1 – Topic – A Technical thought on the Parsha
As we prepare for Shabbos Parshas Mishpatim and the Shabbos in which we are preparing for Rosh Chodesh Adar which is of course in the coming week. Parshas Mishpatim has a lot of the Yeshivishe Parhsios, much of Bava Kamma. I would like to share with you a Bava Kamma Machshava which has far reaching implications.
We learn between Sheini and Shlishi in 21:34 (בַּעַל הַבּוֹר יְשַׁלֵּם, כֶּסֶף יָשִׁיב לִבְעָלָיו; וְהַמֵּת, יִהְיֶה-לּוֹ) the Parsha of Ki Yiftach Ish Bor, naturally the Torah says that if you dig a Bor in middle of the street and an animal falls in, the Baal Habor Yeshaleim, the Baal Habor has to pay. Kesef Yashiv L’balav, he has to pay the owner. V’hamies Yiyeh Lo. The Gemara Darshuns Kesef Yashiv L’balav V’hameis. The Gemara in Maseches Bava Kamma 11a (top of Amud) Darshuns whose job is it to pull the dead carcass of the animal out of the Bor. Let’s say a living animal is worth $200 and the animal fell into the Bor and died. Now the dead carcass is good for dog food and is worth $50. Whose cost is it to pull out the animal from the Bor? We say Kesef Yashiv L’balav V’hamies, that the person who dug the Bor has to pay and he also has to pay to pull the dead animal out of the Bor. Something that I guess we would say is logical. It is your fault that it fell in so you are responsible to get it out. Wonderful! Simple Gemara and a satisfying Halacha.
The Ketzos in Siman Shin Pei Vav S’if Kattan Yud asks that this contradicts a well-known Gemara in Bava Kamma 98a (top of Amud) (הזורק מטבע של חבירו לים הגדול פטור מאי טעמא אמר הא מנח קמך). The Gemara 98a has a Chiddush Gadol Me’od. The Gemara there says if Reuvain throws Shimon’s coin into the sea, naturally he has to pay. But if the coin is visible because the water is clear enough and you look down and you can see it then he doesn’t have to pay because he can say “Harei Kamach” a Lashon of Chazal that Harei Shelcha Lefanecha, there is your coin. Now it costs money because you have to get someone to jump into the water and dive down to get it out. The Gemara says no, the person who threw the coin in could say Harei Kamach, there is your coin, you see it, now have a good day. He is totally Patur. Now ignoring the fact that the Gemara is a Chiddush, why should you be Patur, but more importantly it is a contradiction to our Posuk. If an animal falls into a Bar, the Mazik (the one who dug the Bor) has to get the animal out. So how can it be that if you physically throw someone’s item into the sea that you are not responsible for pulling it out, you tell him Harei Kamach. If so, then by us also let him say your animal, Harei Kamach, there it is on the bottom of the Bar. It seems to be a clear contradiction the two Gemaras.
The Ketzos struggles to answer, I say struggles because he says a Teretz but he himself has a Tzorech Iyun on his own Teretz. In Chiddushai Rav Shimon he has a piece to explain it. The Steipler in Kehillas Yaakov on Bava Kamma in Siman Tes, they all struggle to come up with a satisfying answer on the two Gemaras.
I would like to share with you a Halacha, Rav Moshe in the Igros Moshe and the Dibros Moshe as well but in at least two Teshuvos in the Igros Moshe, one of them being Yore Dai’a Beis Siman 112. Rav Moshe takes a Halacha Yesod and uses it to answer the contradiction of the two Gemaras and to teach a Yesod.
Rav Moshe’s Yesod is the following. He says that every item in the world is valued by its market value. If you damage someone’s animal you pay him based on the market value of the animal. If you damage someone’s car it has to do with the market value of the car, whatever you destroy you pay based on market value.
Tiba, coinage, has as a matter of Din a constant value. What I mean to say is that if you stole $100 from someone in 1960 and now it is 57 years later and you go to him and say I owe you $100 that I stole from you in 1960 and here it is. He says what are you talking about?
$100 in 1960 can buy a lot. A house in 1960 you could buy for $1,000 so $100 was worth a lot in 1960. Now you are giving me back $100? Halacha says no, there is something called Tiba, coinage, money, and all Dinei Mamon are pegged to that amount of money. If I lent you $1,000 and 5 years later you say I will give you back the $1,000 plus the inflationary loss as it doesn’t buy as much, that is Ribbis because the constant in the Halacha is that Tiba has a constant value. This is the Yesod which is a true Yesod anyway.
The Chazon Ish writes that if we lived in a world without money and we lived in a world that worked on a barter system, Halacha would require that we create money because then we would have no way of dealing with Ribbis or many of these Halachos. That is the Yesod.
Let’s return now to our discussion. If your animal is at the bottom of a Bor, a carcass of an animal may be worth $50 but the carcass of the animal at the bottom of a Bor typically is worth less. People have to Schlep it up. Since people have to Schlep it up, therefore, it has a lower value.
If I take your set of silverware and I throw it into the ocean and I tell you look you see it through the water, Harei Shelcha Lefanecha, Zagt Rav Moshe no. I took a set of silverware that was worth $1,000, now that it is at the bottom of the ocean how much money can I get for it, I can’t get $1,000. I can only get $500 for it. Therefore, Zagt Rav Moshe, any time you take someone’s item and you transport it to a place where it is worth less, that lower value is what you get. So if you took $1,000 of silverware and threw it into the bottom of the sea, you can only get $500 for it at the bottom of the sea. Someone would have to go dive and get it, then the value changes. Only Tiba, only money which has by Halacha a constant value then if you throw it into the sea you can say Harei Shelcha Lefanecha, and it is a Din that money has a constant value.
The Gadlus of Rav Moshe’s analysis is that the Mechudashdika Gemara, that Gemara on 98a which says that you don’t have to pull it out, now is only applicable in a very limited case and the Halacha that you do have to pull it out is expanded to all other cases. It is Miduyak because that Gemara when it is brought in Shulchan Aruch does not say when you throw someone’s object into the ocean, the Shulchan Aruch brings Davka a coin (Matbei’a). Gadlus in the Limud of this Masechta.
2 – Topic – A beautiful Machshava from the Ora Shel Torah
On 21:1 (וְאֵלֶּה, הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים, לִפְנֵיהֶם) these are the laws that you placed before them I would like to give an explanation of the Posuk as it could have just said (וְאֵלֶּה, הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים). What is (וְאֵלֶּה, הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים, לִפְנֵיהֶם)? Let me share with you a beautiful thought. The Mishna in Pirkei Avos 2:8 says (רבן יוחנן בן זכאי קיבל מהלל ומשמאי. הוא היה אומר, אם עשית תורה הרבה--אל תחזיק טובה לעצמך, כי לכך נוצרת). If you learned a lot of Torah don’t think that you are so great, for that you were created. The Medrash Shmuel says a new Teitch. (אם עשית תורה הרבה) if you learned a lot of Torah (אל תחזיק טובה לעצמך) don’t hold the Torah for yourself, don’t keep it for yourself, teach others (כי לכך נוצרת). Man was created to be able to spread Torah to other Jews. So therefore, (אל תחזיק טובה לעצמך) don’t hold the Torah to yourself.
The Avodas Yisrael says that this is Mirumaz in the Posuk in Iyov 5:7 (כִּי-אָדָם, לְעָמָל יוּלָּד) man was created to work. (עָמָל) is Rashei Taivos Al Menos L’lameid. What a person does for work of teaching Torah. The Ikkur Torah is what a Yid does when he teaches other Yidden. There is a Gemara in Maseches Sukkah 49b (5 lines from the bottom) where the Gemara Darshuns the Posuk in Mishlei 31:26 (פִּיהָ, פָּתְחָה בְחָכְמָה; וְתוֹרַת חֶסֶד, עַל-לְשׁוֹנָהּ). To say what is Toras Chesed, the Torah of kindness? Is there a Torah of kindness and a Torah not of kindness? The Gemara says (תורה ללמדה זו היא תורה של חסד). If you learn Torah to teach others that is Toras Chesed. (שלא ללמדה זו היא תורה שאינה של חסד). The point being that the Ikkur Toeles of a Lomeid Torah, of course learning Torah has its own Toeles onto its own. But someone who learns Torah in order to teach that is Toras Chesed. That is the kindness of Torah.
Zagt the Orah Shel Torah, most Mitzvos begin with Vayidabeir Hashem El Moshe Laimor. Hashem spoke to Moshe, Laimar to say to others. The Ramban in Parshas Va’eira which is the first place where this Posuk appears in 6:10 says what does it mean Vayidabeir Hashem El Moshe Laimor? Laimor Lib’nei Yisrael. In Yeshiva we Teitched in Yiddish, Hashem spoke to Moshe Laimar, Azoi Tzu Zagen, in order to repeat it. There were some Rabbeim who Teitched Laimor, Zagendik. Hashem spoke to Moshe saying. WRONG! Vayidabeir Hashem El Moshe Laimor, Azoi Tzu Zagen. Laimor means to say to others. That is right. Generally Mitzvos start that way. Beautiful!
Vayidabeir Hashem El Moshe. Hashem spoke with Middos Hadin, Laimor say it to others and then it becomes Toras Chesed. It becomes a Torah of Chessed that a person turned it out from Din to Chesed. The main purpose of Torah is not just to learn the Torah but to teach the Torah. Not to just have a Geshmak in learning but to have a desire to pull others. Just a Mashal. Let’s say you get a Geshmak from being at Mishmar pull others to be there. (אל תחזיק טובה לעצמך, כי לכך נוצרת). Make others have the same Geshmake Cheilek in Torah.
Mimeila (וְאֵלֶּה, הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים, לִפְנֵיהֶם). Moshe Rabbeinu here we are about to start. The Aseres Hadibros are behind us (וְ). We go on to the rest of Torah. I want to introduce you. Moshe Rabbeinu I am going to teach you plenty of Dinnim. (וְאֵלֶּה, הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים, לִפְנֵיהֶם). Put it before the Jewish people. If you put it in front of them then it is an Andera Torah. And so, a beautiful Machshava and a Lomdus.
3 – Topic – A quick Vort on being appreciative for the good things that others do for you.
A quick Vort courtesy of my dear brother in law Rav Mordechai (Karfiol) who told me the following. It says by Nevaila that you have an animal that you didn’t Shecht and a lion came and ripped it up. What do you do with a Nevaila? 22:30 (לַכֶּלֶב תַּשְׁלִכוּן אֹתוֹ) Throw it to the dogs. What is (לַכֶּלֶב) L’haKelev, to which specific Kelev?
Zagt the Baal Haturim, you have a sheep dog, a dog that guards the sheep, and the dog failed to scare away the fox or the lion and the animal became a Teraifa. (לַכֶּלֶב תַּשְׁלִכוּן אֹתוֹ). If you have someone who does you favors and then fails, when he fails it should be a moment to appreciate the times that he doesn’t fail. Someone gets upset because his wife doesn’t have supper ready, it is not a reason to get upset. Let’s say you have such a fool that gets upset. Now when you come home and supper is not ready and there is no clean socks in your drawer, that should make you stop and realize that clean socks don’t come into the drawers by themselves all of the time, they come because they are put there. Supper doesn’t appear on its own all the time it comes because someone cares enough to prepare it. (לַכֶּלֶב תַּשְׁלִכוּן אֹתוֹ) when it doesn’t work, that is when you should realize to appreciate the other times.
I would like as best as I can to encourage everybody to appreciate, to be positive. When you walk in the home, you might have a headache, you might have had a hard day, be optimistic, be glowing. The members of your household should look forward to you walking in. be appreciative, if supper is not ready say thank you for the times that supper is ready on time. Be appreciative, be kind, and you will have a happy life. A Gutten Shabbos to one and all!
