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Week 85 - Friday - 13 July 2001

GITTIN: CHAPTER 5: MISHNAH 7

A deaf-mute may communicate and be communicated with by gestures; Ben Beteira says, with lip movements for movable property. Children's purchase is valid and their sale is valid for movable property.

Kehati

A deaf-mute may communicate and be communicated with by gestures - he may gesture to others with his hands or his head and one may gesture to him, and all matters conducted in this manner are valid; Ben Beteira says, he may communicate also with lip movements - making signs with his mouth. Although they are not as clear as gestures with the hands or the head, Ben Beteira holds that it is nevertheless effective, and anything which the deaf-mute does or agrees to with lip movements is valid, for in matters concerning the purchase or sale of - movable property - only, but not for the sale or purchase of land. Ben Beteira's lenient ruling that lip movements are effective applies only to moveable property, but regarding land, he agrees with the First Tanna that only hand or head movements are valid. According to Rambam, "for movable property" in the mishnah refers to the rulings of both Ben Beteira and the First Tanna, the latter validating the use of gestures, and the former even lip movements only in matters concerning moveable property, but not for land transactions. According to Rambam's Mishnah Commentary, it means that the object of the transaction must be seized. Thus Ben Beteira's ruling is the more stringent one. At any rate, the halakhah does not follow Ben Beteira.

Children's - nine or ten years old, and if they are intelligent and understand the nature of transactions, even seven or eight years old, purchase is valid purchase and their sale is valid for movable property - their purchase or sale of moveable property is valid. The Gemara explains that this is an enactment of the Sages for "the necessities of livelihood" - to enable minors to buy food and sell goods (Rashi). The Gemara concludes that their presents, too, are valid, whether given by a child who is mortally ill or in good health, whether substantial presents, or of little value.

GITTIN: CHAPTER 5: MISHNAH 8

These are the things they decreed in the interest of peace: a priest reads first, and after him a Levite, and after him an Israelite, in the interests of peace. They make an eruv in an old house, in the interests of peace. The pit which is closest to the water-canal is filled first, in the interests of peace. Traps for wild animals and birds and fish are treated as theft, in the interest of peace. Rabbi Yose says Actual theft. An object found by a deaf-mute, a mentally incompetent person, or a minor - are treated as theft, in the interest of peace. Rabbi Yose says Actual theft. A poor person who beats at the top of the olive tree whatever is under him is theft, in the interest of peace. Rabbi Yose says Actual theft. One must not prevent the Gentile from leket, shikhehah and pe'ah, in the interests of peace.

Kehati

These are the things - listed below they - the Sages - decreed in the interests of peace - to prevent strife and quarrels among Jews: a priest reads first - at the public reading of the Torah, and after him a Levite, and after him an Israelite - the Gemara explains that this law is from the Torah, as it is written: "You shall sanctify him therefore; for he offers the bread of your Lord" (Lev. 21:8) - this teaches that the priest shall be the first in any holy matter: "to open first, and to bless first, and to take a fine portion"; according to the Torah, however, if the priest wishes to honor his teacher or someone wiser than himself he is permitted to do so. The Sages, however, enacted that a priest may not honor a Levite or an Israelite by letting them precede him at the reading of the Torah, nor may a Levite do so to an Israelite, but rather the priest must always read the Torah first, the Levite second, and then an Israelite, in the interests of peace - so that they should not be jealous of one another and quarrel.

They make an eruv - on the Sabbath day it is prohibited to carry objects in a courtyard which is shared by several residents, unless they make an eruv before the Sabbath, i.e., they place a loaf of bread - shared by all the residents of the courtyard - in one of the houses in the courtyard. The residents of the courtyard are thus considered "joined" by this loaf, and the entire courtyard is one domain (see our Introduction to Tractate Eruvin), in an old house - if the inhabitants of the courtyard were accustomed to place the loaf for the eruv in a certain house, they must continue to make the eruv in that house, and not change the location, in the interests of peace - the Gemara explains that this was "to avoid suspicion," - for people who enter the house where the loaf of bread for the eruv was usually kept would not see it there, and suspect the residents of the courtyard of carrying on the Shabbat without an eruv (Rashi). Another explanation is "to avoid suspicion" of theft of the bread by residents of the "old house" as being the reason for changing its location (Tosafot). According to Rambam's commentary, the reason is that the house where the eruv is placed does not have to contribute towards the bread.

The pit which is closest to the water canal - from which the farmers used to channel off water to their fields. Each farmer would also prepare a water storage pit at the edge of his property to ensure his water supply in case the canal dried up, and by damming the canal he could divert the water and fill his pit. The Sages enacted that the pit closest to the water canal is filled first - and the other pits, which are further away are filled afterwards, in the interests of peace - to avoid quarrels between the fields' owners.

Traps for wild animals and birds and fish - straight nets which have no receptacle and can therefore not acquire possession for their owners, however, are treated as theft - it is also prohibited to take from them the caught animal - in the interests of peace - to prevent hatred and anger between people. However, a person who takes from them is not prosecuted. Rabbi Yose says, if a person takes from these traps, then this is - actual theft - by Rabbinic law, and the Court expropriates the catch from him.

An object found by a deaf-mute, a mentally incompetent person, or a minor - who legally do not acquire possession of the articles which they find - are treated as theft - in the interest of peace the Sages enacted that it is forbidden to take it from them because there is an element of theft. Rabbi Yose says, Actual theft - as explained above, regarding traps.

A poor person who beats at the top of the olive tree - to knock down the olives of pe'ah and shikhehah (both due to the poor) whatever is under him - the olives which he causes to fall on the ground is theft - if taken by another poor person in the interest of peace - to prevent the poor from quarreling. Rabbi Yose says, Actual theft - by Rabbinic law, and the Court expropriates them from him.

One must not prevent the gentile poor from leket, shikhehah and pe'ah - gathering gleanings, forgotten sheaves and the corner of the field in the interest of peace - so, also, a baraita quoted in the Gemara: "One supports the Gentile poor together with Jewish poor, and visits Gentile sick together with Jewish sick, and one buries the Gentile and Jewish dead in the interests of peace."

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