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1) SUSPECTED THIEVES

(a) (Mishnah): We may not buy from people that guard fruit...
(b) Rava bought a bundle of vine shoots from a sharecropper.
(c) Abaye: But the Mishnah forbids buying fruit or wood from people that guard fruit!
(d) Rava: That is only by guardians, who receive no share of the produce - but sharecroppers receive a share of the produce, we may suppose that they sell from their share.
(e) (Beraisa): People that guard fruit - we may buy from them when they sit and sell with the baskets and big scales in front of them;

1. If the seller says to conceal it, it is always forbidden.

(f) We may buy from them at the entrance to the garden, not in back of it.
(g) Question: When may one buy from a thief?
(h) Answer #1 (Rav): Only if the majority of what he sells is his.
(i) Answer #2 (Shmuel): Even if the minority is his.

1. Rav Yehudah ruled as Shmuel.

(j) (Rav Huna or Rav Yehudah): One may destroy property of an informer (one who shows others' money to extortionists).
(k) (The other of Rav Huna and Rav Yehudah): One may not destroy his property.

1. The one who permits - one is allowed to kill him, all the more so to destroy his money!
2. The one who forbids - perhaps he will have a righteous heir - "The evil one prepares, the Tzadik will wear".

(l) Rav Chisda's sharecropper was meticulous to take his full share (some explain - he took more than he was entitled to).
(m) Rav Chisda fired him, and kept his portion - "The wealth of the sinner waits (to pass to) the Tzadik".

(a) (Rav Huna or Rav Chisda): "What is the hope of an evildoer when he steals - Hash-m Yeshel his soul" - Hash-m will give serenity to the soul of his victim;
(b) (The other of Rav Huna and Rav Chisda): It means, Hash-m will cast off the thief's soul.
(c) (R. Yochanan): Anyone who steals a Perutah, it is as if he takes the soul of his victim - "The way of a thief, he takes the owner's soul";

1. It also says "He will eat your harvest and your bread, they will eat your sons and daughters";
2. It also says "The Chamas (forcing one to sell) by people of Yehudah, who spilled innocent blood in their land"
3. It also says "To Sha'ul...that he killed the Givonim".

(d) Question: Why are all these verses needed?
(e) Answer: One might have thought, theft is only as killing the owner, but not his children - "your sons and daughters" teaches, this is not so;

1. One might have thought, this is only by theft without paying, but not by one who pays - "The Chamas by people of Yehudah, who spilled innocent blood " teaches, this is not so;
2. One might have thought, this is only by direct theft, not by causation - "To Sha'ul...that he killed the Givonim" teaches, this is not so.
3. Question: Where do we find that Sha'ul killed the Givonim?
4. Answer: He did not directly kill them - but he killed the Kohanim of Nov, who used to supply the Givonim with water and food;

i. The verse considers this as killing them.

(a) (Mishnah): We may buy from women...
(b) (Beraisa): We may buy woolen garments in Yehudah and linen garments in Galil from women,

1. We may not buy wine, oil and flour from them, nor from slaves or children;
2. R. Elazar bar Shimon says, a woman may sell the value of 4 or 5 Dinarim, in order to make a covering for her head.

(c) If the seller says to conceal it, it is always forbidden.
(d) Collectors of Tzedakah may take only a small amount from women.
(e) From wives of olive-pressers, we may buy a large quantity of olives or oil, but not a small amount.

1. R. Shimon ben Gamliel says, in upper Galil we may buy a small amount of olives from women, for their husbands are often embarrassed to sell themselves and ask their wives to sell.

(f) Ravina visited Bei Mechuza; women threw gold chains and bracelets at him - he took them.
(g) Rabah Tosfah: But the Beraisa says, collectors of Tzedakah make take only a small amount from women!
(h) Ravina: For people of Mechuza, this is a small amount.

(a) (Mishnah): Launderers may keep tufts that they remove from clothing;

1. What a fuller (one who cleans and shrinks wool) removes, it must be returned to the owner (of the garment).

(b) A launderer that removes 3 threads to even out a garment - he may keep them;

1. If he removes more, they must be returned to the owner.
2. Black threads on a white garment - the launderer may keep as many as there are.

(c) A tailor that had enough thread left over to sew with, or cut off a piece of material 3 fingers by 3 fingers - the owner gets them;
(d) Shavings that result from a Ma'atzad (plane) belong to the carpenter; from a Keshil (big plane) to the owner.

1. If he is working in the owner's house, even sawdust from a drill belongs to the owner.

(e) (Gemara - Beraisa): We may buy tufts from a launderer, because they belong to him;

1. A launderer takes the 2 top threads;

2. He should not sew loops (for stretching the garment) with more than 3 stitches.

(f) He should not comb the garment in the direction of the warp threads, rather, in the direction of the woof threads;
(g) He should even it out lengthwise, not widthwise;

1. He may remove strands up to 1 Tefach thick to even it out.

(h) Contradiction: The Beraisa permits taking 2 threads, the Mishnah permits 3!
(i) Answer: The Beraisa speaks of strong threads, the Mishnah speaks of weak threads.

(a) (Beraisa): He should not comb the garment in the direction of the warp threads, rather, in the direction of the woof threads;
(b) Contradiction: Another Beraisa says just the opposite!
(c) Answer: A garment worn every day should not be combed in the direction of the warp threads, lest it will tear easily; by a fancy garment, this is better, for it looks nicer.
(d) (Beraisa): He should not sew loops with more than 3 stitches.
(e) Question (R. Yirmeyah): Does this mean 3 insertions of the needle, or 3 complete (insertion and extraction) stitches?
(f) This question is unsettled.
(g) (Beraisa): He should even it out lengthwise, not widthwise;
(h) Contradiction: Another Beraisa says just the opposite!
(i) Answer: A regular garment should be evened out lengthwise; a belt should be evened out widthwise (since only the ends are seen).

(a) (Beraisa): We may not buy tufts from a fuller, for they do not belong to him;

1. In a place where the custom is that he keeps them, we may buy.
2. Everywhere, we may buy from him a pillow or blanket stuffed with tufts.
3. Question: Why is this?
4. Answer: (Even if he stole them,) he acquired them by changing them.

(b) (Beraisa): We may not buy the following from a weaver: wool put on the pole holding the woof threads, threads through which the warp threads pass, woof threads, or leftover balls of thread, but we may buy a mutlicolored garment (even though it seems that the material was taken from other garments), spun or woven threads.
(c) Question: Something woven was already spun (there is no need to teach it)!
(d) Answer: The Beraisa refers to plaits, which were not previously spun.
(e) (Beraisa): We may not buy from a dyer samples (of garments, taken to see how the dye will be absorbed) or examples (of wool of the desired color) or bits pulled from shearings;

1. We may buy from him dyed garments, spun thread and garments.

(f) Question: A garment was already spun (there is no need to teach it)!
(g) Answer: The Beraisa refers to felt, which was not previously spun.
(h) (Beraisa): One who gives skins to a tanner, the pieces of skin and wool that come off belong to the owner;

1. What comes off in the water, the tanner keeps.

(i) (Mishnah): Black threads...
(j) (Rav Yehudah): A launderer is called Katzra - he Mekatzer (shortens) garments, and keeps what he removes.
(k) (Rav Yehudah): If the 3 threads were not taken, they count towards the measure that the Techeiles strings (of Tzitzis) must be distanced from the corner.
(l) (Mishnah): A tailor that had enough thread left over...
(m) Question: How much is considered enough to sew with?
(n) Answer (Rav Asi): A needle's length, and past the needle (one needs a needle's length just to insert the needle).
(o) Question: Does he mean, a needle's length above the (length of the) needle - or, a needle's length, and any amount more?
(p) Answer (Beraisa): A tailor that had thread left over insufficient to sew with, or fabric less than 3 fingers by 3 fingers - if the owner wants them, he gets them; if not, the tailor keeps them.

1. If the Mishnah means, 2 needle's lengths - even less than this can be used for a loop.
2. But if the Mishnah means, a needle's length and any amount past this - less than this is useless (why would anyone want it?)!

i. We conclude, it means 2 needle's lengths.

(q) (Mishnah): Shavings that result from a Ma'atzad (plane) belong to the carpenter; from a Keshil (big plane) to the owner.
(r) Contradiction (Beraisa): Pieces that come off a Ma'atzad or saw belong to the owner; shavings from a drill or plane and sawdust belong to the carpenter.
(s) Answer (Rava): In the region of the Tana of the Mishnah, there are 2 kinds of planes - big ones are called Keshil, small ones are called Ma'atzad;

1. In the region of the Tana of the Beraisa, they only have big ones, and they call them Ma'atzad.

(t) (Mishnah): If he is working in the owner's house...
(u) (Beraisa): One who quarries rocks - we may buy from anything from them;

1. Pruners of trees, vines and bushes, weeders, people that uproot some of the vegetables where they are growing too densely - if the owner wants what they remove, they must give him.

(v) (Rav Yehudah): Hops and unripe fodder - one may keep them except in places where people care about them.

1. (Ravina): In Masa Machsiya, people care about them.