ר יצחק מ"ט דרבי יוחנן דאמר קרא (יחזקאל יח, יג) בנשך נתן ותרבית לקח וחי לא יחיה את כל התועבות האלה עשה למיתה ניתן ולא להשבון רב אדא בר אהבה אמר אמר קרא (ויקרא כה, לו) אל תקח מאתו נשך ותרבית ויראת מאלהיך למורא ניתן ולא להשבון

but not indirect interest. R. Johanan ruled: Even direct interest cannot be reclaimed in court. R. Isaac said: What is R. Johanan's reason?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For it is logical that that which is taken illegally should be returnable. ');">³³</span> The Writ saith, <i>He hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations</i>:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ezek. XVIII, 13. ');">³⁴</span>

רבא אמר מגופיה דקרא שמיע ליה (יחזקאל יח, יג) מות יומת דמיו בו יהיה הוקשו מלוי רבית לשופכי דמים מה שופכי דמים לא ניתנו להשבון אף מלוי רבית לא ניתנו להשבון

For it [this transgression] death is prescribed, but not return [of the money]. R. Adda b. Ahaba said: Scripture saith, <i>Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God</i>:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lev. XXV, 36. ');">³⁵</span> fear is prescribed, but not return. Raba said: It follows from the essential meaning of the verse, He shall surely die: his blood shall be upon him;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ezek. ibid. ');">³⁶</span>

אר"נ בר יצחק מ"ט דר"א דאמר קרא

thus those who lend upon usury are compared to shedders of blood:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Translating the last phrase: 'his blood', i.e., the blood shed by taking usury, shall be upon him. ');">³⁷</span> just as those who shed blood can make no restitution, so those who lend upon interest can make no restitution. R. Nahman b. Isaac said: What is R. Eleazar's reason?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That direct interest can be recovered in court. ');">³⁸</span> Scripture saith,