Synopsis of Subjects
CHAPTER I.
MISHNA I. Two persons who hold a garment, and each of them claims that
he has found it. A biblical oath is given only when there is an admission
in part from the defendant. If the plaintiff claims a hundred and the
defendant says only fifty, and here they are. If one claims a hundred,
and the other denies all, and there are witnesses for fifty, what shall
the oath contain? When one of the two holders overcame the other and
took it away, what is the law? There was a bath-house about which two
parties quarrelled--one of them arose and consecrated it. When two hold
a note, the tender claims the note is not yet paid, and the borrower
says the note is paid. Where is "the theory of because" to be used?
The law is that leading gives title. If one was found riding upon a
found ass, and another was holding the bridle,
MISHNAS II. TO VI. If one sees an article on the road,
and says to his neighbor, bring it to me. If one picks up an article
for another, the latter does not acquire title. Why so? If one has seen
an article, and he fell upon it. If one has seen people running after
a lame stag on his field. It happened that R. Gamaliel said: "The tithe
which I am going to measure should be delivered to Joshuah." When one
throws a purse of money through the open door. When a thing was found
by one's minor son or daughter, or his Jewish man or maid servant, or
his wife. When one has found a note which secures real estate. If Reuben
sold a field to Simeon with security, and the creditor of Reuben came
and took it away. Encumbered property is not liable either for the used
fruits, etc., for the benefit of humanity. How a bill of sale must be
written. If one buys an estate, knowing that the seller is not the real
owner of it. If the robber after he has sold it bought it from the real
owner. If one says that the estate which I am about buy now shall be
transferred to you at the same time that I acquire title to it. When
I was about six or seven years old, my father was among the scribes
of Mar Samuel's court. If one claims a hundred zuz, and the other denies;
afterwards, he says, I have paid it. If one finds documents of divorce,
of enfranchisement of a slave, of
presents, etc. What is to be considered a will documents signed by the
court, documents of a claim, etc. What is meant by claiming documents?
What is called a roll? When three borrowed from one, etc.,
CHAPTER II.
MISHNAS I. TO VI. There are found articles which belong to the
finder without any proclamation. If there is a change in the found article
which usually ought not to be. The renouncing of hope in regaining a
lost article whose loss is not yet certain. Amaimar, Mar Zutra, and
R. Ashi happened to be in the garden of Mari bar Issak, and the gardener
placed before them dates and pomegranates. The rule concerning a lost
article is this. Whether a number is considered a distinguishing mark
or not? The reason why the sages decided that the place is not to be
considered a mark. If one finds a purse in the market, how is the law?
The following articles he must proclaim. Three coins one upon the other,
etc. (See foot-note, p. 55.) If one
found, under a wooden wall, pigeons tied one to the other. If he found
a covered vessel. If one found anything in a heap of rubbish. If one
has seen money dropped on sand, and afterwards found and took it. If
one found something in a store. If one found money in fruit sent to
him,
MISHNAS VI. TO XIII. The returning according to marks
given is biblically or rabbinically? Until what time is he obliged to
proclaim? R. Ami happened to find a purse with dinars in the presence
of a Roman. If one identifies the article but not its marks. If the
found article is of such a kind that it labors for its food. And if
of such a kind that it does not labor. If one found books. If the article
was a garment. Vessels of silver and copper. It is better to drink a
goblet from the hand of a witch than to drink a goblet of lukewarm water.
R. Ismael b. Jose was on the road, and met a man carrying a bundle of
wood. What is to be considered a lost thing? If he returned it and it
runs away again. What is to be deduced from the twofold expressions
in many passages written in the Scripture? The loss of time must be
appraised according to one's loss in his special trade. If he has found
the animal in a stable, in a public thoroughfare. The commandment of
the Scripture is for unloading, but not loading. How is this to be understood?
If one lost a thing, as did his father before, etc, If his father and
his master were overloaded. They who occupy themselves with the study
of Scripture are not to be blamed, etc.
CHAPTER III.
MISHNAS 1. TO IV. A deposit stolen or lost, paid by the depository,
of which thereafter the thief was found, to whom shall the double amount
be paid? A gratuitous bailee, when he said, I have neglected my duty,
etc. There was lost a deposited nose-jewel, and R. Na'hman made him
pay by force. Finally the article was found, and was increased in value,
etc, if an article was appraised for the sake of a creditor, and the
latter appraised it for his own
creditor, may the returning take place or not? From what time may the
creditor use the products of an appraised estate? If one has hired a
cow and he loaned it to some one else. It can happen that the hirer
has a right to require several cows from the owner of one cow. How so?
A bailee who has transferred the bailment to another bailee, how is
the law? The Halakha prevails, that a bailee who has transferred the
bailment to another bailee of any kind is responsible. If doubtful money
is to be collected or not (illustrated in Mishna III.)? Do you want
to contradict a case of deposit with a case of robbery? A robber must
be punished. If there was an uncertainty of both the plaintiff and the
defendant, how is the law? If one deposits fruit at his neighbor's?
If one becomes a prisoner, may his property be transferred to his nearest
relatives or not? The difference between forsaken, abandoned, and a
prisoner's properties. The estate of a prisoner must not be transferred
to a minor relative, and not the estate of a minor to any relative.
There was an old woman who had three daughters; together with one of
them she was taken to prison, and of the remaining two one died and
left a child. A brother of Mari b. Isk came to him and demanded a share
of the inheritance, and he said, I do not know you,
MISHNAS V. TO XI. The quantity of usual losses one may count
to deposited articles of grain and fruit? Losses of wine and oil depend
upon the kind of barrels in which placed. If a barrel is deposited for
safe-keeping, and the depository handled it, and it broke while yet
under his hand. Peculiar is the stretching of hands which reads in regard
to a bailee for hire, in connection from the same expression in the
Scripture which reads in regard to a gratuitous bailee. If one has deposited
money for safe-keeping, and the depository tied it and carried it on
his shoulder, etc. Nothing is considered safety with money, unless it
is hidden in the ground. It happened that one deposited money with his
neighbor, and he gave it to his mother for safe keeping, and it was
stolen. Money deposited for safe-keeping with a money changer. A depository
who stretches his hand for the bailment. If one intends to use a bailment
deposited in his control and says so, the liability follows immediately,
CHAPTER IV.
MISHNAS I. TO V. If one bought gold and silver coins
together and made a drawing on the gold ones, title is also given to
the silver ones, but not vice versa. Rabh borrowed dinars from
the daughter of R. Hyya; thereafter the dinars increased in value. One
holds that the law of exchange applies to a coin also, and another holds
that it does not. If one were holding some coins in his hands and said
. Sell me your articles for the money I have in my hand, and the other
agrees. If one said: Sell me for this amount, title is acquired, and
nevertheless the law of fraud applies. According to whom do we write
in our legal papers, With an utensil which is fit to confirm with? Biblically,
money paid gives title; why, then, was it said that drawing is needed?
According to Abayi, he who retracts ought to be notified that he will
be punished by Heaven, and according to Rabha he shall be cursed. It happened that one gave money for poppy, meanwhile
the poppy increased in price. Tabuth or Samuel b. Zutra was such kind
of a man that he would not change his word, even if all the goods of
the world were delivered to him, and he told: The above case of poppy
happened to me. Cheating, which according to law makes the sale null
and void, is in case where the sum of which he was cheated counts four
silver dinars. Until what time the retraction may take place? The law
of fraud applies to the buyer as well as to the seller, to a private
as well as to a merchant. There is no cheating concerning a specialist
who knows the value. If one is doing business with his neighbor in trust.
How much less of the quantity of a sala should be effaced, that the
law of fraud could not be claimed? The prescribed quantity for cheating
is four silver dinars to each sala,
MISHNAS VI. TO X. There are five fifth
parts which must be added to the principal amount. The things to which
the law of cheating does not apply. Does the law of cheating apply to
a hire? The laws of usury and cheating apply only to commoners, not
to the sanctuary. A gratuitous bailee does not swear. If one bought
wheat and sowed it in the field, how is the law? If there was fraud
to more than a sixth of the value, how is the law? As cheating is prohibited
in buying or selling, so it is in words. Cheating in words is more rigorous
than cheating in money. To what thing do the western people pay more
attention? One should always be careful with the honor of his wife.
The noted legend of the oven of the Akhina. The law is not in the heavens.
We do not care for a heavenly voice. Regarding cheating, there are three
negative commandments. One must not mix together fruits from two separate
fields. A merchant may buy grain from five barns, and place it in one
storeroom. The embellishment of articles which are to be sold is forbidden,
MISHNAS I. TO IV. What is considered usury, and what
increase? Why does the Scripture mention separately a negative commandment
regarding usury, robbery, and cheating? A small liquid measure one shall
not fill up in a manner to make foam. Why is the redemption from Egypt
mentioned in the Scripture in conjunction with usury, zizith, and weight?
Usurers are equalled to shedders of blood. "That thy brother may live with thee" (but shall not die with thee, i.e., the life
of thyself is preferred to, etc.). One must not fix a price on fruit
before the market prices are announced. The many things which may be
done in a sale, but not in a loan, as they may appear usurious. The
rule of usury in transactions is: If one sells the article cheaper because
it is not yet in his possession, etc. If one has returned robbed money
with an account of other money he had to give, he has done his duty.
A lender must not dwell in his debtor's house "for nothing," or even
for decreased rent. Hiring may be increased, but not sale. How so? One
is allowed to increase the price of an article when the money is to
be paid at a certain time after delivery (provided he does not say:
"If for cash, you will have it cheaper"). There are cases in which the
use of the fruit is permitted to both, prohibited to both, permitted
to the seller only. Stipulations which may or may not be made in selling
real estate. What is to be considered gossip. Does an asmakhta give title or not? There was a man who sold an estate with the security
of his very best estates, finally they were overflooded. Is usufruct
considered direct or indirect usury? In places where it is the usage
for the lender to use the fruit from a pledged estate without any deduction
of the debt, and the borrower has a right to return the money at any
time, then is the law, etc. A scholar, however, must not do even this.
From pledged estates a creditor of the lender has no right to collect
in case he dies. Also a first-born of the lender cannot claim the double
amount prescribed to him biblically. If the borrower say to the lender:
Stop using the fruit, etc. The different customs in pledging real estate
at Papuna, Mehusa, Narsha. Why a pledge is called mashkhantha
MISHNAS V. TO XI. The law about giving money or articles
for half profit. The proper payment for raising cattle. Why R. Papa
decided differently in the cases of the Samaritans who appeared before
him. R. Hama used to rent zuzes daily for the smallest coin for each
zuz and he lost his money. All animals which are laboring for their
food may be appraised, that the increase shall be divided equally. One
may say to a farmer: I shall give you twelve kur of grain instead of
the ten you demand, if you will lend me some money to manure your field.
One may rent a boat on the condition that should it break he shall be
responsible. One may say: I take your cow for the price of thirty dinars
in case it should die, etc. May money belonging to orphans be lent for
usury or not? One who lends money for a business which is very likely
to bring profit with little chance of loss is wicked; for one which
is likely to bring loss and far from profit, is pious, etc. An iron
sheep must not be accepted from an Israelite, etc. (for explanation
see Mishna VII.). An Israelite may lend to his race money belonging
to non-Israelites for usury, etc. The interpretation of verse 8, Prov.
xxviii. The meaning of verse 24, Ex. xxii. He who takes usury will lose
all his possessions. What is to be done with the usury promised by or
to a heathen, after he has been proselyted. A quote in which usury is
mentioned the lender must not be allowed to collect even the principal,
which he must forfeit as a fine. Articles for delivery during the year
must not be bought for a certain price before the market price is fixed.
If one travelled with stock from one place to another, and while on
the road his neighbor asked him to sell to him at the price of the place
he intends to go to, etc. What Samuel ordered the grain dealers, who
used to advance money for grain to the farmers, to do. Also the order
of Rabha to the watchmen. Are the rabbis consuming "usury" by paying
in Tishri for the wine they will choose in Teveth when
it is already in good condition? I call your attention, master, to the
rabbis, who pay head-tax charges for those who cannot pay them, etc.
Seuram used to compel doubtful characters to carry the palanquin of
Rabha. If one of a company of three partners has given money to a messenger
to buy some. thing, it is to be considered as for the company, and not
as for himself. If the grain was to be finished with two kinds of labor
only, one may fix the price, but not if he require three kinds of labor.
There was a man who paid a stipulated amount for an outfit to be delivered
at the house of his daughter's father-in-law, in the meantime the value
of the equipment was reduced, etc. One may lend his gardeners wheat
to be returned in the harvest-time the same measure, etc.. Hillel (the
First) says: A woman must not lend a loaf of bread to her neighbor unless
a price is stipulated for it, for fear wheat may become dearer, and
then the return of the loaf (of the same quality) will appear usurious.
The Halakha, however, does not so prevail. One may say to his neighbor:
Help me in weeding or digging to-day and I will help you on some other
day, etc. There is a kind of usury which may be called preceding usury,
and another kind which may be named succeeding usury. How so? If one
owes his neighbor money and it was not customary for him to greet him
first, before the loan, he must not do so after the loan took place.
If one is aware that his debtor has nothing with which to pay he must
not pass him by. There are three who cry for help and are not heard
CHAPTER VI.
MISHNAS I. TO IV. He who hired day laborers and they
deceived one another, there is nothing but resentment, etc. . Whoever
changes his words or retracts them has to suffer for the injury caused.
The rabbis hold that the laborers have always the preference. R. Dossa,
however, holds that the employer has the preference. Said Rabh: The
Halakha prevails in accordance with R. Dossa. Did Rabh indeed say so?
If one sold a field for a thousand zuz, and the buyer gave him a deposit
of two hundred, and the seller retracts, etc. As to whether a deposit
gives title or not Tanaim differ in their opinions. How a Bill of Sale
must be written according to R. Simeon b. G. Payment in installments
is valid, though it was not so stipulated. If one hired an ass for use
on a mountain, and he used it in a valley, or vice versa, although
the distance for which it was hired was equal (in both ways), the hirer
is responsible for an accident. Who is responsible for an angaria?
If one has hired an ass for the purpose of riding, and it dies while
in the middle of the way, etc. If one hires a boat and it sinks in the
middle of the way. If one hires a boat for a certain place, and has
unloaded it while in the middle of the way. What may or may not be placed
upon the ass which was hired for riding only. If one hires an ass to
be ridden by a male, the same must not be ridden by a female. If one
hires a cow for ploughing on the mountain and he plough in a valley,
etc. How is it if the plough-handle breaks, and there has been no change
in the agreement, etc.? If one hired an ass to carry wheat and he used
it for barley. Which quantity of overloading makes one responsible to
the bearing on shoulders, to a skiff, to a larger boat, and to a ship
MISHNAS V. TO VI. All specialists are considered bailees for hire.
One may let out a pledge of a poor man and deduct the amount earned
from his indebtedness. If one hires a cow, how shall he pay in case
it is lost? . If one bought utensils from a specialist to send to the
house of one's father-in-law, etc. There was a man who sold wine to
his neighbor, and the buyer said: I shall carry it to such a place,
etc. Guard for me this article and I will guard yours to-morrow; or,
I will lend you, or vice versa. All are considered bailees for
hire, one to the other. The two cases in which R. Papa and Rabha were
embarrassed for their decisions and finally it was found that their
decisions were correct. If a depositary said: Leave it here "for you,"
he has no responsibility whatever, but how is the law if he said: Leave
it "anonymously"? On a pledge he is considered a bailee for hire. If
one carries a barrel from one place to another and breaks it, he must
swear that there was no neglect, etc. R. Eliezer was wondering how such
a decision could hold good. What shall he swear? I swear that I broke
it unintentionally. There were carriers who broke a barrel of wine belonging
to Rabba b. b. Hana, while in his service, and Rabh commanded Rabba
to return their garments and pay them for their labor, for this is the
meaning of the verse, Prov. ii. 20
CHAPTER VII.
MISHNA I. One cannot compel his employees to come earlier or
depart later than is customary at that place, although it was agreed
upon. It happened with R. Johanan
b. Mathea, who said to his son: Go and hire laborers for us, etc. Resh
Lakish's advice to laborers in general. The legend, how R. Eliezer b.
R. Simeon was appointed by the government to capture thieves. He who
would like to see a beauty similar to that of R. Johanan shall take
a silver goblet just out of the worker's, etc. The legend of R. Johanan
with Resh Lakish, and how the latter married the sister of the former,
and how the death of both Johanan and Resh Lakish occurred. The continuation
of the legend about R. Eliezer, how he accepted chastisements upon himself,
how he was kept unburied, in his attic, many years; how finally he was
buried; what his wife answered Rabbi (the prince) when he asked her
to marry him; how Rabbi has also accepted chastisements, etc., etc.
. He who is a scholar himself and his son and grandson are also, the
Torah does not depart from their children for everlasting, etc. R. Zera,
when he ascended to Palestine, fasted one hundred days in order to forget
the Gemara of the Babylonians, etc. Resh Lakish used to mark the caves
of the rabbis. R. Zera's dream. Elijah (the Prophet) frequently appeared
in the college of Rabbi. The Hagadah about Abraham with the Angels;
the names of those Angels. Why did the Lord change Sarah's words when
telling them to Abraham? Until the time of Abraham there was no mark
of old age; until the time of Jacob there was no sickness; until the
time of Elisha there was no one who became cured from sickness.
MISHNAS II. TO IX. Who are the laborers who have a right,
according to the law of Scripture, to partake of the fruits of their
labors? Whence is all this deduced? The particular law about muzzling
an ox while laboring. How is the law if the animal is sick and the consuming
of grain injures it? May it be muzzled? When Gentiles steal bulls and
castrate them, and return them to their owners, may the Israelites use
them or not? If one has "muzzled" a cow only with his voice, or if one
leads two kinds of animals with his voice only, is he guilty or not?
R. Papa and also R. Ashi told in their colleges what they were questioned
and decided not in accordance with the existing laws and the reasons.
Why the labor of a workingman entitles him to consume the fruit of that
with which he is laboring. If one is occupied with pressing dates, he
must not consume grapes, and vice versa. A laborer must
not consume more than his wages, etc. Does the Scripture add to his
wage the consuming of the fruit with which he is engaged? Or is it a
part of his wage? A laborer has the right to make a stipulation that
he shall not eat what he is entitled to and take money for it instead.
Watchmen of fruits are permitted to eat, according to the custom of
the country, etc. The following laborers have a right to partake according
to the law of Scripture, etc. There are four kinds of bailees: A gratuitous
bailee, a borrower, a bailee for hire, and a hirer. For what loss must
a hirer pay? What is the extent of the duty of the bailee for hire?
Abu placed flocks at Rumnia, and Shabu, who was an errant robber, took
them away. Although Abu proved that this was the case, R. Na'hman held
him responsible, etc. A single wolf's coming among the flock is not
considered an accident. A robbery is considered an accident. A natural
death is an accident, but not if it is caused by cruelty. A gratuitous
bailee has the right to make a stipulation that in case of loss he shall
be freed from taking an oath. A
stipulation made contrary to that which is written in the Scripture
is of no avail. A bailee for hire may stipulate that he shall be equal
to a borrower. But how shall a stipulation of this kind be made verbally,
only?
CHAPTER VIII.
MISHNAS I. TO IV. If one borrows a cow, and at the same
time hires or borrows its owner, etc. There are four kinds of bailees,
etc. Whence do we deduce all this? How do we know that he is responsible
in case of confiscation also? There is no responsibility when the owner
works together with the borrowed article. If one tells his messenger
that he shall substitute him in service to his neighbor, together with
his cow, how is the law if the cow breaks or dies while laboring? If
one borrows another's slave and cow, how is the law? What should a husband
who uses the estate of his wife be considered--a borrower or a hirer?
If the body of the animal becomes lean because of the labor, how is
the law? Maraimar b. Hanina hired mules from Huzai, and the former overworked
them, and they died, etc. If one borrowed a cow for half a day and for
the other half a day he hires it, etc. If one has borrowed a cow, and
the owner sends it to him by his son, slave, or messenger, or even by
the same persons of the borrower, and it dies while on the road? If
one borrows a hatchet; if he has done some work with it, he acquires
title to it for the time borrowed. Is the law concerning an ordinary
man equal to that of the sanctuary? If one exchanges an ass for a cow,
and it brought forth young. If one possesses two male slaves or two
fields, one large and one small, and the buyer claims: I bought the
large one, etc.
MISHNAS V. TO IX. If one sold out his olive trees for fuel, and
there were still bad olives on them. Olive trees which were overflooded,
taken out and planted in another's field, etc. If one has planted trees
in a field belonging to another without the consent of the owner. If
one has rebuilt a ruin of one's neighbor without his consent. If one
rents a house (without appointing the time) in the rain season, etc.
All the terms are fixed only for giving notice. This notice is to be
given by the owner of the house as well as by the tenant. The owner
of the house is obliged to give to the tenant a door bolt, a lock, etc.
However, things which can be done by any one the tenant has to furnish
himself. Whose duty is it to furnish a mezuzah? The manure belongs to
the owner, etc. If the year was made a leap year the tenant reaps the
benefit of the intercalation. However, if he rented him the house monthly,
the intercalation belongs to the owner. In an agreement, which is to
be considered, the first expression, or the last? If the renter says:
I have paid; and the owner claims: I have not received it, who of them
must bring evidence? If one has rented out a house for ten years, and
has signed the lease without a date, etc. If a man rents out a house
and it falls, etc.
CHAPTER IX
MISHNAS I. TO IV One who hires a field must do as it is customary in
that country, etc. If the stipulation was made on wine, etc. They must
also prepare together the sticks needed for the vineyard for the next
year. In Babylon there is a custom that the gardener is not given any
straw. If one hires a field and
it was a dry place, or a group of trees, and thereafter the spring ceases
to flow, etc. If the hirer told him: Rent to me this dry field, etc.
If one has undertaken to work up a field and he has neglected to do
so. Mair, Jehudah, Hillel, Jehoshua, and Jose, these considered the
language of the common people legal (although it was not in accordance
with the enactment of the sages). If one lends money to some one, he
has no right to pledge him through the court for more than he owes him.
Rabina used to double the amount in the marriage contract, etc. There
was one who undertook to work up a field, and he said: Should I neglect,
I will give you one thousand zuz, etc. There was a man who undertook
a field for poppy, sowing with wheat, and finally the wheat was worth
more than poppy. If one has given articles for business without any
stipulation, and took from him two notes, etc. If the gardener did not
want to weed the field, saying: I will give you your due, he must not
be listened to.
MISHNAS V. TO IX. If one took a field in partnership and it was
not productive. If one hires a field and the locusts destroyed it, or
it was burned. If that year was a year of destruction or a year without
rain, etc. If this happened once, he has to sow it the second time,
etc. If one hires a field for ten kur wheat per annum, and the products
are poor. There was a man who hired a vineyard for ten barrels of wine,
and thereafter the wine became sour. If one takes a field for sowing
barley, he must not sow wheat in it, etc. The explanation of Deut. xxviii.
3-6. Thirteen advantages can be gained by taking the early morning meal,
viz., etc. Get up early in the morning and eat, in the summer, because
of the heat; and in the winter, because of the cold? The advices given
by R. Jehudah to the land surveyor about measuring land, trenches, and
the space for anchoring. Correct thyself first, and then others. All
the inhabitants of the city must contribute to the repairing of the
wall of the city if it is destroyed. If one takes possession of a dock,
he is a rascal. If one takes possession of a field which was placed
between two brothers or partners, it is considered a piece of assurance.
To a presented estate the right of preëmption does not apply, etc.
To a pledged estate, and if it is sold for taxes, or for the support
of a widow, or for burial, this law does not apply. If one hires a field
for a few years (less than seven), he must not sow flax in it. R. Papa
hired fields for pasture, and some trees sprouted in them, etc. Because
you are descendants of frail people, you speak frail words. Joseph had
a planter who planted all his trees for half product, and he died and
left five sons-in-law, etc. The planter of Rabbina did damage and was
discharged and he came to complain to Rabha, etc. There was a planter
who said "Give me what I am entitled to of the improvements, as I want
to go to Palestine." There was one who pledged his vineyard for ten
years, and it became old in eight years. There was a note in which was
written the year without a number, etc. If the gardener claims: "I worked
for the half," and the owner says for a third, who should be trusted?
If orphans claim: "We have made the improvements on this estate,"
and the creditor claims: "It was improved by your deceased father,"
for whom is it to bring evidence?
MISHNAS X. TO XIV. If one hires a field for the whole
sabbatic season for seven hundred zuz, the sabbatic year is included.
A day-laborer has to collect his
money the whole night after that day, etc. The transgression of this
commandment comes and ceases with the first morning. One who withholds
wages transgresses the commandments of five verses, etc. The commandment:
"In the same day you shall give his wage," and also the negative, "There
shall not abide . . . until morning," applies to men, cattle, and vessels.
To a proselyte who promised not to worship idols and not to commit adultery,
but not to conform to other Jewish laws, the commandment applies. One
who withholds wages is considered as if he would take out the soul.
If the storekeeper or the money-changer failed to pay him, may he return
his claim to the owner or not? Is piece-work subject to that law or
not? If a creditor has to pledge his debtor, he may do so only by court,
etc. If things belonging to a debtor are to be sold out, has the court
to consider which should be sold and which left to him, or is all to
be sold out? If one lends money to his neighbor, he has no right to
pledge him, is not obliged to return, transgresses all the commandments
which are in the Scripture concerning [pledging]--what does this mean?
If the pledge was returned and the borrower died, etc. One who pledges
a nether and upper millstone transgresses a negative commandment and
is guilty for two articles. There was a man who pledged a butcher knife
from his debtor, etc.
CHAPTER X.
MISHNAS I. TO VI. If one owns a house, the upper chamber of which
belongs to another, and it falls. If the attic was ruined, and the owner
of the house declined to repair it. When the tenant goes to dwell in
the lower apartment, must the owner vacate it for the tenant, or should
they dwell together? Must the party doing the damage remove the cause
of it, or must the injured party remove the cause of the damage? One
is responsible for damage done to his fellow by things which come directly
from him (though it is the obligation of every one to keep aloof from
damaging things). A house with an attic, belonging to two persons, which
becomes ruined; the owner of the upper chamber requires the rebuilding,
and the owner of the house refuses, etc. The same is the case with an
olive-press which was placed under a garden, etc. A wall or a tree which
falls suddenly on a public thoroughfare and causes damage, etc. What
time is fixed for such a case by the court? The same is the case with
a laborer who was told by his employer to take the articles with which
he was engaged for payment. Whether looking gives title to an ownerless
article or not, the Tanaim differ. One must not place his manure upon
a public ground, unless it is immediately taken away by those who want
to use it. If a hewer of stones has transferred them to the polisher,
and they cause damage while under his control, the latter is responsible.
When two gardens were placed one above the other, and some herbs were
grown between them, the upper one may use that which he can reach with
his hand, provided he does not exert himself to reach them. This was
reported to the King Sabura.
Sources: Biblical
Texts |