Gemara Clarity

Shevuos 43b

שבועות מ״ג ע״ב

Shevuot 43b

Learn Shevuos 43b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shevuos 43b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Oaths and loss when a lender loses the משכון: who swears first, and does losing the משכון cancel the loan?

Overview

The משנה discusses a lender who lost the משכון he was holding, where the two sides argue about its value. The גמרא first asks which case the משנה's line 'the one holding the deposit swears' refers to. שמואל, רבי חייא בר רב and רבי יוחנן say it refers to the last case of the first section. There the oath really belongs to the borrower, but the רבנן moved it to the lender. With רב אשי's ruling that both sides swear, the line only tells us that the lender swears first. Next, שמואל rules that if a lender took one cheap item, like a sickle handle, for a big loan and lost it, the whole loan is lost. רב נחמן and the חכמי נהרדעא extend this rule to two items. The גמרא challenges שמואל from our משנה and answers that the משנה is a case where the lender said explicitly that the item covers only its own value. Finally, the גמרא asks whether שמואל's rule is an argument between רבי אליעזר and רבי עקיבא, and starts to work out the exact case of their argument. That discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

גְּמָ׳ אַהֵיָיא?

GEMARA: To which case is this referring?

אִילֵּימָא אַסֵּיפָא –

If you say it refers to the latter clause –

וְתִיפּוֹק לֵיהּ דִּשְׁבוּעָה גַּבֵּי מַלְוֶה!

then derive it from the fact that the oath is on the lender anyway!

אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: אַרֵישָׁא.

Shmuel said: It refers to the first clause.

The steps (13)

  1. QuestionWhich case does the משנה's last line refer to?
  2. ResponseThree אמוראים: it refers to the first section
  3. QuestionWhat do they mean by 'the first section'?
  4. ResponseThe last case of the first section: the oath moved to the lender
  5. StatementWith רב אשי's view, the line tells us who swears first
  6. Statementשמואל: losing a small pledge can cancel a huge loan
  7. Statementרב נחמן: even with two handles, each one covers half
  8. StatementThe חכמי נהרדעא: even a handle and a piece of silver
  9. ChallengeChallenge to שמואל from our משנה
  10. ResolutionThe משנה is when the lender said so explicitly; שמואל is when he didn't
  11. ProofMaybe this is an argument between רבי אליעזר and רבי עקיבא
  12. StatementWith a שטר, everyone agrees the money is lost
  13. QuestionWhat exact case are they arguing about?