Bava Kamma 38b

בבא קמא ל״ח ע״ב

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Topic

God sparing מואב and עמון, the reward for refined speech and for hurrying to a מצוה, and רבי מאיר's ruling on damages involving כותים

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an אגדה that עולא told to comfort רב שמואל בר יהודה after his daughter died. משה wanted to fight מואב, but הקדוש ברוך הוא spared מואב and עמון because רות המואביה and נעמה העמונית would come from them. From this עולא builds a קל וחומר: if a righteous girl had been meant to bring good into the world, she surely would have lived. רבי יוחנן then teaches that God rewards even refined speech. The proof is that the younger daughter of לוט named her son modestly, so עמון received fuller protection than מואב. רבי יהושע בן קרחה adds that a person should hurry to do a מצוה, since the elder daughter's one-night head start put her descendants into ישראל four generations earlier. The גמרא then turns to הלכה with a ברייתא about oxen of a Jew and a כותי, where רבי מאיר makes a כותי pay full damage even for a תם. A bloodstain משנה shows that רבי מאיר treats כותים as real Jews, so רבי אבהו explains the full payment as a קנס to keep Jews from mixing with them. רבי זירא challenges this from the fine paid for a violated כותית, and אביי begins an answer that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (15)

1. Statementמשה concludes his reasoning that מואב should be attacked
2. RejectionGod explains why מואב and עמון must be spared
3. Conclusionעולא draws a lesson to comfort the mourning father
4. StatementGod never withholds the reward of any creature
5. Proofמואב may not be fought in war, but forced labor is allowed
6. Proofעמון may not be bothered at all, not even with forced labor
7. StatementAlways hurry to do a מצוה: the elder daughter's head start
8. StatementA ברייתא on a Jew's ox and a כותי's ox goring each other
9. Statementרבי מאיר: A כותי's ox always pays full damage
10. QuestionDoes רבי מאיר hold כותים are not real converts?
11. ChallengeChallenge from the law of bloodstains
12. ChallengeSo רבי מאיר holds that כותים are real converts
13. ResolutionIt is a fine so Jews will not mix with them
14. ChallengeThen why not also fine the כותית girl?
15. Resolutionאביי begins to answer