1)

(a)If an employer demands that the workers that he employed begin work earlier and finish later than their fellow-workers because he hired them for more than the going rate - they are not obligated to comply with his demand (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(b)Because they can counter that they thought he promised to pay them more than other workers - so that they should produce better work than them.

(c)The employer is obligated to feed them and even to supply them with nosh, if that is the local custom. When the Tana then adds 'ha'Kol ke'Minhag ha'Medinah', he is coming to include that - if the custom is to feed them breakfast in his hous before they begin work, he cannot insist that they begin work first and he will send them food to their workplace (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(d)We need to insert in the Mishnah that if the employer stipulates that he will provide his workers with food, in a place where it is already customary to do so - he must supply them with more food than the norm.

2)

(a)Rebbi Yochanan ben Masya's son promised the workers that he employed on behalf of his father - that he would provide them with food.

(b)His father instructed him to tell them before they actually began work that - he would only give them bread and legumes ...

(c)... because otherwise, he said, since they were the children of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya'akov, he would not be Yotzei even if he provided them with 'a feast like that of Shlomoh in his time'.

(d)The Tana adds the words 'in his time' - because at one stage he was dethroned (and became a Hedyot).

(e)The Se'udah that Avraham fed his guests was greater than that of Shlomoh - in that he fed each guest a bull, whereas the Se'udos of Shlomoh ha'Melech were

attended by numerous guests (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

3)

(a)Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel commented that - the condition of Rebbi Shimon ben Menasya was quite unnecessary ...

(b)... since, even if the employer promises to provide food, the Din is 'ha'Kol ke'Minhag ha'Medinah' (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(c)The Halachah is - like Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel.

4)

(a)When the Mishnah states that 'The following are permitted to eat min ha'Torah' (See Tos. Yom-Tov), it refers to - an employee eating from the food with which he is working.

(b)An employee who is working with Mechubar (food that is attached to the ground) is permitted to eat - at the time of G'mar Melachah (after it has been picked (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(c)The Tana learns this from the Pasuk in Ki Seitzei "ve'el Kely'cha Lo Sitein" that - it is at then that he is allowed to eat, but not before.

(d)The equivalent ruling regarding one who is working with Talush (what is detached) is 'ad she'Nigm'rah Melachto', for Ma'aser where it is appropriate - for Chalah, if he is working with dough.

(e)A worker may only eat from Talush - that grows from the ground.

5)

(a)We learn the previous ruling from the Pasuk there "Lo Sachsom Shor be'Disho" comparing Nechsam (the animal) to Chosem (the person). What prompts the Tana to make this comparison is the fact that - the Torah does not simply write 'Lo Sadush ba'Chasimah' (omitting any reference to the person [See also Tos. Yom-Tov DH 'u've'Talush']).

(b)And the Tana explains the Hekesh - in that the Torah compares the person who is doing the threshing to the animal that is being muzzled (and vice-versa). Consequently, just as the Nechsam (the ox that is not to be muzzled) is threshing Talush, so too, may the Chosem eat from Talush (when he works with food).

(c)Whereas from the reverse comparison, comparing the person who is muzzling to the food that is being threshed, we learn that - he may only eat from food that grows from the ground and that has not yet reached the stage of Ma'aser.

(d)Based on what we just learned, a worker is not permitted to eat/drink ...

1. ... when he is milking a cow, or making whey or cheese - because they do not grow from the ground.

2. ... separating bunches of dates or dried figs - because they have already passed the stage where they are subject to Ma'aser.

3. ... weeding out the small garlics and onions that will never grow from a field of garlic or onions - because it is not the time of G'mar Melachah.

6)

(a)The Tana Kama rules that a worker who works with his ...

1. ... hands but not with his feet, or even just with his ...

2. ... shoulders - is allowed to eat from the food with which he is working.

(b)Rebbi Yossi b'Rebbi Yehudah - requires him to work with his hands and with his feet ...

(c)... like the ox, to which the Chachamim compare the worker ('Chosem le'Nechsam').

(d)The Halachah is - like the Tana Kama.

7)

(a)A worker who is working with figs (See Tos. Yom-Tov) - is forbidden to eat grapes (See Tos. Yom-Tov [that are growing nearby]), and vice-versa

(b)The Mishnah does allow him however - to refrain from eating the one, in order to eat more of the other when he begins working with them.

(c)Strictly speaking, a worker is permitted to eat - only whilst he is actually working (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(d)The Chachamim nevertheless allowed him to eat whilst walking from one row to the next - because the employer will be only too happy if he eats less whilst he is working.

(e)And they issued the same ruling with regard to an employee ...

1. ... drinking wine whilst he is coming back from the wine-press, and ...

2. ... eating food from the donkey's back whilst leading it to be unloaded (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

8)

(a)The Tana Kama permits a worker to eat Kishos or Koseves even to the value of a Dinar. What is ...

1. ... 'Kishos' is - cucumbers (See Tiferes Yisrael).

2. ... 'Koseves' is - a species of large dates.

(b)Rebbi Elazar ban Chisma - forbids a worker to eat more than what he earns.

(c)He learns it from the Pasuk "ke'Nafsh'cha (Sav'echa)" - by translating "ke'Nafsh'cha" as 'like your wages', in which case the Pasuk that a worker may eat his fill up to the value of his wages (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

9)

(a)The Chachamim, who agree with the Tana Kama in principle - maintain that one also trains him not to be gluttonous ...

(b)The Halachah is - like the Chachamim.

10)

(a)A worker is permitted to stipulate that he will receive more money and not eat. The Tana Kama - extends this ruling to where the one who is working is his son or daughter, Eved or Shifchah who is ...

1. ... a Gadol - but not to where he/she is ...

2. ... a Katan, or to where he stipulates ...

(b)... that he will muzzle his ox for a higher wage.

(c)The reason for this distinction is - because whereas the former have Da'as and genuinely agree to forego the right to eat, the latter do not (See Tos. Yom-Tov DH 'al-Y'dei B'no').

11)

(a)The Mishnah discusses someone who hires workers to work with 'Neta R'vai' - (fruit of the fourth year of the tree's growth, which needs to be redeemed and eaten in Yerushalayim [or redeemed and its money taken to Yerushalayim and spent there]).

(b)The Tana forbids the workers to eat from it (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(c)If the employer did not inform the workers that they would work with Neta R'vai (See Tos. Yom-Tov) - then he is obligated to redeem the fruit so that they will be able to eat from it.

12)

(a)The Tana now discusses a case of an employer who hires workers to re-join cakes of dried figs that came apart (See Tos. Yom-Tov) - or to re-attach the lids of barrels of wine that have come unstuck (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(b)The Tana forbids the workers to eat/drink from them - because, they have passed the stage of G'mar Melachah, and require Ma'asering.

(c)If the employer did not inform the workers that this is what he is hiring them for - then he is obligated to Ma'aser the figs or the wine and allow them to eat from them.

13)

(a)A worker who is hired to guard a field or fruit - is forbidden to eat min ha'Torah.

(b)However, the Tana permits Shomrei Peiros

1. ... 'Shomrei Peiros' - workers who guard the wine in wine-presses, sheaves of wheat or fruit that has been picked, to eat ...

2. ... me'Hilchos Medinah - as has become the accepted Minhag.

(c)Guards of orchards and vineyards cannot even eat even mi'Hilchos Medinah - because someone who merely guards is not considered as if he has done a positive act.

14)

(a)Two of the four Shomrim (See Tos. Yom-Tov) of which the Torah speaks are a Shomer Chinam and a Nosei (Shomer) Sachar; the other two are - a Socher and a Sho'el

(b)The Mishnah rules that - whereas a Shomer Chinam swears on every contingency (See Tos. Yom-Tov), a Sho'el pays.

(c)A Nosei Sachar and a Socher, on the other hand, share the same Din. The Tana rules that if the animal which they are guarding ...

1. ... breaks a leg, is captured or ...

2. ... dies (Onsin) - they must swear.

3. ... gets lost or stolen - they are Chayav to pay.

15)

(a)The Sedra that serves as the source for all the above Dinim is - 'Mishpatim'.

(b)The first Parshah ("Ki Yitein Ish el Re'eihu ... ", which exempts the Shomer from Geneivah and Aveidah), is talking about a Shomer Chinam, whereas the second Parshah ("Ki Yitein Ish el Re'eihu Chamor O Shor O Seh ... ", which obligates him to pay), is referring to - a Shamer Sachar.

(c)We know that it is not the other way round - since logically, the Din of a Shomer Sachar, who receives remuneration, is more stringent than that of a Shomer Chinam (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(d)We also know that a Shomer Sachar is Chayav for Geneivah because the Torah writes "Im Ganov Yiganev me'imo, Yeshalem le'Ba'alav". We might learn Aveidah from the same Pasuk - from the double Lashon ("Ganov Yiganev").

(e)Alternatively, we might learn it from a Kal ve'Chomer from Geneivah - which is closer to Oneis, how much more so Aveidah which is closer to Peshi'ah (negligence).

16)

(a)The Din by a Sho'el too, is written in the Torah explicitly, which writes - "ve'Nishbar O Meis, Be'alav Ein imo, Shalem Yeshalem li'Be'alav".

(b)We also know that a Socher has the same Din as a Shomer Sachar, rather than as a Sho'el - since, as opposed to the latter, he does not receive all the benefits (since, unlike a Sho'el, he pays in order to use it [See Tos. Yom-Tov]).

17)

(a)The ramifications of the ruling that one wolf is not an Oneis are that - if a lone wolf kills a sheep, a Shomer Sachar or a Socher is Chayav to pay.

(b)Two wolves however - are considered an Oneis, and he is Patur.

(c)The Mishnah learns this dual ruling from the Pasuk "ha'Tereifah Lo Yeshalem" - which implies that sometimes he has to pay for an animal that is killed and sometimes he doesn't (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(d)According to Rebbi Yehudah, even one wolf is considered an Oneis - when there is a plague of wolves.

(e)The Halachah is - like the Tana Kama.

18)

(a)The Mishnah rules - that even two dogs are not an Oneis.

(b)Yadu'a ha'Bavli, quoting Rebbi Meir, maintains that two dogs are also an Oneis - if they attack the flock from opposite directions.

(c)The Halachah is - like the Tana Kama.

(d)A Listim - an armed robber - is considered an Oneis (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

19)

(a)If the flock is attacked by a wolf, a lion, a bear, a leopard or a Bard'les (which some commentaries translate as a tiger) or a snake - it is considered an Oneis ...

(b)... unless the Shomer Sachar/Socher actually took the flock to a place where there were known to be bands of Chayos or robbers.

20)

(a)The Tana rules that if the animal ...

1. ... died by itself - it is an Oneis, but not where the Shomer 'tortured' it (by either starving it or by placing it in the sun in the summer or in the cold in the winter [See Tos. Yom-Tov]).

2. ... climbed up a steep mountain by itself (it pulled the Shomer up with it), fell and died (See Tos. Yom-Tov) - the Shomer is Patur (See Tos. Yom-Tov], but where the Shomer took it up - he is Chayav (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(b)If ...

1. ... a Shomer Chinam makes a T'nai (a precondition) to be exempt from making a Shevu'ah - his condition is valid, and the same applies to ...

2. ... a Sho'el who stipulates that he will be Patur from paying and to ...

3. ... a Nosei Sachar or a Socher who stipulates that he will be Patur from both a Shevu'ah and from paying.

(c)This is not 'Masneh al Mah she'Kasuv ba'Torah' (stipulating to negate the Torah's ruling) - because, since he made this stipulation before making the Meshichah (the Kinyan) that renders him a Shomer (See Tos. Yom-Tov), he simply does not undertake the liabilities of that particular Shomer.

21)

(a)The Mishnah rules that if someone is 'Masneh al Mah she'Kasuv ba'Torah' - his T'nai is Bateil.

(b)This is not the Halachah in the current case - because we rule that, in money matters, his T'nai is valid (See also Tos. Yom-Tov.

(c)Assuming Reuven promises to give Shimon a gift if he will do him a certain favor, the T'nai is Bateil - because the T'nai needs to precede the Ma'aseh, and not vice-versa (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

22)

(a)The third condition that invalidates a T'nai is - if it is something that is impossible to fulfill ...

(b)... because it is obvious that Reuven is not serious about the transaction, and that he is merely pulling Shimon's leg.

(c)The source of these three rulings is - the T'nai that Moshe Rabeinu made with the b'nei Reuven and the b'nei Gad.