Kiddushin, Daf Kaf, Part 5

 

Introduction

Today s sugya discusses whether a Jew sold to a non-Jew can be half-redeemed.

 

(סימן עבד בית חצאי’ בית עבד קרובים) בעא מיניה רב הונא בר חיננא מרב ששת עבד עברי הנמכר לעובד כוכבים נגאל לחצאין או אינו נגאל לחצאין

 

(Mnemonic: Slave, House, Half, Slave, Relations.)

R. Huna b. Hinena asked R. Sheshet: Can a Hebrew slave sold to a non-Jew be half redeemed, or can he not be half redeemed?

 

The question is can a Hebrew slave buy back part of his freedom, and thereby reduce the remaining time of servitude.

 

גאולתו (ויקרא כה, כו) גאולתו משדה אחוזה גמר מה שדה אחוזה אינו נגאל לחצאין אף האי נמי אינו נגאל לחצאין או דילמא לקולא אמרינן לחומרא לא אמרינן

א"ל לאו אמרת התם נמכר כולו ולא חציו ה"נ נגאל כולו ולא חציו

[Do we say] that his redemption is derived from the laws regard an ancestral field just as an ancestral field cannot be half redeemed, so too he cannot be half redeemed; or perhaps, we may invoke this comparison to create a leniency but not a stringency?

He answered him: Did you not say there, he may be sold in his entirety, but not half of him, here too, he may be redeemed in his entirety but not half of him.

 

When it comes to redeeming one s ancestral field (Leviticus 25:26), the field must be redeemed in its entirety. So the question is whether the same laws apply to redeeming the slave sold to a non-Jew.

R. Sheshet answers by using another comparison. A Jew can be sold only in his entirety. He cannot be half sold. So too, he cannot be half redeemed.

 

אמר אביי אם תימצי לומר נגאל לחצאין משכחת לה לקולא ולחומרא

לקולא זבניה במאה יהב ליה חמשין פלגא דדמי ואשבח וקם על מאתן אי אמרת נגאל לחצאין יהיב ליה מאה ונפיק

ואי אמרת אין נגאל לחצאין יהיב ליה מאה וחמשין ונפיק

 

Abaye said: If you say that he can be half redeemed, it will turn out that there could be both a leniency and stringency.

The leniency: If he [the non-Jew] bought him for a hundred, and he [the slave] then gave him fifty, half of his value, and then he appreciated and stood at two hundred: if you say that he can be half redeemed, he pays him [an additional] hundred and goes out [free];

And if you say, he cannot be half redeemed, he must pay him a hundred and fifty, and [then] go out.

 

Abaye now explores the ramifications of holding that a slave may be half redeemed in a case where his value changes and shows how this creates both a stringency and a leniency. If he can be half redeemed, and his value goes up, the law will be relatively lenient.

 

והאמרת נתרבה כספו מכסף מקנתו כגון דאוקיר וזל ואוקיר

 

But did you not say: if his value increased, [his redemption is] out of the money that he was bought for !

This could happen in a case where he was valuable [when bought], then became cheaper, then rose again.

 

The problem with Abaye s above scenario is that we said earlier that his redemption must be from the amount of money he was bought for. If he goes up in value, he is redeemed for what the original value was and not the higher amount at the end.

The Talmud solves this by suggesting a case where he fluctuates in value. He is sold for 200, then his value decreases to 100. He now redeems half of the value. Then his value goes up again to 200, and he now redeems the other half for 100 and it turns out he pays only 150, less than his original and current value.

משכחת לה לחומרא זבניה במאתן יהיב מאה פלגי דדמי ואיכסף וקם על מאה אי אמרת נגאל לחצאין יהיב ליה חמשין ונפיק ואי אמרת אין נגאל לחצאין הנך מאה פקדון נינהו גביה יהיב להו ניהליה ונפיק

 

It will be a stringency : If he bought him for two hundred and he [the slave] paid him a hundred, half of his value, and then his value decreased to a hundred.

If you say, he can be half redeemed, he must pay him fifty and go out;

but if you say that he cannot be half redeemed, then this hundred is considered to be a deposit to his master, he [the slave] gives it to him and goes out [free].

 

Abaye now explains how being able to be half redeemed could lead to a stringency. If he is worth 200 he will need to pay 100 to redeem half of his value. If his value then decreases to 100, he will pay another 50 and go free, for a grand total of 150.

But if we said he cannot be half-redeemed, even if he paid 100 when his value stood at 200, this payment is considered only a deposit. In the end, when he is worth 100, he can go out free without paying any more.