six lines from the bottom of smud alef where it talks about hiding a zuz. that shmuel told his father that the fathers zuz was under the grinding mill and on the top of the grinding mill is ours. My question is why not put all three zuzim under the ground so all three won't get stolen.
Elie Samet, Jerusalem, Israel
It is clear from the Sugya that the top and the bottom of the mill were prone to theft, whereas the middle was not. On the other hand, the bottom of the millstone was prone to mold from the earth; presumably, the same applied to under the ground.
That being the case, placing all the money under the ground was not an option. Shmuel's father seems to have deliberately placed some of his money on top and not in the middle in order to protect the money belonging to the orphans, inasmuch as, if the thieves would discover some of his money on top or at the bottom, they would not bother to search in the middle.
There is a problem with this Sugya from the Gemara in Bava Metzia 42a, which concludes that the only place to hide money safely is under the ground.
B'Virchas Kol Tuv,
Eliezer Chrysler