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Gitin 55
GITIN 53-55 - Sponsored by Rabbi Dr. Eli Turkel and his wife, Jeri Turkel.
May Hashem bless them with many years of Simcha, health and fulfillment, and
may they see all of their children and grandchildren follow them in the ways
of Torah and Yir'as Shamayim!
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1) [line 3] AGREI - his pay, salary
2) [line 3] KUSHTA - the truth
3) [line 5] CHERESHES - a deaf woman
4) [line 5] SHE'HISI'AH AVIHAH (KIDUSHEI KETANAH AL YEDEI AVIHAH)
(a) The Torah gives a father the right to marry off his daughter at any age
before she is twelve years old.
(b) If she was divorced or widowed or her father died without marrying her
off, the Chachamim gave the girl's mother and/or oldest brother the right to
marry her off. In these cases the marriage is only mid'Rabanan and she must
be at least ten years old, or at least six years old if she has an
understanding of the concept of marriage.
(c) According to the RAMBAM and the RA'AVAD, in the above circumstances, the
Chachamim also gave *her* the right to get married by herself. This marriage
is also mid'Rabanan. According to the Rambam, she must be at least ten years
old, or at least six years old if she has an understanding of the concept of
marriage. According to the Ra'avad, however, her Kidushin is valid even if
she has enough sense to guard the object given to her for her Kidushin (and
she realizes that it was given to her for Kidushin).
(d) In the instances of marriage mid'Rabanan, before she reaches Halachic
puberty and becomes a Na'arah (through the growth of two pubic hairs), she
has the option of annulling the marriage through a procedure known as Mi'un
(refusal). She says before two witnesses, "I do not want him," and the
marriage is annulled retroactively. There is no need for her to receive a
Get (a bill of divorce). A girl who is married off by her father cannot
annul the marriage through Mi'un. (RAMBAM Hilchos Ishus 4:7-8)
5) [line 8] HA'MARISH - a beam
6) [line 8] BIRAH - a large building
7) [line 9] TAKANAS HA'SHAVIM (the Ordinance of the Penitents)
(a) According to Torah law, a person must return the exact item that he
stole if it is still in its original state, or its value if it is not, as it
states, "v'Heishiv Es ha'Gezeilah Asher Gazal" - "he shall return the stolen
object that he stole" (Vayikra 5:23).
(b) If a beam has been built into a building, although it has not been
changed from its original state, the Chachamim instituted that the thief
need not return the beam itself. He may return its value instead. The reason
this was instituted was so that it is not unnecessarily difficult for him to
repent and change his ways. This is referred to as "Takanas ha'Shavim" ("the
Ordinance of the Penitents").
8) [line 14] KINSI - take in (accept)
9) [line 18] BETULEI BATLEI (GET: BITUL HA'GET)
(a) According to the Torah, a man who sends a Get (bill of divorce) to his
wife with a messenger can revoke it before it reaches the hands of his wife
by declaring in front of a Beis Din (i.e. two or three men -- Gitin 32b),
"The Get that I have sent is hereby nullified." (MISHNAH Gitin 32a). Our
Gemara rejects the assumption that calling the Get a Shtar Chov (a note of
indebtedness) indicates that the husband has revoked the Get.
(b) The repeal of the Get takes effect even if it is not done in the
presence of the woman or the messenger. However, the Chachamim forbade
revoking the Get unless it is done in the presence of the messenger or the
wife. According to some Amora'im, they feared that if the husband would
revoke the Get without the knowledge of the messenger and the wife, his wife
may marry another man, relying on the Get, without realizing that the Get
was revoked before it was handed to her. In order to prevent this
unfortunate situation, the Chachamim decreed that a man may not revoke a Get
after sending it to his wife with a messenger unless he (or a second
messenger of his) does so in their presence. Other Amora'im maintain that
the decree was enacted because men regularly used to cancel Gitin after they
dispatched them in order to distress their wives. The Chachamim therefore
ruled that the husband (or a second messenger of his) must revoke the Get in
the presence of the original messenger or the wife. The husband will not go
to such lengths and pursue the original messenger to revoke the Get, just to
distress his wife (ibid. 33a and RASHI).
(c) If the husband *does* revoke the Get while not in the presence of the
first messenger or the wife (b'Di'eved), the Tana'im argue as to whether his
action has any validity (ibid.). The Halachah follows the opinion that the
repeal takes effect. However, since with the repeal the husband has
transgressed a Rabbinical enactment, he receive Makas Mardus (see Background
to Background to Yevamos 52:1) for his action.
10) [line 20] MISHUM KISUFA - because of shame, embarrassment
11) [line 22] KATAN OCHEL NEVEILOS HU - Beis Din is not obligated to prevent
(lit. "separate") a child from eating Neveilos
(a) The Torah exempts a Jewish minor (boy under the age of 13, girl under
the age of 12) from the performance of Mitzvos.
(b) The Gemara in Yevamos (114a) addresses the question as to whether or not
Beis Din is obligated to make sure that minors do not transgress any Torah
prohibition, in order that the child not become accustomed to transgressing
and continue when he becomes an adult. The Gemara here is following the
opinion that Beis Din is not obligated to prevent a child (or a Chereshes
who, like a child, has no Da'as and is exempt from the performance of
Mitzvos) from sinning.
12) [line 27] MEKA'AKE'A - demolish
13) [line 32] YE'USH KEDI LO KANI (YE'USH, with regard to theft)
(a) Ye'ush means that the owner gives up hope of ever getting back his
object from the thief, and verbally acknowledges that the loss is
irretrievable ("Vai Li l'Chisaron Kis")
(b) A thief becomes liable for a stolen item (such that if it is destroyed,
he must reimburse the owner) when he makes a Ma'aseh Kinyan on the item (a
formal Halachically-binding act denoting a change in ownership). Similarly,
when he makes a Ma'aseh Kinyan on the item, he acquires it to the extent
that if the owner gives up hope ("Ye'ush") of ever getting it back, and the
object becomes "changed" (Shinuy; see Background to Sukah 30a) from its
original state, he need not return the object itself, but rather its value.
(c) The Gemara here follows the opinion that Ye'ush alone is not enough to
grant the thief ownership of the stolen object; Ye'ush must be accompanied
by a change in the object itself in order for the thief to acquire ownership
of the item.
14) [line 36] ATZEVIN - sad
55b---------------------------------------55b
15) [line 5] D'KALIL HI - that it is entirely consumed on the Mizbe'ach
(with the exception of the hide)
16) [line 15] TASHLUMEI CHEFEL (a thief's double restitution)
(a) If a thief surreptitiously steals an object from a fellow Jew, and is
found guilty of the theft in court based on the testimony of valid
witnesses, he must return the object (if it is still in its original state)
or its value (if it is not) to its owner (Vayikra 5:23). In addition, the
thief is obligated to pay the victim of the theft the value of the stolen
object a second time. Restitution of the value of the stolen object is
called "Keren," and the additional payment is known as "Kefel."
(b) Only a thief ("Ganav") who steals surreptitiously pays Kefel, and not a
robber ("Gazlan"), who brazenly burglarizes and takes the possessions of
others by force. Chazal explain that the Torah punishes a thief more
stringently than a robber because of the disrespect he shows for the Creator
by taking care to avoid the eyes of man, while not being bothered in the
least by the eye of the One Above that is constantly watching (Bava Kama
79b).
(c) A thief does not pay Kefel unless he makes a "Kinyan," an act of
acquisition, on the object that he steals (e.g. by lifting it up, bringing
it into his own property, drawing it towards himself in a semi-secluded
area, etc.). If he simply broke or ruined another person's object without
making a Kinyan on it first, he is not considered to be a "Ganav" but a
"Mazik" ("one who causes damage"), and he does not pay Kefel.
(d) A thief does not pay Kefel if he steals Shtaros (bills of ownership or
promissory notes). Most Tana'im hold that a thief does not pay Kefel if he
steals land or slaves (Bava Kama 117b).
(e) Kefel, like any other payment that involves over-compensation for a
monetary loss, is considered a "Kenas" (penalty) rather than "Mamon"
(compensation). As is true of every Kenas, a thief does not have to pay
Kefel if he admits to his theft of his own accord. Only if witnesses testify
to his guilt in court must he pay. If he admits to the theft of his own
accord, and later witnesses testify to his guilt in court, the Amora'im
argue as to whether or not he must pay the Kefel (Bava Kama 74b-75a -- he is
exempted from payment, according to the lenient opinion, only if his
admission took place under specific circumstances). Until he is obligated to
pay the Kefel in court, the thief is fully exempt from paying Kefel, and
does not even have a moral obligation to pay it on his own accord (RASHBA
Bava Kama 74b, see also RAMBAN in Milchamos at the end of the third Perek of
Kesuvos).
17) [line 16] TASHLUMEI ARBA'AH VA'CHAMISHAH (a thief's quadruple and
quintuple restitution for the theft of a sheep or ox, respectively)
(a) If a thief surreptitiously steals an object from a fellow Jew, and is
found guilty of the theft in court based on the testimony of valid
witnesses, he must return the object (if it is still in its original state)
or its value (if it is not) to its owner (Vayikra 5:23). In addition, the
thief is obligated to pay the victim of the theft the value of the stolen
object a second time. Restitution of the value of the stolen object is
called "Keren," and the additional payment is known as "Kefel" (See previous
entry).
(b) If the object that was stolen was a live sheep or ox, and the thief
either slaughtered or sold it, the Torah places an even stiffer fine on the
thief. In the case of a stolen sheep that was slaughtered or sold, the thief
must compensate the owner a total of four times its actual value
("Arba'ah"), while in the case of a stolen ox that was slaughtered or sold
the thief must compensate the owner a total of five times its actual value
("Chamishah"). This law does not apply to any other object or animal that is
stolen. Chazal (Bava Kama 79b) explain that the Torah was more lenient with
a person who steals a sheep than with one who steals an ox, since he already
suffered a somewhat demeaning experience of walking with a sheep on his
shoulders (as opposed to the ox-thief, who presumably led the ox on foot
before him).
(c) A thief does not pay Arba'ah va'Chamishah for slaughtering a sheep or ox
unless he, or a person he appoints, performs a proper ritual slaughter (i.e.
a Shechitah of the type that normally permits an animal to be eaten).
According to some Amora'im (Bava Kama 68a), a thief does not pay Arba'ah
va'Chamishah for *selling* a sheep or ox unless he sold it after "Ye'ush
Ba'alim" (i.e. the owner lost all hope of recovering the sheep or ox, see
Background to Sukah 30:2), while according to others he only pays Arba'ah
va'Chamishah if he sells it *before* Ye'ush Ba'alim.
(d) Arba'ah va'Chamishah, like any other payment that involves
over-compensation for a monetary loss, is considered a "Kenas" (penalty)
rather than "Mamon" (compensation). As is true of every Kenas, a thief does
not have to pay Arba'ah va'Chamishah if he admits to his guilt of his own
accord. Only if witnesses testify to his guilt in court must he pay. If he
admits to his guilt of his own accord, and later witnesses testify to his
guilt in court, the Amora'im argue as to whether or not he must pay Arba'ah
va'Chamishah (Bava Kama 74b-75a -- he is exempted from payment, according to
the lenient opinion, only if his admission took place under specific
circumstances). Until he is obligated to pay the Arba'ah va'Chamishah in
court, the thief is fully exempt from payment and does not even have a moral
obligation to pay it on his own accord (RASHBA Bava Kama 74b, see also
RAMBAN in Milchamos at the end of the third Perek of Kesuvos).
18) [line 16] BA'CHUTZ (SHECHUTEI CHUTZ)
The Torah obligates a person to bring all Kodshim that are fit to be offered
as sacrifices to the Beis ha'Mikdash, as it states in Vayikra 17:1-7.
Besides the Mitzvas Aseh, there is a Lav prohibiting their slaughter outside
of the Azarah (Shechutei Chutz). The punishment for transgressing this is
Kares (SEFER HA'CHINUCH Mitzvah #186). This punishment applies, however,
only to an animal that is fit to be brought inside as a sacrifice. A stolen
animal being brought by the thief is not fit to be brought inside the Azarah
(according to the view that Ye'ush does not suffice to acquire ownership).
19) [line 18] MAI AVIDTEI - what is it (Kares) doing here?
20) [line 19] ACHICHU ALEI - they laughed at him
21) [line 21] LO SACHUCHU ALEI - do not laugh at him
22) [line 26] L'GIZOSEHA U'VELADOSEHA - for its shearings and offspring
23) [line 28] SHE'LO YEHEI CHOTEI NISKAR - so that a person who sins does
not benefit from his action
24) [line 29] SIKRIKON - murderous idolaters who would take the land of Jews
instead of killing them. "Sikrikon" comes from the words, "Sa Karka" --
"take land [instead of taking my life]" (RASHI).
25) [line 29] YEHUDAH - the land of Yehudah, consisting of the lands south
of the ancient city of Antipatris, near the modern-day Rosh ha'Ayin
26) [line 29] HARUGEI MILCHAMAH - people killed in the war waged by Titus on
Yehudah and Yerushalayim (in the time of the destruction of the second Beis
ha'Mikdash)
27a) [line 32] MIKCHO BATEL - his sale is nullified
b) [line 33] MIKCHO KAYAM - his sale is upheld
28) [line 38] REVI'A - a quarter of the sum of purchase
29) [line 39] SHE'EIN B'YADAN LIKACH - they (the original owners) do not
have [the money] to buy back the land
30) [line 49] AGAV ONSEI - by force, against his will
31) [line 50] "ASHREI ADAM MEFACHED TAMID; U'MAKSHEH LIBO YIPOL B'RA'AH" -
"Praiseworthy is the person who is always afraid, and the one who hardens
his heart will fall into misfortune." (Mishlei 28:14)
32) [line 51] A'KAMTZA U'VAR KAMTZA CHAROV YERUSHALAYIM - because of [the
two people named] Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, Yerushalayim was destroyed
33) [line 52] CHAROV TUR MALKA - [a place called] Tur Malka was destroyed.
"Tur Malka," or "Har ha'Melech" (King's Mount) was a mountainous region in
the area of Yehudah (some claim that it was in the vicinity of the
modern-day Beit Guvrin (less than 50 kilometers southwest of Jerusalem). It
was named for the king Yanai, one of the great Chashmona'i kings. It was
densely populated, as the Gemara later (57a) describes (see also Eichah
Rabah 2:3, and Tanchuma Vayikra 7).
34) [line 52] A'SAKA D'RISPAK - because of the axle of the carriage
35) [line 52] BEITAR / BEN KOZIVA (BAR KOCHVA)
(a) At the time of the Churban Beis ha'Mikdash (70 CE), Yerushalayim was
destroyed and razed to the ground. The Roman Tenth Legion was garrisoned
there following its destruction. Emperor Hadrian (who reigned from 117 - 138
CE) founded a new pagan city on the site of Yerushalayim, naming it Aelia
Capitolina; Aelia in honor of his own name Publius Aelius Hadrianus, and
Capitolina in honor of Jupiter, whose temple in Rome was on the Capitolene
hill. At the site of the Beis ha'Mikdash, he erected a new temple to
Jupiter. According to the Roman historian Dio Cassius, this was the cause of
the revolt of Bar Kochva (132 - 135 CE). However, this could have not been
the *main* cause of the revolt, since no reference to it is made in the
Jewish sources. There are references to a number of commandments whose
observance was prohibited by the Romans; e.g. Shabbos, circumcision, family
purity and Keri'as Shema. All of these decrees brought on the revolt of Bar
Kochva (in about 3883/123 CE), which lasted for nine years.
(b) At first the revolt began by Jews who refused to yield to the decrees.
They hid in caves and other secret places. (The Chazan Caves, one of these
hideouts, can be visited today.) When discovered and raided by the Romans
they would resist with great courage and often with great success. Before
long, the attacked became attackers, striking out at the Roman troops. At
this time, a leader appeared who was a military genius, Shimon bar Koziva.
Rebbi Akiva felt that he was great enough to be Mashiach and called him Bar
Kochva, "son of the star," an allusion to the verse, "Darach Kochav
mi'Yakov," "A star shall go forth from Yakov" (Bamidbar 24:17). The "star"
of the verse is an allusion to the Mashiach.
(c) Bar Kochva succeeded in organizing nets of resistance into an army and
gradually pushed the Roman troops out of one position after another.
Approximately three years after the beginning of the revolt, Bar Kochva and
his troops took over the city of Yerushalayim for approximately three years.
There is some evidence that the Beis ha'Mikdash was functioning at this
time. The Tenth Legion was evacuated and withdrew to Caesarea. At this point
a period of independent Jewish sovereignty began in Eretz Yisrael, which the
Gemara refers to as the Kingdom of Bar Koziva, which lasted for two and a
half years (Sanhedrin 97b). Jews all over the world, and other nations, too,
were giving evidence of great hostility to the Romans.
(d) Sixty years earlier, at the time of the Churban, the Romans required
three legions for the conquest of Yerushalayim. At the time of Bar Kochva,
the Romans brought in six legions, besides the legions that were already
there, and further detachments of cavalry and infantry. [It seems that one
of the reasons for this greater need of military strength was that the Jews
were unified, in contrast to the times of the Churban when the Jews were
fragmented into opposing groups and sects - Editors note.]
(e) Despite the enormous size of their army, the Romans were unwilling to
face Bar Kochva's troops in full battle. They proceeded slowly, attacking
isolated localities and interfering with food supplies. When the
Twenty-second Legion advanced too deeply and too quickly into Jewish
territory, it was totally destroyed. It was never reconstituted, and forever
after was omitted from the list of units in the Roman army.
(f) After a siege of approximately twelve months, the Romans recaptured the
city of Yerushalayim. Bar Kochva and his troops withdrew to Beitar, a large
city to the southwest of Yerushalayim, where the fighting continued for some
three and a half years. Eventually, Bar Kochva accepted a slanderous
accusation against his uncle, the sage Rebbi Elazar ha'Moda'i, who had been
praying all along for the salvation of Beitar, and killed him in a fit of
rage. Afterwards, Beitar fell to the Romans, and Bar Kochva was slain.
(YERUSHALMI Ta'anis 4:5)
(g) The blood of the men, women and children killed is said to have flowed
into the Mediterranean Sea, which was a distance of one Mil away (Gitin 57a;
according to Eichah Rabah 2:4 four Mil; alt. 40 Mil). The Gemara (ibid.)
records that the non-Jews in the neighboring towns did not need to fertilize
their vineyards for seven years due to the quantity of blood that flowed
into the ground.
(h) At first, the Roman Government did not let the Jews bury the bodies. One
emperor is said to have fenced in his vineyard with the dead bodies (Eichah
Raba 2:4). After quite some time, the next emperor allowed the bodies to be
buried. It was seen as a sign of favor from HaSh-m that the Romans changed
their minds, and that the bodies did not decompose before they were buried.
The Chachamim established the Berachah of ha'Tov veha'Metiv to commemorate
the miracles.
(i) After the revolt was crushed, no Jews were allowed to live in
Yerushalayim for 500 years. The rulers killed any Jew who set foot in the
city. The fall of the Beis ha'Mikdash sixty-three years earlier triggered
the destruction of Yerushalayim; the fall of Beitar triggered the
destruction of Eretz Yisrael. Nevertheless, Jews always remained in Eretz
Yisrael.
(from History of the Jewish People/From Yavneh to Pumbedisa, Artscroll
Publishers, Brooklyn, New York, 1986, by Meir Holder)
36a) [line 53] RACHAMEI - his friend
b) [line 53] BA'AL DEVAVEI - his enemy
37) [line 54] SHAM'EI - his servant, attendant
38) [line 56] MAI BA'IS HACHA - what are you doing here?
39) [line 56] KUM, PUK! - Get up and get out!
40) [last line] HO'IL V'ASAI, SHAVKAN - since I have already come, leave me
alone [and let me stay]
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