Torah Community Connections

Week 95 - Friday - 21 September 2001

BAVA KAMMA: CHAPTER 8: MISHNAH 5

One who strikes his father or his mother, and inflicts a wound on them, and one who wounds his fellow on the Sabbath, is free from all of them, since he is on charge for his life. Whoever wounds his Canaanite bondman is exempt from all of them.

Kehati

One who strikes his father or - his mother, and inflicts a wound on them - even though they did not warn him, and one who wounds his fellow on the Sabbath - even though he inadvertently (shogeg) violated the Sabbath. In either case, since if they had warned him and he had intentionally (be-mezid) inflicted the wound, he would have become liable for the death penalty, he - is exempt from payment of - all - five categories: damage, pain, healing, loss of time, and shame, since he is on charge for his life - i.e. he is liable for the death sentence at the hand of the Court, and regarding every transgression carrying liability for both the death penalty and payments the transgressor is exempt from payments, whether he performed the transgression be-mezid or be-shogeg (see 3:10, above).

Regarding "the person who wounds his fellow on the Sabbath," Rambam writes: "Is not one who wounds performing a destructive act, and anyone who performs a destructive act on the Sabbath is exempt from the death penalty? Why then should we consider one who wounds as committing a sin to which the death penalty applies? He answers, since he satisfied his evil inclination when wounding his fellow, he is as one performing a constructive act. The sin is thus one to which the death penalty is applicable, and he therefore is exempt from paying compensation" (Hil. Hovel u-Mazik 4:8).

Whoever wounds his Canaanite bondman is exempt from all - for even if others wound him, all the damages belong to the master.

BAVA KAMMA: CHAPTER 8: MISHNAH 6

If one cuffs his fellow, he gives him a sela. Rabbi Yehudah, in the name of Rabbi Yose HaGelili, says, A maneh. If he slapped him, he gives him two hundred zuz. With the back of his hand, he gives him four hundred zuz. If he twitched his ear, if he plucked out his hair, spat and the spittle reached him, if he stripped his cloak from him, if he bared the head of a woman in the marketplace, he gives four hundred zuz. This is the general rule: everything is according to the respect due to him. Rabbi Akiva said, Even the poorest in Israel are considered as if they are freemen who had lost their property, for they are the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And it once happened that a man uncovered the head of a woman in the marketplace, she came before Rabbi Akiva, and he obligated him to give her four hundred zuz. He said to him: Rabbi, give me time, and he gave him time. He watched out for her, standing at the entrance to her courtyard, and broke the jug before her, in which there was as an issar of oil. She uncovered her head and palmed it and placed her hand on her head. He set witnesses over against her, and came before Rabbi Akiva. He said to him: Rabbi, To such a one I am to give four hundred zuz? He said to him: you have not said anything. If a person wounds himself, even though he is not allowed to do so, he is exempt; if others wounded him, they are liable. And if a person cuts down his plants, even though he is not allowed to do so, he is exempt; if others cut down his plants, they are liable.

Kehati

Our mishnah deals with injuries whose essence is shame, and for which the Sages established set payments as fines.

If one cuffs (toke'a) his fellow - Rambam and Bartenura interpret this as striking him with his fist, while Rashi interprets this as striking him on his ear, and Tiferet Yisrael interprets this as striking him opposite his ear; others explain this associating the root of the word toke'a, with the verb to blow, i.e., he blows into his ear loudly, he gives him a sela - compensation for his shame. The Gemara explains that this is a current sela, which is one half a silver dinar (B. K. 36b).

Rabbi Yehudah, in the name of Rabbi Yose HaGelili, says, A maneh - one hundred dinars. The law is not in accordance with Rabbi Yehudah. According to Tosefot, the first opinion in the mishnah refers to a poor person, while Rabbi Yehudah refers to a wealthy person (ibid.).

If he slapped him - on his cheeks, he gives him two hundred zuz - compensation for his shame. If he slapped him on the cheeks - With the back of his hand - which is extremely humiliating, he gives him four hundred zuz - compensation for shame. If he twitched - i.e., pulled, or according to Rashi, rendered his ear, defective - or - if he plucked out his hair, - or - spat and the spittle reached him - fell on the body of his fellow, or - if he stripped his cloak - his outer garment - from him, - or - if he bared the head of a woman in the marketplace: in all these cases - he gives four hundred zuz - compensation for shame.

This is the general rule: everything is according to the respect due to him - all the sums specified in this mishnah are those paid to an extremely distinguished person; a person who is not so distinguished, however, is not paid these sums, but rather is paid sums at the discretion of the Court.

Rabbi Akiva said, Even the poorest in Israel are considered as if they are freemen - distinguished people - who had lost their property, for they are the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - Rabbi Akiva disagrees with the first opinion in the mishnah. He holds that all Jews are equal concerning these fines, whether or not they are distinguished.

And it once happened that a man uncovered the head of a woman in the marketplace, she came before Rabbi Akiva, and he obligated him to give her four hundred zuz. He said to him: Rabbi, give me time - to pay, and he gave him time. He watched out - waited - for her, - until he saw her - standing at the entrance to her courtyard, and broke a jug before her, in which there was as an issar of oil - a small amount of oil, which can be purchased for an issar. She uncovered her head and palmed it – sponged-up the oil by palming it with her hand - and placed her hand on her head - to oil her hair with the oil. He set witnesses over against her - so that they would see how she behaved with the oil, and came before Rabbi Akiva. He said to him: Rabbi, To such a one am I to give four hundred zuz? - since she degraded herself by revealing her hair for an issar's worth of oil, thereby showing that she is not particular about her shame!

He - Rabbi Akiva - said to him: you have not said anything - Your claim is of no value, since - If a person wounds himself, even though he is not allowed to do so - to wound himself, for whoever causes himself pain is considered to be a sinner, as we learn concerning the Nazarite: because he caused himself suffering by abstaining from wine, the Torah writes about him, "and make atonement for him, for that he sinned against the (i.e. his) soul" (Num. 6:11; see the Gemara); nevertheless, he is exempt - from a Court-imposed punishment; but - if others wounded him, they are liable - as we learned above,

And if a person cuts down his - own - plants, even though he is not allowed to do so - because of the prohibition "you shall not destroy" (Deut. 20:19), he is exempt - because he could say, I did this for my own benefit (Tiferet Yisrael); if others cut down his plants, they are liable - to pay; this is also the law concerning shame: even if the person shames himself, others who shame him are nevertheless liable to pay, according to the amounts determined by the Sages. Regarding this woman too, even though she degraded herself by uncovering her hair in order to benefit from the oil, nevertheless whoever uncovers her hair in the marketplace is obligated to pay her four hundred zuz. The law, however, is not in accordance with Rabbi Akiva, but rather in keeping with the general rule that everything is according to the shamer and the person shamed.

Rambam writes: "There are many types of blows entailing shame, and a little pain, but no real injury. The Sages determined upon fixed amounts in compensation for them, and whoever strikes his fellow one of these blows pays him the fixed amount. All of these are fines, and the fixed sum is compensation for pain, and for healing, and for loss of time, and for shame; whether or not he required payment for healing and loss of time, he pays this sum." (Hil. Hovel 3.8).

The Tur writes, in the name of Alfasi and Rabbeinu Asher, that the fixed sums are compensation only for shame and pain, for these two things are present in most of the types of damage which a person does to his fellow. If there are expenses for healing and loss of time, compensation is paid for them according to the actual sum involved, and the Sages could not determine fixed amounts for these.

Return to Mishna Yomit Index

Visit the Mishna Yomit Archives