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Kiddushin 20b

קידושין כ׳ ע״ב

Learn Kiddushin 20b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Redeeming a Jew sold to a non-Jew: the lower price, and whether a slave or a walled-city house can be redeemed in parts

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a proof that a Jew who sold himself to a non-Jew should be treated strictly, since his sins brought him so low. That proof is pushed back, because the Torah commands that he be redeemed. רב נחמן בר יצחק then shows from two פסוקים, and from the extra word 'בשנים', that he always pays the lower price: the original price if his value rose, his current value if it fell. Next, רב הונא בר חיננא asks רב ששת whether such a slave can be redeemed in parts. רב ששת says no: like a thief who is sold whole, he is redeemed whole. אביי shows that partial redemption can help or hurt, depending on whether the slave's value rises or falls. רב הונא בר חיננא then asks the same question about a house in a walled city. רב ששת answers from רבי שמעון's reasoning that it may be redeemed with borrowed money and in parts. A ברייתא is brought that seems to say the opposite, and the גמרא begins to answer with 'לא קשיא'. The answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

זֶה הַנִּמְכָּר לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה עַצְמָהּ.

This is the one who is sold to idol worship itself.

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: הָתָם, הָא אַהְדְּרֵיהּ קְרָא,

He said to him: There, the verse has brought him back,

דְּתָנֵי דְּבֵי רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל:

as the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught:

הוֹאִיל וְהָלַךְ זֶה

Since this one went

The steps (26)

  1. ProofEnd of the proof: the man was sold to serve idol worship itself
  2. RejectionThe Torah itself brings him back: he must be redeemed
  3. ChallengeMaybe redemption only keeps him from getting lost, but the price can still be strict
  4. Resolutionרב נחמן בר יצחק: two verses are written about this
  5. QuestionHow can there be both 'many years' and 'few years'?
  6. ResponseEither way he pays the lower price
  7. ChallengeMaybe the verses just count the years left
  8. ResolutionThe extra word 'of the years' proves the lenient reading
  9. Conclusionרב יוסף praises the explanation
  10. QuestionCan a slave sold to a non-Jew be redeemed in parts?
  11. QuestionThe two sides: compare him to a field, or only when it helps him
  12. Responseרב ששת: Sold as a whole, redeemed as a whole
  13. Statementאביי: Partial redemption can help, case one
  14. ChallengeBut a rise in value doesn't count
  15. ResolutionHe rose, dropped, and rose again
  16. Statementאביי: Partial redemption can hurt, case two
  17. QuestionCan a walled-city house be redeemed in parts?
  18. Responseרב ששת answers from רבי שמעון's teaching
  19. Statementרבי שמעון explains why the field's rights are weaker
  20. StatementThe Consecrator Loses More, So He Gets More Options
  21. ResponseApplying the Logic to a House in a Walled City
  22. ChallengeA ברייתא Learns These Rights From a פסוק
  23. ChallengeWithout the פסוק, Logic Would Say the Opposite
  24. ChallengeThe ברייתא questions its own קל וחומר
  25. ChallengeThe walled-city house proves otherwise, and this clashes with the earlier ruling
  26. ResolutionThe גמרא begins its answer