Bava Kamma 88a

בבא קמא פ״ח ע״א

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Topic

Wounding a daughter, and a Canaanite slave's status as a 'brother': בושת, kingship, and why a slave cannot testify

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a challenge about a father who wounds his young daughter. רבי אלעזר's doubt was only about payments that lower her value, and רבי יוסי בר חנינא answers that the wound was on her face, so it did lower her value. The גמרא then explains why רבי יהודה says someone who injures a Canaanite slave pays no בושת: the פסוק says 'his brother,' and a slave is not a brother. The חכמים reply that a slave is a brother in מצוות. Challenges follow from עדים זוממין, from kingship and from testimony, and each is answered: 'remove the evil from your midst' includes every case, and a king must come from the choicest of the brothers. To show that a slave cannot testify, the גמרא tries עולא's קל וחומר from a woman, then a minor, then a robber, and settles on a robber combined with a woman or a minor. מר בריה דרבינא brings a different source, the פסוק 'fathers shall not be put to death for children,' which excludes a slave but not a convert, who still has family below him. Finally the גמרא returns to the משנה about a deaf-mute, a mentally incompetent person and a minor, and begins a story about a woman who signed her property over to her son. That story continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (32)

1. Rejectionרבי אלעזר's doubt was only about payments that lower her value
2. ResolutionThe wound was on her face, so it did lower her value
3. QuestionWhat is רבי יהודה's reason for exempting a slave from embarrassment payment?
4. ResponseThe verse says 'his brother', and a slave is not a brother
5. ResponseThe חכמים: a slave is a brother in מצוות
6. ChallengeThen false witnesses against a slave should not be executed
7. Resolution'Remove the evil from your midst' includes every case
8. ChallengeShould a slave be fit to be king?
9. ResolutionThe same question applies to a convert for everyone
10. ResolutionA king must come from the choicest of the brothers
11. ChallengeShould a slave be fit to testify?
12. Resolutionעולא: a קל וחומר from a woman disqualifies a slave
13. ChallengeA woman cannot have מילה, but a slave can
14. ResolutionA minor proves that מילה does not matter
15. ChallengeA minor is different because he has no מצוות
16. ResolutionA woman proves that מצוות are not the deciding factor
17. ProofCombining woman and minor through what they share
18. ChallengeWoman and minor are not grown men
19. ResolutionTry learning from a robber instead
20. ChallengeA robber brought it on himself
21. ResolutionCombine a robber with a woman or a minor
22. StatementA new source from the verse about fathers and children
23. ProofProof from the missing word "their"
24. ChallengeThen a convert should also be unfit
25. ResolutionA convert still has family below him
26. ProofIf a convert were unfit, the verse would be worded differently
27. ProofUnder that wording, the slave would come from a קל וחומר
28. ConclusionThe actual wording shows only the slave is unfit
29. ChallengeWhy does the second half also leave out 'their'?
30. ResolutionThe second half simply matches the first
31. StatementBack to the משנה: dealing with a deaf-mute, a mentally incompetent person, or a minor
32. StatementA mother signs her property over to her son