The word damim in biblical Hebrew means both blood and money. Lo ta’amod al dam reacha (Vayikra19:16) means not only may we not stand idly by…
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Bava Metzia 61: Let's Eat Some Rodents
Teaching in a community school, I often hear from many of my students that they are “not religious.” After all, they don’t observe…
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Bava Metzia 61: A Free Loan
One of most difficult laws to comprehend, both technically and philosophically, is the Torah prohibition against charging interest – the…
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Bava Metzia 59: A Broken Oven
“If an oven is cut into rings, and sand is placed between the rings, Rabbi Eliezer says it is pure. But the sages say it is susceptible to…
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Bava Metzia 59: Torah Is Not in Heaven
One of the most famous, powerful and tragic stories in all of Talmudic literature is that of the excommunication of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, known…
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Bava Metzia 58: Verbal Abuse
“Just as there is ona’ah, oppression, regarding commerce, so too there is ona’ah, oppression, regarding words. One should not say…
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Bava Metzia 55: What is a Penny Worth?
There is not too much one can do with a penny; so little, in fact, that the Canadian government removed them from circulation in 2013 with purchases…
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Bava Metzia 49: What Did You Say it Cost?
“Ona’ah is four silver maot in twenty-four…1/6th of the price” (Bava Metzia 49b). The laws of ona’ah, price fraud,…
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Bava Metzia 49: Let's Not Make a Deal
The Ramban, in perhaps his most famous biblical comment, notes that one can observe every law in the Torah and yet be no better than a dead carcass (…
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Bava Metzia 42: Where is My Money?
In our last post we discussed the responsibilities of a shomer entrusted to guard produce. The Mishnayot continue with a discussion of one’s…
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Bava Metzia 40: I Love My Fruit
“Milveh lhotzah nitna”, money is loaned to be spent (Kiddushin 47a). When one loans money it is with the understanding that the borrower…
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Bava Metzia 37: What Does the Cheater Lose?
It is a beautiful character trait to be trusting of others. It is also, all too often, foolhardy. The underlying theme of much of Bava Metzia, and…
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Bava Metzia 35: Making a Quick Dollar
The difference between a smart businessperson and an ethically challenged one can be fine indeed - so fine that many will disagree on where to draw…
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Bava Metzia 33: 40 Long Years
One of the beautiful things about studying Gemara is delighting in how it seamlessly flows from one idea to another; how it blends legal rulings,…
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Bava Metzia 33: You Go First
There are few mitzvoth of greater importance than kibud av veim. This is so well-known and obvious that it hardly needs elaboration. So much so that…
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Bava Metzia 32: Helping the Enemy
“G-d is good to all and His mercy is upon all His creations” (Tehillim 145:9). If G-d has mercy on all His creations so too must man,…
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Bava Metzia 30: The Straight Law
The Torah demands we do much to help others. However, while we may have to love others like ourselves, there is no requirement to love them more than…
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Bava Metzia 28: Lost and Found
“Until when must he declare the lost object? Until his neighbours know about it, these are the words of Rav Meir.” (Bava Metzia 28a) One…