Shevuos 44b

שבועות מ״ד ע״ב

Shevuot 44b

Learn Shevuos 44b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

A lender as שומר שכר, collateral and שמיטה, and the new משנה on those who swear and collect

Overview

This amud finishes the chapter שבועת הדיינין and opens a new one. רב יוסף says a lender holding a משכון is like a שומר שכר, because he is busy with a מצוה and saves money on other מצוות. The גמרא asks whether רבי אליעזר and רבי עקיבא argue about his idea. It answers that everyone accepts it, and they argue only about a lender who uses the collateral for himself. Next the גמרא checks whether שמואל's rule, that collateral counts for the whole debt, is the subject of a dispute in a ברייתא about שמיטה. It rejects this: רבן שמעון בן גמליאל and רבי יהודה הנשיא argue only about the collateral's own value, and collateral can serve simply as a reminder. Then a new משנה teaches that Torah oaths free the swearer from paying, but five people swear and collect. It explains the hired worker, the robbed person and the injured person, and רבי יהודה requires a partial admission in each case. The amud ends just as the משנה begins the case of an opponent who is suspected of swearing falsely, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (15)

1. Statementרב יוסף: The lender is like a paid guard
2. QuestionDo the תנאים argue about רב יוסף's idea?
3. RejectionNo, everyone agrees with רב יוסף. They argue about a lender who uses the collateral
4. ProofA ברייתא about שמיטה and loans with collateral
5. QuestionWhat does the תנא קמא mean by 'does not cancel'?
6. ChallengeThe first reading leads to a strange result
7. ProofSo they must be arguing about שמואל's rule
8. RejectionNo, they argue only about the collateral's share
9. ResolutionCollateral can be just a reminder
10. ConclusionHadran — Closing שבועת הדיינין
11. StatementWho swears and collects instead of swearing to be exempt
12. StatementThe hired worker swears and collects his wages
13. StatementThe robbed person swears and collects
14. StatementThe injured person swears and collects
15. StatementOpening the case of a defendant who is not trusted to swear