Bava Metzia 111a

בבא מציעא קי״א ע״א

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Topic

Paying workers on time: middlemen, day and night workers, עושק versus גזל, and the משנה on ביומו תתן שכרו and בל תלין

Overview

This amud starts by finishing a ברייתא about a middleman who hires workers for someone else. If he tells them 'your pay is on the owner,' neither he nor the owner violates בל תלין, and אמוראים actually hired workers this way. רבה בר רב הונא adds that the market merchants of סורא do not violate בל תלין, because everyone knows they pay on market day, but they do violate בל תשהא if they wait longer. Next, רב and שמואל argue about when a night hourly worker must be paid, and רב's view is defended as matching רבי יהודה in a ברייתא. That ברייתא lists five לאוין and one עשה for withholding wages, and רב חסדא explains that the list covers the whole topic, not one single act. The גמרא then asks how עושק differs from גזל: רב חסדא, רב ששת and אביי each define them, and רבא says they are really the same act listed twice to add a second לאו. A new משנה follows: wages for people, animals and utensils all fall under both prohibitions, but only when the worker demanded payment. A worker who claims on time swears and collects, and a גר תושב gets only ביומו תתן שכרו. The גמרא begins asking whose view this משנה follows and starts quoting a ברייתא, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (30)

1. StatementWhy the middleman is exempt
2. ChallengeIf the middleman promised to pay, he should be responsible
3. ResolutionHe said the pay is on the owner
4. Statementאמוראים who used this method in practice
5. StatementThe market merchants of סורא who pay on market day
6. Statementרב and שמואל disagree about the night hourly worker
7. ChallengeThe משנה seems to refute רב
8. Resolutionרב reads the משנה as two separate cases
9. ChallengeA second משנה clearly gives the night worker the next day too
10. Resolutionרב: this is a dispute between תנאים
11. StatementWithholding wages breaks five prohibitions and one positive command
12. ChallengeDay prohibitions and night prohibitions cannot all apply together
13. ResolutionThe list describes the general topic of wages
14. QuestionWhat is the difference between עושק and גזל?
15. Responseרב חסדא: putting him off versus openly refusing
16. Challengeרב ששת: the תורה's עושק must involve denying the debt
17. Responseרב ששת: 'I already paid you' is עושק
18. Challengeאביי objects that stealing also needs a denial
19. Responseאביי's definitions: 'I never hired you' versus 'I paid you'
20. ChallengeWhy did רב ששת object only to oppression?
21. Resolutionרב ששת's stealing: refusing first, then denying
22. ChallengeThen oppression could also be admitting and later denying
23. ResolutionThe verse's wording separates the two cases
24. Statementרבא: oppression and stealing are the same act
25. StatementWages for people, animals, and utensils all fall under both prohibitions
26. StatementHe only transgresses if the worker asked to be paid
27. StatementA worker who claims on time swears and collects
28. StatementA גר תושב gets only one of the two prohibitions
29. QuestionWhose opinion does the משנה follow?
30. QuestionSetting up the ברייתא