Kiddushin, Daf Kaf, Part 4
Introduction
In yesterday s sugya we saw that a midrash was lenient with regard to redeeming a Jewish slave if his value goes up, he is redeemed at the original lower value. If his value goes down, he is redeemed at the new, lower value. But we could have read the verses in the exact opposite way, to the master s advantage. So why read them so tendentiously?
אמר אביי הריני כבן עזאי בשוקי טבריא
א"ל ההוא מרבנן לאביי מכדי הני קראי איכא למידרשינהו לקולא ואיכא למידרשינהו לחומרא מאי חזית דדרשינהו לקולא נידרשינהו לחומרא
לא סלקא דעתך מדאקיל רחמנא לגביה דתניא (דברים טו, טז) כי טוב לו עמך עמך במאכל ועמך במשתה שלא תהא אתה אוכל פת נקיה והוא אוכל פת קיבר אתה שותה יין ישן והוא שותה יין חדש אתה ישן על גבי מוכים והוא ישן על גבי התבן מכאן אמרו כל הקונה עבד עברי כקונה אדון לעצמו
Abaye said: Behold I am like Ben Azzai in the streets of Tiberias.
One of the rabbis said to Abaye: Since these verses may be interpreted leniently and stringently: why do you choose to interpret them leniently [to the slave’s advantage]; let us interpret them stringently?
[Abaye responded]: Do not even think such a thing, since the Torah was lenient with him. For it was taught: Because he (the Hebrew slave) fares well with you (Deuteronomy 15:16): he must be with you in food and with you in drink, that you should not eat white bread while he eats dirty bread, you should not drink old wine and while he drinks new wine, you should not sleep on a feather bed while he on straw. Hence it was said: Whoever buys a Hebrew slave is like buying a master for himself.
Abaye is walking down the streets feeling like a great scholar, in the grand old city of Tiberias, when some rabbis come up to him with the question I presented above.
Abaye responds that the Torah is lenient with the Hebrew slave. And if the Torah is lenient when it comes to the slave s comforts, it clearly wishes us to be lenient when it comes to his redemption. Therefore he is always redeemed for the lower amount.
ואימא הני מילי לענין אכילה ושתיה כי היכי דלא ליצטער ליה הא לענין פדיון נחמיר עליה מדרבי יוסי בר’ חנינא
דתניא רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא אומר בא וראה כמה קשה אבקה של שביעית אדם נושא ונותן בפירות שביעית לסוף מוכר את מטלטליו שנאמר (ויקרא כה, יג) בשנת היובל תשובו איש אל אחוזתו וסמיך ליה וכי תמכרו ממכר לעמיתך או קנה מיד עמיתך דבר הנקנה מיד ליד
לא הרגיש לסוף מוכר את שדותיו שנאמר (ויקרא כה, כה) כי ימוך אחיך ומכר מאחוזתו
לא באת לידו עד שמוכר את ביתו שנאמר (ויקרא כה, כט) כי ימכור בית מושב עיר חומה
Yet perhaps that is only in respect to food and drink, that he should not be in physical distress, but in the matter of redemption, let us be stringent with him, [as follows] from R. Yose son of R. Hanina. For R. Yose son of R. Hanina said: Come and see how hard are the results of [violating even the dust of] the sabbatical year. A man who trades in sabbatical year produce must eventually sell his movable property, for it is said: In this year of Jubilee you shall restore every man unto his possession, (Leviticus 25:13) and adjacent to this [it teaches], And if you sell anything to your neighbor, or buy of anything from your neighbor, [which refers to] what is acquired from hand to hand.
If he disregards this, he eventually sells his fields, for it is said: If your brother grows poor, and sells some of his possessions (Leviticus 25:25).
He does not have a chance to repent, until he comes to sell his house, for it is said: And if a man sells a house in a walled city (Leviticus 25:29).
The other rabbis push back, and note that we could use another baraita to prove that we should rule stringently against one who sells himself into slavery. This baraita describes a long chain of events set into motion by a person who sells sabbatical produce. This is relatively small transgression, but nevertheless, it can lead to financial ruin. The baraita is based on the juxtaposition of verses. First the laws of the sabbatical year, and then laws describing a person selling his property. Later we will get to the context of selling oneself into slavery.
מאי שנא התם דאמר לא הרגיש ומאי שנא הכא דאמר לא באת לידו
כדרב הונא דאמר רב הונא כיון שעבר אדם עבירה ושנה בה הותרה לו הותרה לו סלקא דעתך אלא נעשית לו כהיתר
(Why state there if he disregards this, but here, He does not have a chance to repent ?
This is in accordance with R. Huna. For R. Huna said: Once a man has committed a transgression and repeated it, it is permitted to him.
Permitted to him! Can you think so?
Rather say, it becomes to him as permitted.)
This is a small digression in the baraita. The Talmud picks up on the different language in describing his repeated sin. They explain it as referring to a concept that once a person becomes accustomed to sin, he will continue to do so as if the act was permitted. Now that he has begun down the path of selling sabbatical year produce, he will continue to do so.
לא באת לידו עד שמוכר את בתו שנאמר (שמות כא, ז) וכי ימכור איש את בתו לאמה ואע"ג דבתו לא כתיבא בהאי ענינא הא קמ"ל ניזבין אינש ברתיה ולא ניזיף בריביתא מאי טעמא ברתיה מגרעא ונפקא והא מוספא ואזלא
He does not have a chance to repent until he sells his daughter, for it is said, And if a man sell his daughter to be a slave (Exodus 21:7); (and though [the sale of] his daughter is not mentioned in this section, it teaches us that one should [rather] sell his daughter and not borrow with interest. What is the reason? His daughter makes a deduction [in her purchase price] and goes free, whereas this [his debt] grows ever larger.)
This next stage, having to sell one s daughter, is from elsewhere in the Torah. So what is it doing here? The Talmud says that it is here to teach that it is better to sell one s daughter than borrow with interest. In our minds, this probably sounds quite exaggerated, but borrowing money at very high interest rates, which was certainly the case in the pre-modern world, could easily lead to financial ruin. Selling one s daughter can always be fixed by buying her back. Once one is in debt to a loan shark, the interest compounds and there is nothing one will be able to do to get out of debt.
לא באת לידו עד שלוה ברבית שנא’ (ויקרא כה, לה) וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך וסמיך ליה אל תקח מאתו וגו’
He does not have a chance to repent until he borrows with interest, as it is written, And if your brother grows poor, and his hand fail with you (Leviticus 25:35) and juxtaposed to it [is stated,] Do not take interest from him (Leviticus 25:36).
The next thing he will have to do is borrow with interest, which is a dangerous endeavor.
לא באת לידו עד שמוכר את עצמו שנאמר (ויקרא כה, כה) וכי ימוך אחיך ונמכר לך לא לך אלא לגר שנאמר (ויקרא כה, מז) לגר ולא לגר צדק אלא לגר תושב שנאמר גר תושב משפחת גר זה עובד כוכבים כשהוא אומר לעקר זה הנמכר לעבודת כוכבים עצמה
He does not have a chance to repent until he sells himself, as it is said, And if your brother grows poor with you and sells himself to you (Leviticus 25:25). And not just to you, but to a convert, as it is said [And sell himself] to a convert (Leviticus 25:47). And just to a righteous convert, but to a resident alien, as it is said, or to the resident alien And the family of a convert refers to a non-Jew. And it says: To the offshoot, it refers to one who sells himself to idolatry itself!
Ultimately, he will come to sell himself off to idolatry itself. The midrash here expounds on some of the superfluity in Leviticus 25:47 reading into it three categories a convert, a righteous non-Jew, a non-Jew, and then adding in even to be a slave for a Temple.
This is the end of the midrash. The question therefore has been asked why is the law lenient when it comes to the redemption price when we can see that someone who sells himself into slavery must have, at one point, committed the serious sin of violating the Sabbatical year.
אמר ליה התם הא אהדריה קרא דתני דבי רבי ישמעאל הואיל והלך זה ונעשה כומר לעבודת כוכבים אימא לידחי אבן אחר הנופל תלמוד לומר (ויקרא כה, מח) אחרי נמכר גאולה תהיה לו אחד מאחיו יגאלנו
Abaye responded to him: Behold the verse restored him, for the School of R. Ishmael taught: Since this man went and became a priest in the service of idolatry, I might have said: Let us cast a stone after the fallen, Scripture says, after he is sold he shall be redeemed, one of his brethren shall redeem him.
Abaye responds that the verse itself says that after this person has reached the depths of depravation and sold himself to be a slave for idolatry, he still must be redeemed. Thus, even though he was a sinner, the law should still treat him leniently when it comes to redemption.
ואימא גאולה תהיה לו כי היכי דלא ליטמע בין העובדי כוכבים הא לענין פדיון נחמיר עליה מדרבי יוסי ברבי חנינא
But say he shall be redeemed so that he is not assimilated among the non-Jews, but in respect to redemption we should be stringent with him, in accordance with R. Yose son of R. Haninah?
Again, the other rabbi pushes back against Abaye. Yes, he must be redeemed, but this does not mean he should be redeemed at the lower value.
אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק תרי קראי כתיבי כתיב (ויקרא כה, נא) אם עוד רבות בשנים וכתיב (ויקרא כה, נב) ואם מעט נשאר בשנים וכי יש שנים מרובות ויש שנים מועטות
אלא נתרבה כספו מכסף מקנתו נתמעט כספו כפי שניו
R. Nahman b. Yitzchak said: Two verses are written: If there remain increased years (Leviticus 25:51); And if there remains but little in the years (Leviticus 25:52): are there then increased [i.e., prolonged] years and decreased [i.e., shortened] years? Rather [the meaning is:] if his value increases, [then his redemption shall be] out of the money that he was bought for; if his value decreases, [the basis of redemption is] according unto his years [yet remaining].
R. Nahman b. Yitzchak finds another way of deriving the law that he is always redeemed for the lesser amount of money. Instead of the years being increased or decreased years? Rather, the increase or decrease refers to his value.
ואימא הכי קאמר היכא דעבד תרי ופש ליה ד’ ניתיב ליה ד’ מכסף מקנתו עבד ד’ ופשו ליה תרתי ניתיב תרתי כפי שניו
א"כ נכתוב קרא אם עוד רבות שנים אם מעט נשאר שנים מאי בשנים נתרבה כספו בשנים מכסף מקנתו נתמעט כספו בשנים כפי שניו
But perhaps the meaning is this: If he served two [years], and he has four remaining, he must repay him for four years out of the money that he was bought for; while if he served four [years], two remaining, he must repay him for two, according unto his years ?
If so, Scripture should write, If there be yet many years . . . If there remain but few years why in years [bashanim]? [To teach:] if his value increased in [these] years, [his redemption is] out of the money that he was bought for ; if his value decreased in [these] years, [he is redeemed] according unto his years.
The final difficulty is why not read the verses according to their simple meaning the amount he pays to redeem himself accords with how many years he works. This is clearly the original meaning of the verses.
The rabbis tease out the extra midrashic reading from the prefix ב. The prefix seems to them to be extraneous and thus allows them to find extra meaning in the verse, one which accords with the midrash that we learned yesterday.
אמר רב יוסף דרשינהו רב נחמן בר יצחק להני קראי כסיני
R. Joseph said: R. Nahman interpreted these verses as Sinai.
R. Joseph thinks R. Nahman s interpretation is so great, it s as if the verses were given at Sinai. High praise indeed!