Gittin 30

כי משוו בית דין שליח בפניו או שלא בפניו הדר פשטה בין בפניו בין שלא בפניו שלחו מתם בין בפניו בין שלא בפניו

When the court appoints a second agent, must they do so in the presence of the first agent, or may it be when not in his presence? He then resolves it: The second agent may be appointed either in his presence and not in his presence. Similarly, they sent from there, from Eretz Yisrael, this ruling: The court may appoint another agent either in the presence of the first agent or not in his presence.

ההוא דאמר אי לא אתינא עד תלתין יומין ליהוי גיטא אתא ופסקיה מברא אמר להו חזו דאתאי חזו דאתאי אמר שמואל לא שמיה מתיא

§ The Gemara relates another incident, involving a certain man who said to the agents with whom he entrusted a bill of divorce: If I do not arrive from now until thirty days have passed, let this be a bill of divorce. He came at the end of the thirtieth day, but he was prevented from crossing the river by the fact that the ferry was located on the other side of the river, so he did not cross the river within the designated time. He said to the people across the river: See that I have arrived, see that I have arrived. Shmuel said: That is not considered to be an arrival, even though it is clear that he intended to arrive, so the bill of divorce is valid.

ההוא דאמר להו אי לא פייסנא לה עד תלתין יומין ליהוי גיטא אזל פייסה ולא איפייסא אמר רב יוסף מי יהיב לה תרקבא דדינרי ולא איפייסא

The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving a certain man who said to agents with whom he had deposited a bill of divorce: If I do not appease my wife within thirty days, let this be a bill of divorce. He went to appease her, but she was not appeased. Rav Yosef said: Did he give her a large vessel [tarkeva] full of dinars but she was not appeased? Although his inability to appease her was a result of his lack of financial means, since he did not properly fulfill his condition to appease her, the bill of divorce is valid.

איכא דאמרי אמר רב יוסף מידי תרקבא דדינרי בעי למיתב לה הא פייסה ולא איפייסא

There are those who say a different version of the statement, that Rav Yosef said: Did he need to give her a vessel full of dinars in order to appease her? This is a situation where he attempted to appease her, but she was not appeased. Therefore, he did fulfill his condition, and the bill of divorce is not effective, as it is not his fault that she was not appeased.

הא כמאן דאמר יש אונס בגיטין הא כמאן דאמר אין אונס בגיטין

The Gemara explains the difference between the first and second versions of Rav Yosef’s statement: This second version, in which the bill of divorce does not take effect, is according to the one who says: Circumstances beyond one’s control have legal standing with regard to bills of divorce. Therefore, the bill of divorce is not valid, as the husband did all he could to appease her. This first version, in which the bill of divorce is valid, is according to the one who says: Circumstances beyond one’s control have no legal standing with regard to bills of divorce.

מתני׳ המלוה מעות את הכהן ואת הלוי ואת העני להיות מפריש עליהן מחלקן מפריש עליהן בחזקת שהן קיימין ואינו חושש שמא מת הכהן או הלוי או העשיר העני

MISHNA: The mishna continues the discussion of the presumption that a person remains alive. With regard to one who lends money to a priest, or to a Levite, or to a poor person, with the understanding that he will separate their portion of the teruma and tithes from his produce on the basis of that money, i.e., he will subtract from the debt owed by the priest or Levite the value of the teruma and tithes separated from the produce, he may separate the teruma and tithes from his produce on the basis of that money with the presumption that they are still alive, and he need not be concerned that perhaps the priest or the Levite died in the interim, or that the poor person became rich and is no longer eligible to be given the poor man’s tithe. The priest or Levite benefits from this arrangement, as he receives his gifts up front in the form of a loan. The Israelite benefits in that he does not need to seek out a priest or Levite each time he has produce from which he must separate teruma and tithes.

מתו צריך ליטול רשות מן היורשים אם הלוון בפני בית דין אינו צריך ליטול רשות מן היורשין

If in fact they died, then he must obtain permission from the heirs in order to continue the arrangement. However, if he lent money to the deceased, and he stipulated in the presence of the court that the debt would be repaid in this manner, then he does not need to obtain permission from the heirs.

גמ׳ ואף על גב דלא אתו לידיה

GEMARA: The mishna assumes that the priest, Levite, and poor person acquire the teruma and tithes that the creditor separates from his produce, but they agree at the time of the loan that the tithes and teruma will then be acquired by the creditor as payment of their debt. The Gemara asks: And can the priest, Levite, and poor person transfer possession of the terumot or tithes back to the creditor even though the produce did not come into their possession?

אמר רב במכרי כהונה ולויה ושמואל אמר במזכה להם על ידי אחרים עולא אמר הא מני רבי יוסי היא דאמר עשו את שאינו זוכה כזוכה

Rav says: This is stated with regard to associates of the priesthood and the Levites, i.e., people who have an arrangement with a specific priest or Levite to give him their teruma or tithes. The specific priest or Levite therefore has a presumptive status of ownership of the tithes or teruma and is considered to have acquired them. And Shmuel says: This is stated with regard to one who has the priest or Levite acquire the gifts through the act of acquisition of others, who acquire the teruma and tithes on their behalf. The lender is then able to reclaim the gifts as repayment of the loan. Ulla said: In accordance with whose opinion is this mishna? It is the opinion of Rabbi Yosei, who says in other contexts: The Sages, by means of an ordinance, rendered one who does not acquire like one who acquires. Here, too, the Sages instituted an ordinance to enable this arrangement.

כולהו כרב לא אמרי במכרי לא קתני כשמואל לא קאמרי במזכה לא קתני כעולא נמי לא אמרי כיחידאה לא מוקמינן

The Gemara explains why each of the aforementioned Sages disagreed with the others. All the other Sages, i.e., Shmuel and Ulla, do not state their opinions in accordance with the opinion of Rav, because the mishna does not teach explicitly that the halakha is stated with regard to associates of the priesthood and the Levites. Rav and Ulla do not state their opinions in accordance with the opinion of Shmuel because the mishna does not teach that this halakha is stated with regard to one who has the priest or Levite acquire the gifts through the act of acquisition of others. Rav and Shmuel also do not state their opinions in accordance with the opinion of Ulla because we do not establish the mishna to be stated in accordance with an individual opinion, in this case Rabbi Yosei; rather, the assumption is that the ruling of the mishna is written in accordance with the majority opinion.

תנו רבנן המלוה מעות את הכהן ואת הלוי ואת העני להיות מפריש עליהן מחלקן מפריש עליהן בחזקת שהן קיימין

§ The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 3:1): With regard to one who lends money to a priest, or to a Levite, or to a poor person with the understanding that he will separate their portion of the teruma and tithes from his produce on the basis of that money, he may separate the teruma and tithes from his produce on the basis of that money, with the presumption that they are still alive.

ופוסק עמהן כשער הזול ואין בו משום רבית ואין שביעית משמטתו

The baraita continues: And he may contract with them according to the low market rate, i.e., he may set a price for the gifts that he will separate in the future based on either their value at the time of the loan, or their value when they will be separated, whichever is lower. And this is not subject to the prohibition of interest, meaning that if the market rate falls, it will not be considered as though they are repaying in excess of the amount of the loan. And the Sabbatical Year does not cancel this loan; even after the Sabbatical Year, the lender may continue to collect his debt in this manner.

ואם בא לחזור אינו חוזר נתייאשו הבעלים אין מפריש עליהם לפי שאין מפרישין על האבוד

The baraita continues: And if the lender seeks to renege on this agreement, he may not renege. If the owner despaired of retrieving the loan, as he thought that he would not need to separate any teruma or tithes and therefore thought that he would not collect payment for the loan, although it later became clear that he was mistaken, he may not separate the teruma and tithes from his produce on the basis of that money, because one may not separate teruma and tithes on the basis of one’s loan that one had thought lost. Once he despaired of retrieving the loan, the sum of the loan is permanently acquired by the borrowers and the lender may not use the tithes and teruma to serve as repayment.

אמר מר פוסק עמהם כשער הזול פשיטא הא קא משמע לן אף על פי שלא פסק כמי שפסק דמי

The Gemara clarifies the rulings of the baraita: The Master said: He may contract with them according to the low market rate. The Gemara asks: Isn’t this obvious? The Gemara answers: This teaches us that even though he did not contract explicitly that he would use the lower market price, he is considered like one who did so contract and may do so anyway.

ואין בו משום רבית מאי טעמא כיון דכי לית ליה לא יהיב ליה כי אית ליה נמי אין בו משום רבית

The baraita also teaches: And this is not subject to the prohibition of interest. The Gemara asks: What is the reason for this? The Gemara answers: Since, when the priest or Levite has no teruma or tithes that he received from the creditor, e.g., when the grain in the field did not sprout due to a drought, he does not give anything to the creditor in repayment of the loan, this indicates that it is not a true loan. Therefore, when the priest or Levite has teruma and tithes, this also is not subject to the prohibition of interest.

ואין שביעית משמטתו דלא קרינא ביה לא יגוש

The baraita also teaches: And the Sabbatical Year does not cancel this loan. The Gemara explains: The reason is that concerning this loan, one cannot read the verse stated with regard to the cancellation of debts by the occurrence of the Sabbatical Year: “He shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother; because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed” (Deuteronomy 15:2). Since in any event one cannot claim repayment of this type of loan, it is not addressed by the verse in question.

ואם בא לחזור אינו חוזר אמר רב פפא לא שנו אלא בעל הבית בכהן אבל כהן בבעל הבית אם בא לחזור חוזר דתנן נתן לו מעות ולא משך הימנו פירות יכול לחזור בו

The baraita also teaches: And if the lender seeks to renege on this agreement, he cannot renege. Rav Pappa said: They taught this only with regard to a homeowner, i.e., an owner of produce, who wishes to renege on his agreement with a priest. In that situation, the homeowner cannot demand repayment of the loan with money. However, with regard to a priest who wishes to renege on his agreement with a homeowner, if he seeks to renege, he may renege. What is the reason for this? As we learned in a mishna (Bava Metzia 44a): In any transaction, if the purchaser gave the seller money but did not yet pull the produce, then the seller can renege on the sale. Here, since the priest received money and the homeowner did not yet formally acquire the produce, the priest can renege on the agreement.

נתייאשו הבעלים אין מפריש עליהן לפי שאין מפרישין על האבוד פשיטא לא צריכא דאקון מהו דתימא אקנתא מילתא היא קא משמע לן

The baraita also teaches: If the owner despaired of retrieving the loan, he may not separate the teruma and tithes from his produce on the basis of that money because one may not separate teruma and tithes on the basis of a loan that he had thought lost. The Gemara asks: Isn’t this obvious, as he is no longer owed the money? The Gemara answers: No, it is necessary to teach this halakha in a case where the seeds produced stalks and became dried out. Lest you say that growth of stalks is a significant matter, as there is a chance that the produce will still grow and so he does not fully despair, the baraita teaches us that even in such a situation, since the produce is very unlikely to recover, he does despair of retrieving the loan.

תניא רבי אליעזר בן יעקב אומר המלוה מעות את הכהן ואת הלוי בבית דין ומתו מפריש עליהן בחזקת אותו השבט ואת העני בבית דין ומת מפריש עליו בחזקת עניי ישראל רבי אחי אומר בחזקת עניי עולם

§ It is taught in a baraita (Tosefta 3:1) that Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov says: With regard to one who lends money to a priest or to a Levite in court and they died before repaying the loan, he separates teruma and tithes on the basis of that money with the presumption that there is one from that tribe who inherited from them, and he need not confirm that the deceased priest or Levite has immediate heirs. He then continues the arrangement based on the transfer of the debt to the heirs. And if he lent money to a poor person in court, and the poor person died before repaying the loan, the creditor separates tithes on the basis of that money with the presumption that the poor of the Jewish people would agree to continue the arrangement. Rabbi Aḥai says: It is with the presumption that the poor of the world would agree to continue the arrangement.

מאי בינייהו

The Gemara asks: What is the difference between the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov and the opinion of Rabbi Aḥai? Rabbi Aḥai too must have meant only poor Jews and not poor gentiles, who are not given tithes.

איכא בינייהו עניי כותיים

The Gemara answers: There is a difference between them where the only poor people to be found are poor Samaritans. According to Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov, they are not considered to be converts (see Kiddushin 75b), and one may not continue the arrangement with them serving as the poor people. According to Rabbi Aḥai, they are considered converts, and one may continue the arrangement with them serving as the poor people.

העשיר העני אין מפריש עליו וזכה הלה במה שבידו

It was taught in a baraita (Tosefta 3:1) that if the poor person became wealthy then the homeowner may no longer separate tithes based on his outstanding loan, and the borrower, who is now wealthy, acquires the money remaining in his possession. This is because from the outset the understanding was that the loan would be repaid only by separating the poor man’s tithe.

ורבנן מאי שנא למיתה דעבוד תקנתא ומאי שנא לעשירות דלא עבוד תקנתא מיתה שכיחא עשירות לא שכיחא אמר רב פפא היינו דאמרי אינשי חברך מית אשר איתעשר לא תאשר

The Gemara asks: And according to the Sages, what is different about death, when the poor man dies, that they instituted an ordinance to enable the homeowner to continue to separate tithes based on other poor people, and what is different about wealth, when the poor man becomes wealthy, that they did not institute an ordinance? The Gemara answers: Death is common, whereas wealth is not common, and the Sages did not enact an ordinance for an uncommon circumstance. Rav Pappa said: This explains the folk saying that people say: If one says to you that your friend died, then believe it; but if one says to you that your friend became wealthy, do not believe it until it has been proven.

מת צריך ליטול רשות וכו׳ תניא רבי אומר יורשין שירשו ומי איכא יורשין דלא ירתי אלא אמר רבי יוחנן שירשו קרקע ולא שירשו כספים

§ The mishna teaches that if the priest or Levite died, the lender needs to obtain permission from the heirs to continue the arrangement. It is taught in a baraita (Tosefta 3:1): Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says that this is referring to heirs who inherited. The Gemara asks: And are there heirs who do not inherit? What is meant by the expression: Heirs who inherit? Rather, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This means heirs who inherited land, as one can collect debts from land bequeathed by a borrower, and not heirs who inherited money, as lenders cannot collect debts from money bequeathed by a borrower.

אמר רבי יונתן הניח מלא מחט גובה מלא מחט מלא קרדום גובה מלא קרדום ורבי יוחנן אמר אפילו הניח מלא מחט גובה מלא קרדום

With regard to this matter Rabbi Yonatan says: If the priest left his heirs enough land to fill a needle, i.e., a minimal amount, then the homeowner collects, i.e., separates teruma, in the amount of produce that has the value of a full needle of land. If he left enough land to fill an ax, i.e., a larger amount, then the homeowner collects the value of a full ax of land. And Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Even if he left for his heirs enough land to fill a needle, the homeowner collects the value of a full ax of land.

וכמעשה דקטינא דאביי

And this is like the incident involving the small portion of land in the court of Abaye. The children of a deceased man had inherited a small field that was worth only a fraction of the debt that their father had owed. The creditor seized the land in payment of the debt, and Abaye ruled that even after the orphans pay the creditor the value of the land to repurchase it, the creditor can seize the land again and the orphans will have to pay for it again, to have it returned, until the entire debt has been repaid.

תנו רבנן ישראל שאמר ללוי מעשר יש לך בידי אין חוששין לתרומת מעשר שבו כור מעשר יש לך בידי חוששין לתרומת מעשר שבו

§ The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 3:2): With regard to an Israelite who said to a Levite: There is tithe of yours in my possession that I separated from my produce on your behalf, one is not concerned about the teruma of the tithe that is in it, i.e., the one-tenth of the tithe that is given to the priest and forbidden to both the Levite and the Israelite; rather it is assumed to be only first tithe. However, if he said to him: There is a kor of tithe of yours in my possession, then one is concerned about the teruma of the tithe that is in it.

מאי קאמר אמר אביי הכי קאמר ישראל שאמר ללוי מעשר יש לך בידי והילך דמיו אין חוששין שמא עשאו תרומת מעשר על מקום אחר כור מעשר יש לך בידי והילך דמיו חוששין שמא עשאו תרומת מעשר על מקום אחר

The Gemara asks: What is the baraita saying? Abaye said: This is what it is saying: In the case of an Israelite who said to a Levite: There is tithe of yours in my possession, and here is money in exchange for it, then one is not concerned that perhaps the Levite converted the tithe that is now in the possession of the Israelite into teruma of the tithe for tithes that he has elsewhere. Since the Israelite did not specify how much tithe of the Levite’s he had, the Levite would not know how much of his other tithe could be exempted from teruma of the tithe by converting this tithe into teruma of the tithe. But if an Israelite said to a Levite: There is a kor of tithe of yours in my possession, and here is money in exchange for it, then one is concerned that since the Levite knows the amount of the tithe, perhaps he converted it into the teruma of the tithe for tithes that he has elsewhere.

אטו ברשיעי עסקינן דשקלי דמי ומשוו ליה תרומת מעשר

The Gemara questions Abaye’s explanation: Is that to say that we are dealing with wicked people, who take money in exchange for the tithe and afterward convert it into the teruma of the tithe? Once the Levite takes money in exchange for the tithe, it is no longer his to convert it into teruma of the tithe. Why would the baraita address the case of a Levite who acts in this fashion?

אלא אמר רב משרשיא בריה דרב אידי הכי קאמר ישראל שאמר לבן לוי מעשר לאביך בידי הילך דמיו אין חוששין שמא עשאו אביו תרומת מעשר על מקום אחר כור מעשר לאביך בידי והילך דמיו חוששין שמא עשאו אביו תרומת מעשר על מקום אחר

Rather, Rav Mesharshiyya, son of Rav Idi, said that this is what the baraita is saying: In the case of an Israelite who said to the son of a Levite: There is tithe of your father’s in my possession, about which I had informed him while he was still alive; here is money in exchange for it, one is not concerned that perhaps before his death his father converted it into teruma of the tithe for tithes that he had elsewhere, and the son may accept the money. But if an Israelite said to the son of a Levite: There is a kor of tithe of your father’s in my possession, and here is money in exchange for it; then one is concerned that perhaps his father converted it into teruma of the tithe for tithes that he has elsewhere, and the son may not accept the money.

וכי נחשדו חברים לתרום שלא מן המוקף

The Gemara questions Rav Mesharshiyya’s explanation: Why is there a concern that the father may have converted it into teruma of the tithe for tithes that he had elsewhere? If one has produce that needs to have teruma or teruma of the tithe separated from it, and he wants to perform the separation from other produce, to exempt all the produce, the Sages established that the other produce must be situated nearby. And are ḥaverim, who are meticulous in their observance of mitzvot, especially the halakhot of teruma and tithes, suspected of separating teruma from produce that is not situated near the produce they seek to exempt?

אלא אמר רב אשי הכי קאמר בן ישראל שאמר ללוי כך אמר לי אבא מעשר לך בידי או מעשר לאביך בידי חוששין לתרומת מעשר שבו כיון דלא קיץ לא הוה מתקן ליה בעל הבית כור מעשר לך בידי או כור מעשר לאביך בידי אין חוששין לתרומת מעשר שבו כיון דקיץ תקוני תקניה בעל הבית

Rather, Rav Ashi said: This is what the baraita is saying: With regard to the son of an Israelite who said to a Levite: This is what my father told me, that there is tithe of yours in my possession, or that there is tithe of your father’s in my possession, then one is concerned about the teruma of the tithe that is in it that presumably was never separated. Since it is not a set amount, the homeowner would not have rendered the tithe fit for him by separating the teruma of the tithe. But if the son of an Israelite said to a Levite: My father told me that there is a kor of tithe of yours in my possession, or that there is a kor of tithe of your father’s in my possession, then one is not concerned about the teruma of the tithe that is in it. Since it is a set amount, the homeowner is assumed to have rendered the tithe fit by separating the teruma of the tithe.

וכי יש לו רשות לבעל הבית לתרום תרומת מעשר אין אבא אלעזר בן גמלא היא דתניא אבא אלעזר בן גמלא אומר ונחשב לכם תרומתכם

The Gemara questions Rav Ashi’s explanation: And does the homeowner have permission to separate the teruma of the tithe from the tithe of the Levite? The Levite is the one who is required to separate the teruma of the tithe and to give it to a priest. The Gemara answers: Yes; the baraita is in accordance with the opinion of Abba Elazar ben Gamla. As it is taught in a baraita: Abba Elazar ben Gamla says: The verse states concerning the teruma of the tithe: “And the gift that you set apart [terumatkhem] shall be reckoned to you, as though it were the grain of the threshing floor” (Numbers 18:27).