{"id":12511,"date":"2009-03-05T03:18:58","date_gmt":"2009-03-05T03:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.ou.org\/life\/other\/masechet_bava_kama_68a74b\/"},"modified":"2016-11-28T09:20:06","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T14:20:06","slug":"masechet_bava_kama_68a74b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/masechet_bava_kama_68a74b\/","title":{"rendered":"Masechet Bava Kamma 68a-74b"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Coming Week’s Daf Yomi by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz<\/em><\/p>\n

This essay is based upon the insights and chidushim (original ideas) of Talmudic scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, as published in the Hebrew version of the Steinsaltz Edition of the Talmud.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bava Kamma 68a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Our Gemara<\/a> introduces a teaching about the behavior of tzenu’im<\/em> – modest, or, in the context of our Gemara, uniquely God-fearing individuals – who, when they had a vineyard of revai<\/em> would set aside money, saying “anything that is harvested (by others) from this vineyard will be redeemed on this money.”<\/p>\n

The source for this law is the Mishnah<\/a> in Masechet<\/a> Ma’aser Sheni<\/a><\/em> (5:1) that introduces the laws of kerem revai<\/em> – a vineyard that is in its fourth year of growth.
\nThe Torah<\/a> commands (see Vayikra<\/a> 19:23-24<\/a>) that the first three years after trees or vines are planted, the produce is orlah<\/em> – any fruit that is grows is forbidden. The produce of the fourth year will be neta<\/em> (or kerem<\/em>) revai<\/em> – it has a unique status of holiness, similar to that of ma’aser sheni<\/em>, requiring the fruit to be taken to Jerusalem and eaten within the city walls. In the event that the fruit cannot be taken, it can be redeemed and the value of the fruit (plus one-fifth) must be taken to Jerusalem where it is used to purchase food.<\/p>\n

The Mishnah in Masechet Ma’aser Sheni<\/em> teaches that the owner of a field whose trees are orlah<\/em> or whose fruit is neta<\/em> revai<\/em> must make various signs on his property so that the unsuspecting passer-by will not eat any of the fruit. The Mishnah concludes that the tzenu’im<\/em> are even more careful and arrange for neta<\/em> revai<\/em> fruit to be redeemed, so that anyone who takes from the field will not fall victim to eating forbidden fruits.<\/p>\n

According to the Rambam<\/a>, the behavior of the tzenu’im<\/em> was done only during the Sabbatical year, when the fruit may have been taken by anyone. Others suggest that this was done by tzenu’im<\/em> in other years, as well, out of concern even for those who took fruit without permission.<\/p>\n

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Bava Kamma 69a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Our Gemara<\/a> brings a Mishnah<\/a> that discusses the case of purchasing wine from Kutim<\/em> and how tithes might be taken from it on Shabbat<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

The term Kutim<\/em> refers to the nations (not all of whom were truly Kutim<\/em>, as there were people from other nations, as well) that were exiled to the Land of Israel by the kings of Assyria who were interested in populating the land after they had removed the Israelite people from it. According to Sefer<\/a> Melakhim<\/a><\/em> (see II Melakhim<\/em>, chapter 17<\/a>), these nations converted to Judaism because of their fear of lions that had begun attacking them (from which derives the term gerei arayot<\/em> \u2013 “lion converts”), but they continued worshiping their gods at the same time.<\/p>\n

Upon the return of the Jews to Israel at the beginning of the Second Temple<\/a> period, the Samaritans, descendants of the Kutim<\/em>, were active in trying to keep the returnees from rebuilding the Temple and the walls of the city of Jerusalem. Even so, there were families \u2013 including members of the kohanim<\/a><\/em> \u2013 who intermarried with the Samaritans.<\/p>\n

During the following years there were continued tensions between the two communities, and Yochanan Hyrcanus led his troops into battle against the Samaritans and destroyed the temple that they had built on Har Gerizim. Nevertheless, there were also periods of cooperation, such as the period of the Bar Kochba<\/a> rebellion. As is clear in our Gemara, the attitude of the Sages towards them differed, although after a period of time a final conclusion was reached and they were ruled to be treated as non-Jews, due to their continued involvement with different types of idol worship.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that the Gemara in Yevamot<\/a><\/em> concludes that while a bet din<\/a><\/em> should not accept potential converts whose reason for converting is anything other than a sincere desire to join the Jewish People, nevertheless, if such a person does undergo a full conversion process they are considered Jewish according to halacha<\/a><\/em>. It is possible that the Kutim<\/em> did not fall into that category because they continued with their idolatrous practices even at the moment of their conversion. Nevertheless, today the community of Samaritans living in Israel no longer worships idols, and there has been some level of acceptance of them into the larger Jewish community.<\/p>\n

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Bava Kamma 70a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Mishnah<\/a> on our daf <\/em>presents a number of cases where the penalties of kefel<\/em> (double – see Shemot<\/a> 22:3<\/a>) or arba va-chamishah<\/em> (four or five times the value of the stolen animal – see Shemot 21:37<\/a>) will apply, even though there is reason to suspect that it would not. According to the Mishnah if someone<\/p>\n