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Week 96 - Thursday - 27 September 2001

BAVA KAMMA: CHAPTER 9: MISHNAH 10

If a person says to his son, "Konam (I vow) that you will not benefit from what is mine!" If he dies, he inherits him. In his lifetime and after his death - if he dies, he does not inherit him, and he restores to his sons or to his brothers; and if he does not have - he borrows, and the creditors come and collect payment.

Kehati

This mishnah, dealing with a son whose father forbade him by vow to have any benefit from his property, and his legal status regarding the inheritance was taught incidentally to the previous mishnah. In tractate Nedarim we learn that the word konam refers to a vow, and is a substitute term for the word sacrifice, e.g., the one taking the vow says, "Konam this thing to me," meaning "this thing shall be forbidden to me as a sacrifice" (see the Introduction to tractate Nedarim; and the mishnah there 1:2).

If a person says to his son, "Konam - I forbid you by a vow - that you will not benefit from what is mine!" - another version reads, "Konam that you benefit from what is mine" - i.e., That which you enjoy from what is mine is forbidden to you as a sacrifice is forbidden (see Tosefot Yom Tov).

If he - the father - dies, he - the son - inherits him - i.e., he may benefit from his father's property like the rest of the heirs, since he was forbidden to derive benefit from them only during his father's lifetime, when the property belonged to his father. After the father's death, however, they no longer belong to his father, and the son derives no benefit from his father's possessions. But if the father specified that he forbids him benefit from his possessions - In his lifetime and after his death, if he dies, he does not inherit him - he is forbidden to benefit from the property of the inheritance. In any event he attains the inheritance by law, but is forbidden to derive benefit from it, and he is as one who inherits property from which it is forbidden to derive benefit (Rabbeinu Nissim, Hameiri), and he restores - his portion in the inheritance; according to another version, "he gives" (see Tosefot Yom Tov), to his - father's - sons - i.e., his brothers, or to his - father's - brothers - if he is the only son; and if he does not have - anything to eat, and cannot forgo the inheritance from his father - he borrows - and eats, and the creditors come and collect payment - from his portion in the property of the inheritance. This is not considered a violation of the vow, since the creditors' collection of their debts from the property of the inheritance is not regarded as benefit, as was taught, "If a person is prohibited by a vow from deriving any benefit from his fellow, he may repay his debt for him" (Ned. 4:2).

Rambam writes: “If a person says to his son, 'You are forbidden to benefit from mine...’ - if he dies, he inherits him, since this is as if he says, 'My property is forbidden to you.' If he forbade him to have benefit from his, and specified, 'Whether during my lifetime or after my death' - if he dies he does not inherit him, since it is as if he said to him, 'This property is forbidden to you.' The son to whom the inheritance was forbidden is permitted to give the inheritance to his brothers or his sons, and similarly, to pay with it his debt or his wife's ketubah; but he must inform them, that this is his father's property which was forbidden to him, since when a person swears that his fellow shall have no benefit from him, he is permitted to repay his debt..." (Hil. Nedarim 5:6, 8).

BAVA KAMMA: CHAPTER 9: MISHNAH 11

If one steals from a convert and swears to him, and he died - he pays the principal and homesh to the priests and a guilt-offering to the altar, as it is written, "But if the man have no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made shall be the Lord's, even the priest's; besides the ram of atonement, whereby atonement shall be made for him" (Num. 5:8). If he was taking the money and the guilt offering up, and died -the money shall be given to his sons, and the guilt offering shall pasture until it becomes unfit, and it will be sold and its money shall fall as a free will offering.

Kehati

If a convert (ger) dies and has no heirs, whoever is first to take it attains his property. Our mishnah discusses how a person who stole from a convert who died fulfills his obligation to return the stolen object.

If one steals from a convert - who has no heirs, and swears - falsely - to him - that he did not steal from him, and he - the convert - died, he pays the principal and homesh to the priests - of that watch (see Taanit 2:6 and Introduction to following mishnah), in order to fulfill the obligation of returning the stolen object, and - brings - a guilt-offering to the altar - for atonement, as it is written, "But if the man have no kinsman (go'el) to whom restitution may be made for the guilt - the Sages said, Is there a person in Israel who does not have a kinsman? The Torah rather refers to the case of a person stealing from a convert (who died, and who has no heirs), the restitution for guilt which is made - the principal and the homesh, which should be returned to the party from whom the object was stolen - shall be the Lord's, even the priest's - and the Lord gives them to the priest; besides the ram of atonement - the guilt-offering sacrifice, that the thief must bring, whereby atonement shall be made for him."

If he - the person who stole from the convert - was taking up the money and the guilt-offering - to Jerusalem, and died - on the way, the money - the principal and the homesh - shall be given to his - the thief's - sons - since by law, when the convert died the thief acquired the stolen object because when a convert dies, whoever seizes his property first acquires it; the Torah, however, obligated him to fulfill the mitzvah of returning the stolen object by giving the money to the priests, so that he would be atoned; after he died, however, there is no longer any need for atonement, so the money passes by inheritance to his sons, and the guilt-offering - the ram which he had dedicated as a guilt-offering, shall pasture until it becomes unfit - by acquiring a defect, in keeping with the law regarding a guilt-offering the owner of which died, and it will be sold and its money shall fall as a free will offering - to the box in the Temple, the money from which was used to purchase animals to be sacrificed as free will offerings when nothing else was being sacrificed on the altar (the "slack time of the altar").

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