Lesson # 158 • Baba Kamma in Practice Not too long ago, one of the men in our shul asked me if he could join our kollel. I told him he would be most welcome. He asked what we were learning. I told him that we were learning Baba Kamma. He responded that he remembered studying Baba Kamma in yeshiva when he was young "in the old country" meaning in Europe before he came to America and from there to Israel. He added that he remembered that the Gemara Baba Kamma spoke about oxen goring cows. That he was not interested in leaning about oxen goring cows. I asked him to come down to one study session and if he didn't find it to his liking he had the choice of not coming again. He tried it. That gentleman is now one of the most excited and enthusiastic students in the kollel. Of all the tractates of the Talmud that we have studied in our kollel this tractate Baba Kamma has aroused the most interest, excitement and discussion. The lively discussions evince a love for Torah that very few groups of laymen any where can show. The prior home preparation, the review at homes, the discussion that the kollel men have about the Gemara when they meet at weddings, bar mitzvahs or just in home visits one to the other and the telling to their wives and other members of their families what they are studying, is exhilarating. Some of the kollel men discuss the Gemara when they meet on the bus. As for the study of Tractate Baba Kamma, each member of the kollel knows that the word "ox" or "cow" does not appear even once in the entire Gemara. The word "shor" or "para" appears quite often, but "shor" does not mean "ox", and "para" does not mean cow in this Gemara. Everyone in the kollel including the many attorneys studying in the kollel agree that not in our days nor in the days of the Talmud did a cow come to Beth Din to lodge a complaint against an ox that gored it. The word "shor" means "Reuven's ox" and the "word" para" means "Shimon's cow". The only ones in Beth Din are Reuven and Shimon. Shimon is suing Reuven because Reuven's ox gored Shimon's cow. The entire tractate discusses relationships by, between and among human beings. On page 30a the Talmud in Baba Kamma discusses which laws should a person study and follow if he wishes to be pious. The first opinion is that he should fullfill the laws of Nezikin. Another opinion is that he should fulfill matters dealing with the laws of Tractate [Pirkei] Avoth. And another opinion says that he should fulfill the laws found in Tractate Berachot. These three opinions deal with different aspects of a person's relationship. The opinion that he should study Tractate Berachot deals with the person's relationship with Hashem. How a person should pray to Hashem, and how he should thank Hashem for the blessings bestowed upon man. The opinion that says the person should study Tractate [Pirkai] Avoth says that a person must improve his relationship with himself as it were. He must better understand himself and how to be a better person in his personality and character. The first opinion is that he should study and fulfill the laws of the Nizikin, that is the laws found in Baba Kamma. For that tractate, perhaps better than any other tractate teaches how to be a better person in one's relationship with his fellow human being. And as we study the laws of Baba Kamma we stress that everything we learn is how to be more considerate to our fellow human being. How can we be helpful to others even when they do not reciprocate. How can we act so as not to cause harm to others. We must always see that the other person also has a valid point of view. How can we be better human beings in our relationship with others, not only in the abstract sense but in the practical sense. This past week we had an opportunity to put this into practice. Our kollel and Thursday night Gemara class scheduled a joint siyum for a specific date in November, and made arrangements with a Jerusalem hotel to hold the siyum on that day. We distributed flyers to the kollel and Gemara class. Based on this date many people made arrangements to schedule vacations, visits and other affairs to other dates. After all this work had been done, it was then called to our attention that there was another function in the community taking place that same night. There were many reasons that we could have justified our keeping the same date. People had already arranged their schedules, in some situations at considerable inconvenience to themselves to be able to attend the siyum. Also the people who would attend the siyum and the other function were by and large from different groups. The price was altogether different. The type of function was altogether different. Besides we selected the date completely unaware that this other organization had selected the same date. And we could have thought of many other reasons why we should not change our date. We could have said "why shouldn't they change their date?" However, it was a very easy choice. If we were going to give meaning to our learning of Torah, then we would of course change our date. We did not weigh, who was more right or which function was more important or who had the date first and so many other reasons that would have convinced us not to budge. All the inconvenience to our members would have to be overlooked. Also the guests of honor at the other affair and the other committee would never realize how inconvenient and difficult it was for us to change our date. None of this mattered to us. The Torah was looking over our shoulders and we did not desire to be wanting in our belief, "Das Torah" dictated that we change. What better lesson to our kollel members and Gemara class, that the Torah's lessons are not in the abstract but were practical to teach us how to be better human being and thereby achieve the appellation "Pious". All the members of the committee headed by Ben Rabinowitz and Martin Zerobnick were unanimous in that we should change the date. If we shouldn't act with consideration, who should? After all, we are kollel men and Talmud students. Questions to quint@inter.net.il [The Parshat
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