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Gittin 13a

גיטין י״ג ע״א

Learn Gittin 13a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Whether freeing a slave helps or harms him (רבי מאיר vs. the חכמים), and a new משנה on whether a גט, a שטר שחרור, or a money gift is still given after the sender dies.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a ברייתא in which רבי מאיר argues that freeing a slave is a חוב (a loss) for him. A runaway slave or a rebellious wife of a כהן still eats תרומה, but a freed slave cannot eat it at all. רבא explains how the חכמים answer this, 'מפני שהוא קנינו': the master could always end the slave's תרומה by selling him to a ישראל. The גמרא then asks how רבי מאיר's view covers a ישראל's slave. The answer is that freedom forbids him a שפחה כנענית, and a slave prefers that loose relationship even over being allowed a free woman. A new משנה follows: a גט or a שטר שחרור is not delivered after the sender dies, but a money gift he ordered is still given. רב limits this to coins piled in a corner. The גמרא asks why piling matters for either a healthy giver or a dying one. רב זביד answers that the giver is healthy and the gift works through מעמד שלשתן. רב פפא answers that the giver is a שכיב מרע and the piling shows which coins he meant, not a buried מנה. The הלכה is that we do not worry about a buried מנה, and the amud ends by asking why רב פפא did not explain it like רב זביד. The answer comes on the next amud.

Opening lines

״וּמָה אִילּוּ עֶבֶד כֹּהֵן שֶׁבָּרַח

"And what if a slave of a priest who ran away

וְאֵשֶׁת כֹּהֵן שֶׁמָּרְדָה עַל בַּעְלָהּ

or the wife of a priest who rebelled against her husband

– הֲלֹא אוֹכְלִים בִּתְרוּמָה;

do they not eat teruma?

וְזֶה – אֵינוֹ אוֹכֵל״ –

But this one does not eat!"

The steps (14)

  1. Statementרבי מאיר's argument: runaway slave and rebellious wife still eat תרומה
  2. Challengeרבי מאיר seems to be right
  3. Resolutionרבא: the master could sell him to a ישראל anytime
  4. ChallengeHow does רבי מאיר explain a slave of a ישראל?
  5. ResolutionHe loses the שפחה כנענית
  6. ChallengeBut he gains a free woman
  7. ResolutionA slave prefers a loose life
  8. StatementNew משנה: Divorce and Freedom Documents Stop at Death, Money Gifts Do Not
  9. Statementרב Limits the Money Case to Coins Piled in a Corner
  10. ChallengeHealthy or Dying? Either Way, Why Do Piled Coins Matter?
  11. Resolutionרב זביד: A Healthy Person, and the Gift Works Through מעמד שלשתן
  12. Resolutionרב פפא: The case is a dying person, and piling the coins shows which coins he meant
  13. ConclusionThe final ruling: we do not worry about a buried מנה
  14. QuestionWhy didn't רב פפא explain it like רב זביד?