DOCSLIB.ORG

The Passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism Prepared by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism Prepared by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg The Passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism Prepared by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg http://danyaruttenberg.net רב כהנא על, גנא תותיה פורייה דרב. שמעיה דשח ושחק ועשה צרכיו, אמר ליה: דמי פומיה דאבא כדלא שריף תבשילא אמר לו: כהנא, הכא את? פוק, דלאו ארח ארעא. אמר לו: תורה היא וללמוד אני צריך. 1) Rav Cahana went to the home of Rav and lay down under his bed. [Rav Cahana] heard [Rav] talk, laugh, and "do his needs" [that is, engage in sexual intercourse with his wife]. Rav Cahana said to himself, “Is the mouth of my teacher like one who has never before tasted food?!!” Rav, [suddenly aware of Rav Cahana's presence] said, “Cahana! Are you here!? Get out!! This is not proper behavior!!" Rav Cahana replied, “This is Torah, which I need to learn.” (Talmud Berachot 62a) .התלמידים יוצאין לתלמוד תורה שלא ברשות שלשים יום, הפועלים - שבת אחת. העונה האמורה בתורה, הטיילין - בכל יום, הפועלים - שתים בשבת, החמרים - אחת בשבת, הגמלים - אחת לשלשים יום, הספנים - אחת לששה חדשים, דברי רבי אליעזר 2) Students may leave to study Torah without the permission [of their wives] for thirty days; laborers, for one week. The times for conjugal duty prescribed in the Torah: For those with independent means, every day; for laborers, twice a week; for for donkey drivers, once a week; for camel drivers, once in thirty days; for sailors, once in six months. These are the rulings of Rabbi Eliezer. (Mishnah Ketubot 5:6) א"ל רבה בר רב חנן לאביי: חמר ונעשה גמל, מאי? א"ל: רוצה אשה בקב ותיפלות מעשרה קבין ופרישות. 3) Said Rabbah son of Rabbi Hanan to Abaye: What [is the law in the case of] a donkey driver [who wants to] become a camel driver? — The other replied: A woman prefers one kav [a currency] with frivolity to ten kavs with abstinence. (Talmud Ketubot 62b) אמר רמי בר חמא אמר רב אסי אסור לאדם שיכוף אשתו לדבר מצוה 4) Rami ben Hama citing Rav Assi ruled: A man is forbidden to compel his wife to perform a mitzvah (that is, engage in sexual relations). (Eruvin 100b) א"ר יוחנן: אמרו חכמים... כל מה שאדם רוצה לעשות באשתו עושה משל לבשר הבא מבית הטבח, רצה לאכלו במלח - אוכלו, צלי - אוכלו, מבושל - אוכלו, שלוק - אוכלו וכן דג הבא מבית הצייד....ההיא דאתאי לקמיה דרבי, אמרה לו: רבי, ערכתי לו שלחן והפכו! אמר לה: בתי, תורה התירתך, ואני מה אעשה ליך. 5) Rabbi Yohanan said... our Sages said... a man may do whatever he pleases with his wife [at intercourse]: A parable: Meat which comes from the butcher may be eaten salted, roasted, cooked or seethed; so with fish from the fishmonger. A woman once came before Rabbi and said, 'Rabbi! I set a table before my husband, but he overturned it.' Rabbi replied: 'My daughter! the Torah has permitted you to him — what then can I do for you?' (Talmud Nedarim 20b) (במדבר טו) ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם - מכאן אמר רבי: אל ישתה אדם בכוס זה ויתן עיניו בכוס אחר.(יחזקאל כ) וברותי מכם המורדים והפושעים בי - אמר רבי לוי: אלו בני תשע מדות: בני אימה, בני אנוסה, בני שנואה, בני נידוי, בני תמורה, בני מריבה, בני שכרות, בני גרושת הלב, בני ערבוביא.... 6) "Do not follow after your own heart...[in your lustful urge]" (Numbers 15:39). [Deducing] from this, Rabbi taught: One may not drink out of one cup and think of another cup.... "And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me" (Ezekiel 20:38). Rabbi Levi said: This refers to children belonging to the following nine categories: children of intimidation, of rape, of hate, of a ban/ vow, of a partner mistaken for another, of strife, of intoxication, of a mentally divorced partner, of confusion.... (Talmud Nedarim 20b) 7) ...You ought to engage her first in matters that please her heart and mind and cheer her in order to bring together your thought with her thought and your intention with hers. And you should say such things some of which will urge her to passion and intercourse, to affection, desire and love-making, and some which will urge fear of heaven, piety and modesty. You should attract her with charming words and seductions and other proper and righteous things as I have explained. And to not possess her while she is asleep because the two intentions are not one and her wish does not agree with yours.. Finally...do not hasten to arouse your passion until the woman's mind is ready, and engage her in words of love so that she will begin to give forth seed first and thus her seed would be like matter and your seed like form, as it is said, "when a woman gives forth seed and bears a male child..." (Iggeret Ha- Kodesh, (The Holy Letter) Chap. 6 Conjugal rights [13th century]) ר' אלעזר אומר: פנוי הבא על הפנויה שלא לשם אישות עשאה זונה. אמר רב עמרם: אין הלכה כרבי אלעזר 8) Rabbi Elazar said: If a single man comes to a single woman [for sexual relations] without the intention of marriage, he makes her into a zonah [licentious woman]. Rav Amram said: The law is not according to Rabbi Elazar. (Talmud, Yevamot 61b) אמר רבא, בר המדורי אסברא לי: (ויקרא י"ח) ואת זכר לא תשכב משכבי אשה אי זהו זכר שיש בו שני משכבות? הוי אומר: זה אנדורגינוס. 9) Said Raba, Bar Hamduri explained to me as follows: “Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman [lit. the lyings of a woman]” -- Who is a male who has two “lyings?” Conclude: this is an androginus. (Talmud Yevamot 83b) .א"ל בר קפרא לרבי: מאי (ויקרא כ) תועבה? - תועה אתה בה 10) Bar Kappara asked Rabbi, What is meant by to'ebah (abomination)? 'To'eh attah bah (you shall go astray because of it.)" (Talmud Nedarim 51a).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Creation and Composition
    Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum Edited by Martin Hengel und Peter Schäfer 114 ARTIBUS ,5*2 Creation and Composition The Contribution of the Bavli Redactors (Stammaim) to the Aggada Edited by Jeffrey L. Rubenstein Mohr Siebeck Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, born 1964. 1985 B.A. at Oberlin College (OH); 1987 M.A. at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America (NY); 1992 Ph.D. at Columbia University (NY). Professor in the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University. ISBN 3-16-148692-7 ISSN 0721-8753 (Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism) Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de. © 2005 by Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher's written permission. This applies particularly to repro- ductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was typeset by Martin Fischer in Tübingen, printed by Guide-Druck in Tübingen on non-aging paper and bound by Buchbinderei Spinner in Ottersweier. Printed in Germany. Preface The papers collected in this volume were presented at a conference sponsored by the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies of New York University, February 9-10, 2003.1 am grateful to Lawrence Schiffman, chairman of the de- partment, for his support, and to Shayne Figueroa and Diane Leon-Ferdico, the departmental administrators, for all their efforts in logistics and organization.
    [Show full text]
  • Source Sheet on Prohibitions on Loshon Ha-Ra and Motzi Shem Ra and Disclosing Another’S Confidential Secrets and Proper Etiquette for Speech
    Source Sheet on Prohibitions on Loshon ha-ra and motzi shem ra and disclosing another’s confidential secrets and Proper Etiquette for Speech Deut. 24:9 - "Remember what the L-rd your G-d did unto Miriam by the way as you came forth out of Egypt." Specifically, she spoke against her brother Moses. Yerushalmi Berachos 1:2 Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said, “Had I been at Mount Sinai at the moment when the torah was given to Yisrael I would have demanded that man should have been created with two mouths- one for Torah and prayer and other for mundane matters. But then I retracted and exclaimed that if we fail and speak lashon hara with only one mouth, how much more so would we fail with two mouths Bavli Arakhin15b R. Yochanan said in the name of R.Yosi ben Zimra: He who speaks slander, is as though he denied the existence of the Lord: With out tongue will we prevail our lips are our own; who is lord over us? (Ps.12:5) Gen R. 65:1 and Lev.R. 13:5 The company of those who speak slander cannot greet the Presence Sotah 5a R. Hisda said in the name of Mar Ukba: When a man speaks slander, the holy one says, “I and he cannot live together in the world.” So scripture: “He who slanders his neighbor in secret…. Him I cannot endure” (Ps. 101:5).Read not OTO “him’ but ITTO “with him [I cannot live] Deut.Rabbah 5:10 R.Mana said: He who speaks slander causes the Presence to depart from the earth below to heaven above: you may see foryourselfthat this is so.Consider what David said: “My soul is among lions; I do lie down among them that are aflame; even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword” (Ps.57:5).What follows directly ? Be Thou exalted O God above the heavens (Ps.57:6) .For David said: Master of the Universe what can the presence do on the earth below? Remove the Presence from the firmament.
    [Show full text]
  • The Generic Transformation of the Masoretic Text of Qohelet 9. 7-10 in the Targum Qohelet and Qohelet Midrash Rabbah
    Durham E-Theses Wine, women and work: the generic transformation of the Masoretic text of Qohelet 9. 7-10 in the Targum Qohelet and Qohelet Midrash Rabbah Hardy, John Christopher How to cite: Hardy, John Christopher (1995) Wine, women and work: the generic transformation of the Masoretic text of Qohelet 9. 7-10 in the Targum Qohelet and Qohelet Midrash Rabbah, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5403/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 WINE, WOMEN AND WORK: THE GENERIC TRANSFORMATION OF THE MA50RETIC TEXT OF QOHELET 9. 7-10 IN THE TARGUM QOHELET AND QOHELET MIDRASH RABBAH John Christopher Hardy This tnesis seeks to understand the generic changes wrought oy targum Qonelet and Qoheiet raidrash rabbah upon our home-text, the masoretes' reading ot" woh.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Have Interested Tltemselves in the Endeavour to Acquire Any
    TilE HALACHA AND THE HAGADA. ALL who have interested tltemselves in the endeavour to acquire any knowledge of the Talmud are aware that the Rabbis who have contributed to that strange· and enormous encyclop<edia of twelve folio volumes,. fa.ll into two schools-the Halachists and the Haga­ dists ; and although an Halachist might occasionally indulge himself in Hagadoth, and a Hagadist might sometimes distinguish himself in the Halacha, 1 yet the distinction between the two schools is so radical, that we cannot advance a step until it is completely grasped and understood. I. The origin, development, and intention of the HALACHA will, I think, be clear to any reader of my papers on the Oral Law in previous numbers of Tu1c: ExPOSITOR. 2 The word (of which the plural is Hilchoth or Halachoth) is derived from I-Ialak, "to walk," and simply means a rule, a decisive tradition, "the ultimate conclusion on a matter long debated.''3 No system of laws, and above all no system so brief as the Mosaic legislation in its earliest form, could possibly include all the vast varieties of human cir­ cumstance ; and since the law was regarded as in· finitely sacred in its minutest regulations, it was x For imtnnce, R. Levi Ben Sisi tried to unite the Ha gad a and the lblacha, as R. Jochnnan Den Zakkai had tried to do befo1e him. Hamburger, s. v. v. Agada and Jochanan. 2 February, March, and May, 1S77. 1 i1:~~i1, Halachah. "Apud Rahbinos et Thalmudi<:os est constitutio juri,, sententia, decisio, traditio decisa, et usu ac consuetudine recepta et approhata.
    [Show full text]
  • The Humanity of the Talmud: Reading for Ethics in Bavli ʿavoda Zara By
    The Humanity of the Talmud: Reading for Ethics in Bavli ʿAvoda Zara By Mira Beth Wasserman A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Joint Doctor of Philosophy with Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley in Jewish Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Daniel Boyarin, chair Professor Chana Kronfeld Professor Naomi Seidman Professor Kenneth Bamberger Spring 2014 Abstract The Humanity of the Talmud: Reading for Ethics in Bavli ʿAvoda Zara by Mira Beth Wasserman Joint Doctor of Philosophy with Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley University of California, Berkeley Professor Daniel Boyarin, chair In this dissertation, I argue that there is an ethical dimension to the Babylonian Talmud, and that literary analysis is the approach best suited to uncover it. Paying special attention to the discursive forms of the Talmud, I show how juxtapositions of narrative and legal dialectics cooperate in generating the Talmud's distinctive ethics, which I characterize as an attentiveness to the “exceptional particulars” of life. To demonstrate the features and rewards of a literary approach, I offer a sustained reading of a single tractate from the Babylonian Talmud, ʿAvoda Zara (AZ). AZ and other talmudic discussions about non-Jews offer a rich resource for considerations of ethics because they are centrally concerned with constituting social relationships and with examining aspects of human experience that exceed the domain of Jewish law. AZ investigates what distinguishes Jews from non-Jews, what Jews and non- Jews share in common, and what it means to be a human being. I read AZ as a cohesive literary work unified by the overarching project of examining the place of humanity in the cosmos.
    [Show full text]
  • Shabbat Chazon
    Sat 23 Nov 2013 -- 20 Kislev 5774 B”H Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi Congregation Adat Reyim D’var Torah on Vayeshev The Jewish view of dreams In this week's Torah portion, Vayeshev, Joseph dreams and interprets dreams: And Joseph had a dream and told his brothers..., "We were binding sheaves ... and behold, my sheaf arose and... stood upright, and... your sheaves encircled [it] and prostrated themselves to my sheaf." So his brothers said to him, "Will you reign over us? Will you govern us?" And they continued further to hate him on account of his dreams and on account of his words. And [later] he... said, "Behold, I have had another dream: ...The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were prostrating themselves to me." And he told [this] to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream...? Will we come, I, your mother, and your brothers to prostrate ourselves to you to the ground?" [Gen. 37:5-10] Later, when Joseph is in jail, he correctly interprets the dreams of other inmates, and news of his ability spreads fast. Pharaoh summons him and he correctly interprets Pharaoh's dreams. He is then put in charge of all of Egypt to manage the consequences of his interpretations. [Gen. 40:5ff] Dreams. The Torah is full of them. Sometimes it says specifically that they convey a message directly from God: -But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night. [Gen. 20:3] -And [Jacob] dreamed, and behold! [there was] a ladder on the ground and its top reached to heaven; and behold, angels of God were going up and down on it; and behold, the Lord was standing over him.
    [Show full text]
  • Talmudic Metrology IV: Halakhic Currency
    Talmudic Metrology IV: The Halakhic Currency Abstract. In 66 B.C.E. Palestine entered under Roman protection and from 6 C.E. on it would be under Roman administration. This situation persisted until the conquest by the Persians in the beginning of the seventh century. The Jerusalem Talmud was thus completely elaborated under Roman rule. Therefore, as for the other units of measure, the Halakhik coinage and the Jerusalem Talmudic monetary denominations are completely dependent on Roman coinage of the time and Roman economic history. Indeed, during the first century Tyrian coinage was similar to the imperial Roman coinage. Nevertheless, during the third century the debasement of Roman money became significant and the Rabbis had difficulty finding the Roman equivalents of the shekel, in which the Torah obligations are expressed and of the prutah, the least amount in Jewish law. In this article we describe the Halakhik coinage, originally based on the Tyrian coinage, and examine the history of the Shekel and the Prutah. We then examine the exegesis of different Talmudic passages related to monetary problems and to the Halakhic coinage, which cannot be correctly understood without referring to Roman economic history and to numismatic data that was unknown to the traditional commentators of the Talmud. Differences between parallel passages of both the Jerusalem and the Babylonian Talmud can then be explained by referring to the economical situation prevailing in Palestine and Babylonia. For example, the notion of Kessef Medina, worth one eighth of the silver denomination, is a Babylonian reality that was unknown to Palestinian Tanaïm and Amoraïm.
    [Show full text]
  • Moshe Raphael Ben Yehoshua (Morris Stadtmauer) O”H Tzvi Gershon Ben Yoel (Harvey Felsen) O”H
    6 Tishrei 5781 Eiruvin Daf 46 Sept. 24, 2020 Daf Notes is currently being dedicated to the neshamot of Moshe Raphael ben Yehoshua (Morris Stadtmauer) o”h Tzvi Gershon ben Yoel (Harvey Felsen) o”h May the studying of the Daf Notes be a zechus for their neshamot and may their souls find peace in Gan Eden and be bound up in the Bond of life Abaye sat at his studies and discoursed on this subject the ocean? — Rabbi Yitzchak replied: Here we are dealing when Rav Safra said to him: Is it not possible that we are with a case where the clouds were formed on the eve of dealing here with a case where the rain fell near a town the festival. But is it not possible that those moved away and the townspeople relied on that rain? — This, the other and these are others? — It is a case where one can replied, cannot be entertained at all. For we learned: A recognize them by some identification mark. And if you cistern belonging to an individual person is on a par with prefer I might reply: This is a matter of doubt in respect of that individual's feet, and one belonging to a town is on a a Rabbinical law and in any such doubt a lenient ruling is par with the feet of the people of that town, and one used adopted. But why shouldn’t the water acquire its place for by the Babylonian pilgrims is on a par with the feet of any the Shabbos in the clouds? May it then be derived from man who draws the water.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nonverbal Language of Prayer
    Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum Edited by Martin Hengel and Peter Schäfer 105 Uri Ehrlich The Nonverbal Language of Prayer A New Approach to Jewish Liturgy Translated by Dena Ordan Mohr Siebeck Uri Ehrlich: Born 1956; 1994 Ph.D. in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy, Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Senior lecturer, Department of Jewish Thought, Ben-Gurion University. ISBN 3-16-148150-X ISSN 0721-8753 (Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism) Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; de- tailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de. © 2004 by Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany. Authorised English translation of "n:-ßxn 'ra^a © 1999 by Hebrew University Magnes Press, Jerusalem. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher's written permission. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was printed by Guide-Druck in Tübingen on non-aging paper and bound by Buchbinderei Spinner in Ottersweier. Printed in Germany. In memory of my grandparents Martha and Arthur Dernburg Preface to the English Edition Prayer has many names: tefillah (petition), tehinah (beseeching), le'akah (shouting), ze'akah (cry), shavah (cry for help), renanah (cry of prayer), pegi'ah (plea), nefilah (falling down); amidah (standing). (Tanhuma, Va-ethanan 3) This midrash highlights the multidimensional nature of the Prayer and names a variety of expressive means alongside the Prayer's verbal aspect. It is this book's aim to portray the nonverbal components of the Prayer - physical gestures, attire, and vocality - and to demonstrate their impor- tance for, and integrality to, the prayer-act.
    [Show full text]
  • Shabbos Secrets - the Mysteries Revealed
    Translated by Rabbi Awaharn Yaakov Finkel Shabbos Secrets - The Mysteries Revealed First Published 2003 Copyright O 2003 by Rabbi Dovid D. Meisels ISBN: 1-931681-43-0 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in an form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-copying, recording, or otherwise, withour prior permission in writing from both the copyright holder and publisher. C<p.?< , . P*. P,' . , 8% . 3: ,. ""' * - ;., Distributed by: Isreal Book Shop -WaUvtpttrnn 501 Prospect Street w"Jw--.or@r"wn owwv Lakewood NJ 08701 Tel: (732) 901-3009 Fax: (732) 901-4012 Email: isrbkshp @ aol.com Printed in the United States of America by: Gross Brothers Printing Co., Inc. 3 125 Summit Ave., Union City N.J. 07087 This book is dedicated to be a source of merit in restoring the health and in strengthening 71 Tsn 5s 3.17 ~~w7 May Hashem send him from heaven a speedy and complete recovery of spirit and body among the other sick people of Israel. "May the Zechus of Shabbos obviate the need to cry out and may the recovery come immediately. " His parents should inerit to have much nachas from him and from the entire family. I wish to express my gratitude to Reb Avraham Yaakov Finkel, the well-known author and translator of numerous books on Torah themes, for his highly professional and meticulous translation from the Yiddish into lucid, conversational English. The original Yiddish text was published under the title Otzar Hashabbos. My special appreciation to Mrs.
    [Show full text]
  • JCYF Text Collection
    Jewish Community Youth Foundation TEXTS: Draft Aug 24, 2007 Contents: 1. General Texts about Giving a. Not Teaching Your Children to Earn is to Teach them to Rob b. Tzedakah is Equivalent to all other Mitzvot c. Giving Will Not Make You Poor 2. We Don’t Really Own What We Give Away Anyway a. The Sabbatical Year b. Do Not Reap the Corners of your Land 3. Should the Poor Also Give? Two Perspectives a. Even Those Who Receive Tzedakah Should Give b. One’s Own Sustenance Comes First 4. Types of Giving a. Eight Categories of Giving Tzedakah, a.k.a Maimonides Ladder b. The Difference Between Tzedkah and Gemilut Hasadim c. Emergency Versus Ongoing Needs 5. Who Should We Give to? Texts about Allocating a. Allocating is Painful b. Give to Family First, then to the Neighbors c. Giving to Non-Jews d. How to Compare the Poor in your town to the Poor around the World 6. How Much Should We Give? a. Sufficient for his Needs (Day Machsoro) b. Defining ‘Sufficient for his Needs’ c. How Much to Give: 20%? 10%? 7. Tzedakah Midrash a. Midrash of the Sheep Crossing the River b. God Stands at the Right Side of a Poor Person 1. General Texts about Giving Not Teaching Your Children to Earn is to Teach them to Rob T. Kiddushin 29a Anyone who does not teach their child a skill or profession may be regarded as teaching their child to rob. Discussion: Do you think your parents have a responsibility to teach you a skill or profession? How does this teaching change your understanding of people who steal things? Tzedakah is Equivalent to all other Mitzvot B.
    [Show full text]
  • Bava Kamma 009.Pub
    ג' סיון תשע“וThursday, June 9 2016 בבא קמא ט‘ OVERVIEW of the Daf Distinctive INSIGHT 1) A seller’s interest in the property he sold (cont.) A creditor takes from one of the brothers האחים שחלקו ובא בעל חוב ונטל חלקו של אחד מהן Abaye discusses the halacha of a person who buys property to his friend without a guarantee and whether he cash is as good as—כספים הרי הם כקרקע“ av Assi taught can back out of the purchase if protesters claim the land is R land.” At this point in the Gemara, the statement of Rav theirs. Assi is understood to have been said in reference to the case According to a second version the buyer may not back of two brothers who divided the estate of their father. A out even if he has not taken possession of the field. creditor of the father then came and collected property from one of the brothers. The brother who had to forfeit his por- 2) Paying damages from the best land (cont.) tion of the inheritance goes to collect from the brother who R’ Huna, in response to the question of whether dam- still has money. Rav Assi says that as the brothers re-divide ages must be paid with superior land, rules that the dam- the remaining asssets of the estate, the one brother may pay ager can pay with money or land. off the other with either cash or land. R’ Nachman unsuccessfully challenges this ruling. Certain Rishonim note that when a creditor approaches R’ Assi states that money is equivalent to land.
    [Show full text]