Kiddushin, Daf Kaf Aleph, Part 4

 

Introduction

Today s section discusses the slave who wishes to remain with his owner whose ear is bored.

 

והנרצע נקנה ברציעה: דכתיב (שמות כא, ו) ורצע אדוניו את אזנו במרצע וגו’:

 

He whose ear is bored is acquired by boring. As it is written, then his master shall bore his ear through with an awl (Exodus 21:6), etc.

 

Once his ear is bored, the slave remains with his master until the Jubilee.

 

וקונה את עצמו ביובל ובמיתת האדון: דכתיב ועבדו ולא את הבן ולא את הבת לעולם לעולמו של יובל

 

And acquires himself by Jubilee or by his master’s death. As it is written: and he shall serve him , but not his son or daughter; for eternity until the eternity of the Jubilee.

 

A Hebrew slave who had his ear bored goes free at his master s death he serves the master and not the master s children. And while the Torah would seem to say that he serves as a slave forever, according to the rabbis he goes free at the Jubilee.

 

תנו רבנן מרצע אין לי אלא מרצע מנין לרבות הסול והסירא והמחט והמקדח והמכתב ת"ל (דברים טו, יז) ולקחת לרבות כל דבר שנקח ביד דברי ר’ יוסי בר’ יהודה

רבי אומר מה מרצע מיוחד של מתכת אף כל של מתכת

ד"א המרצע להביא המרצע הגדול

אמר רבי אלעזר יודן בריבי היה דורש כשהן רוצעים אין רוצעים אלא במילתא

וחכ"א אין עבד עברי כהן נרצע מפני שנעשה בעל מום וא"ת במילתא הם רוצעים היאך עבד עברי כהן יעשה בעל מום הא אין נרצע אלא בגובה של אזן

 

Our Rabbis taught: [With] an awl : I only know [that he can be bored with] an awl. From where do I include a sharp thorn, a thorn, a needle, a borer, or a stylus? From the verse, You shall take, (Deuteronomy 15:17) to include anything that may be taken by hand: the words of R. Yose son of R. Judah.

Rabbi said: Just as an awl is special, in that it is made of metal, so must anything [used for boring] be of metal.

An alternative interpretation: the awl this comes to include a large awl.

R. Elazar said: Yudan b. Rabbi used to expound: When they bore, they only bore the lobe.

But the Sages say: A Hebrew slave, [who is] a priest, cannot be bored, as he is thereby blemished; and should you say that the lobe is bored, how could they let a Hebrew slave who is a priest be blemished?

Rather, he was bored through the upper part of his ear.

 

The first part of this baraita contains a few opinions as to what the awl used to bore the ear must be made out of must it be from metal or can it be from other materials.

In the second part of the baraita, the rabbis argue over where on the ear a slave is bored. Evidently, a hole in the earlobe was considered a blemish while a hole in the upper part of the ear, on the cartilage was not. The reason to avoid blemishing the slave was that if he was a priest, he would not be able to return to serving as a priest with a permanent blemish. Thus the rabbis say that when boring, we must take into consideration his status after the Jubilee when he is no longer a priest.

 

במאי קמיפלגי דרבי דריש כללי ופרטי ולקחת כלל מרצע פרט באזנו ובדלת חזר וכלל

כלל ופרט וכלל אי אתה דן אלא כעין הפרט מה הפרט מפורש של מתכת אף כל של מתכת

 

What are they disputing about?

Rabbi interprets [by the method of] generalization and specification.

[Thus:] You shall take is a generalization; an awl is a specification: through his ear to the door is again a generalization.

Now [in a sequence of] generalization, specification and generalization, you can include only what is similar to the specification: just as the specification is explicit to be of metal, so must everything [used for boring the ear] be of metal.

 

The Talmud now discusses the midrashic techniques that led to the dispute between Rabbi and Rabbi Yose b. R. Yehudah. Rabbi uses a midrashic technique that focuses on sequences of generalizations and specifications. This leads to the interpretation that the specification limits the generalization the awl must be of metal.

 

ר’ יוסי דריש ריבויי ומיעוטי ולקחת ריבה מרצע מיעט באזנו ובדלת חזר וריבה ריבה ומיעט וריבה ריבה הכל מאי רבי רבי כל מילי מאי מיעט מיעט סם

 

R. Yose interprets [by the method of] inclusions and exclusions.

[Thus:] You shall take is an inclusion; an awl is an exclusion; . . . through his ear to the door is again an inclusion. [A sequence of] inclusion, exclusion and inclusion comes to include everything. What is included? All instruments. And what is excluded? Chemicals.

 

R. Yose uses a different midrashic technique. This technique leads to the inclusion of any physical instrument, but to the exclusion of using a chemical to bore a hole in the ear ouch!