Gittin 83

Chapter 83

א בעבד של שני שותפין ודברי הכל
1 The Mishnah [according to R. Joseph] is speaking of a slave belonging to two partners.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And even the Rabbis would admit that one of them can liberate the half belonging to him, since, as far as he is concerned, this is a complete liberation, analogous to that if a wife. ');"><sup>1</sup></span>
ב אמר רבה מחלוקת בששיחרר חציו והניח חציו אבל שיחרר חציו ומכר חציו או נתן במתנה חציו כיון דקנפיק מיניה כוליה דברי הכל קנה
2 Rabbah says: The dispute [between Rabbi and the Rabbis] concerns the case where [the master] liberates the half of the slave and keeps the other half, but if he liberates one half and sells the other half or makes a gift of it to someone<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' At the same time as or just before he liberates him. ');"><sup>2</sup></span>
ג אמר ליה אביי ובכולו לא פליגי והתני חדא הכותב נכסיו לשני עבדיו קנו ומשחררין זה את זה ותניא אידך האומר כל נכסי נתונין לפלוני ופלוני עבדיי אף עצמם לא קנו
3 since, the slave emerges completely from his ownership, both Rabbi and the Rabbis would agree that he acquires [the half of himself]. Said Abaye to him: And do they not differ even [where the master parts] with the whole? Has not one [authority] taught: 'If a man assigns in writing his property to two of his slaves,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' By means of two deeds which he gives to a messenger on their behalf at the same time, so that each is entitled to a half. ');"><sup>3</sup></span>
ד מאי לאו הא רבי והא רבנן
4 they acquire ownership and emancipate one another,'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., each emancipates the half of the other which he has acquired. ');"><sup>4</sup></span>
ה לא אידי ואידי רבנן הא דאמר כולו הא דאמר חצי חצי
5 while it has been taught by another, If a man says, 'All my property is made over to my slaves So-and-so and So-and-so', they do not acquire ownership even of themselves? Now are we not to say that the one [authority]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Who says that a slave is emancipated by halves. ');"><sup>5</sup></span>
ו והא מדקתני סיפא ואם אמר חצי חצי לא קנו מכלל דרישא דאמר כולו פרושי קא מפרש אף עצמן לא קנו כיצד כגון דאמר חצי חצי
6 concurs with Rabbi and the other with the Rabbis? — No; both concur with the Rabbis, [only] the one [refers to the case] where [the man] assigned the whole [of his property to both slaves],<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In which case even the Rabbis admit that they acquire ownership, because, as they are both liberated at once, they emerge completely from his ownership. ');"><sup>6</sup></span>
ז הכי נמי מסתברא דאי ס"ד רישא דאמר כולו השתא אמר כולו לא קנו אמר חצי חצי מיבעיא
7 while the other [refers to the case] where he says half [to one and] half [to the other].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In which case they do not emerge from his ownership, even if he presented both of the deeds at the same moment, because it is possible that he assigns the same half of his property to both, and so half of each of them is still left enslaved. ');"><sup>7</sup></span>
ח אי משום הא לא איריא תנא סיפא לגלויי רישא שלא תאמר רישא דאמר חצי חצי אבל אמר כולו קנו תנא סיפא דאמר חצי חצי מכלל דרישא דאמר כולו ואפ"ה לא קנו
8 But the second clause goes on: 'If he says, half [to one] and half [to the other] they do not acquire ownership.' Does not this show that the first clause refers to the case where he says 'the whole'? — This second clause explains the first, [thus:] 'They do not acquire ownership even of themselves. When is this so? If, for instance, he says, half [to one] and half [to the other].' This supposition is reasonable, since if we assume the first clause [to refer to the case] where he says 'the whole', seeing that where he says 'the whole they do not acquire ownership, is it necessary [to tell us that they do not do so] where he says 'half and half'? — This is not a conclusive argument. [It may be that] the second clause was put in to make clear [the reference in] the first: lest you might think that the first clause [refers to] where he said half [to one] and half [to the other], leaving us to infer that where he said 'the whole' they acquire ownership, he adds in the second clause, 'where he says half and half,' which shows that the first clause [speaks of the case] where he says 'the whole,' and even so they do not acquire ownership. Or if you like I can say that there is no contradiction, as the one authority is speaking of one document<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In which case they are not liberated, just as two women cannot become divorced with one Get. ');"><sup>8</sup></span>
ט ואיבעית אימא לא קשיא כאן בשטר אחד כאן בשני שטרות
9 and the other of two documents. [If he is speaking of] one document, what is the point of 'half [to one] and half [to the other]'? Even if he said, '[Let each take] the whole,' they do not acquire ownership?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Because two slaves cannot be emancipated with one deed. ');"><sup>9</sup></span>
י בשטר אחד מאי איריא חצי חצי אפי' אמר כולו נמי לא קנו ה"נ קאמר אף עצמן לא קנו בד"א בשטר אחד אבל בשני שטרות קנו ואם אמר חצי חצי אף בשני שטרות נמי לא קנו
10 — This in fact is what he does say, [as what he means is:] 'They do not acquire even themselves. When do we say this? [When he makes out] only one deed. If, however, [he makes out] two deeds, they do acquire ownership. And if he says half [to one] and half [to the other], even with two deeds they do not acquire ownership.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Because they do not emerge completely from the ownership of the master. ');"><sup>10</sup></span>
יא ואיבעית אימא ל"ק כאן בבת אחת כאן בזה אחר זה
11 If you like again I can say that there is no contradiction; in the one case [the two deeds] are given at one and the same time, in the other case one after the other.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In both cases the whole being assigned to both. ');"><sup>11</sup></span>
יב בשלמא בתרא לא קני דהא קני ליה קמא אלא קמא ליקני נפשיה ולקנייה לחבריה אלא מחוורתא כדשנינן מעיקרא
12 [If that is so], I can understand why the second does not acquire ownership, because the first has already become his owner; but why does not the first acquire both himself and the other? No; the best [solutions are] those which were given first. R. Ashi said:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' R. Ashi seeks to reconcile the two authorities cited above. ');"><sup>12</sup></span>
יג רב אשי אמר שאני התם דקא קרי להו עבדיי א"ל רפרם לרב אשי ודלמא עבדיי שהיו כבר
13 The case is different there, because he calls them 'my slaves'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In the deed they are designated as slaves, hence it is to be assumed that it was not his intention to liberate them but merely to make them a present of his property, which, however, as slaves they are not competent to acquire. ');"><sup>13</sup></span>
יד מי לא תנן הכותב כל נכסיו לעבדו יצא לחירות שייר קרקע כל שהוא לא יצא לחירות ר' שמעון אומר לעולם הוא בן חורין עד שיאמר כל נכסי נתונין לפלוני עבדי חוץ מאחד מרבוא שבהן
14 Said Rafram to R. Ashi: perhaps he means, 'who were my slaves'? Have we not learnt: If a man assigns in writing all his property to his slave, the latter becomes free; if he excepts a piece of land however small, he does not become free.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since we do not know which fraction was excepted, the slave acquires no land, and since he acquires no land he does not acquire himself, since we cannot divide the assignment of himself from the assignment of the land, v. supra p. 30. ');"><sup>14</sup></span>
טו טעמא דאמר [חוץ מאחד מרבוא שבהן] הא לא אמר הכי קני אמאי והא עבד קא קרי ליה אלא עבדי שהיה כבר הכא נמי עבדיי שהיו כבר
15 R. Simeon says: He becomes free in all cases unless the master says, 'The whole of my property is assigned to my slave So-and-so except one ten-thousandth part thereof'?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' R. Simeon holds that we can in this case divide the assignments, but we do not know whether the ten-thousandth part does not refer to the slave himself. ');"><sup>15</sup></span>
טז נגחו שור יום של רבו לרבו יום של עצמו לעצמו אלא מעתה יום של רבו ישא שפחה יום של עצמו ישא בת חורין איסורא לא קאמרינן
16 Now the reason for this is that he added these words, otherwise he would be free.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'acquire'. ');"><sup>16</sup></span>
יז ת"ש המית מי שחציו עבד וחציו בן חורין נותן חצי קנס לרבו
17 But [it may be asked], why, seeing that he calls him 'my slave'? Obviously he means, 'who was hitherto my slave'; so here he means, 'who were hitherto my slaves'. [If a slave who is half-emancipated] is gored by an ox, if it is on a day on which he belongs to the master, the [compensation<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The so-called 'damage' (nezek), the depreciation in his money value. ');"><sup>17</sup></span> goes] to the master, if on the day when be belongs to himself, it goes to himself. If that is so, then on his master's day he should be allowed to marry a slave-woman and on his own day a free woman? — We do not apply this principle where a religious prohibition is involved. Come and hear: If [an ox] kills one who is half a slave and half free, the owner gives half the fine<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Of thirty pieces of silver, according to Ex. XXI, 32. ');"><sup>18</sup></span> to his master