[20a - 54 lines; 20b - 50 lines]

1)[line 17]שאינו יוצא בראשי אברים כעבדSHE'EINO YOTZEI B'ROSHEI EIVARIM K'EVED - that he does not go free if he incurs an injury (at the hands of his master) to the main limb tips, as a Nochri slave does (SHEN V'AYIN)

See Background to Kidushin 16:8.

2)[line 18]"... לא תצא כצאת העבדים""... LO SETZEI K'TZEIS HA'AVADIM"- "... she shall not go out like the freedom of [Nochri] male slaves." (Shemos 21:7) - Abaye learns that this verse also applies to Jewish male slaves, that they, too, do not go free like Nochri slaves.

3)[line 23]רבו מוסר לו שפחה כנעניתRABO MOSER LO SHIFCHAH KENA'ANIS - his master may give him a Nochri maidservant (EVED IVRI - a Jewish slave)

See Background to Kidushin 14:12.

4)[line 25]והשביחV'HISHBI'ACH- and the value of the slave increased because (a) he became stronger; (b) the value of the work that he does increased

5)[line 27]"... מכסף מקנתו""... MI'KESEF MIKNASO."- "[If there are yet many years, according to them he shall return the price of his redemption,] out of the money for which he was bought." (Vayikra 25:51) - The Gemara learns from this verse that if his value went up, he only needs to refund the difference at the original (lower) price.

6)[line 27]והכסיףV'HICHSIF- and the value of the slave decreased because he became weaker

7)[line 29]"... כפי שניו...""... KEFI SHANAV..."- "[And if there remain but few years to the Yovel year, then he shall reckon with him, and] according to his years [shall he return to him the price of his redemption.]" (Vayikra 25:52) - The Gemara learns from this verse that if his value went down, he only needs to refund the difference at the current (lower) price.

8)[line 29]עבד הנמכר לעובד כוכביםEVED HA'NIMKAR L'OVED KOCHAVIM

(a)The Torah states (Vayikra 25:47-55) that a Jewish man can sell himself as a slave to a Nochri through Kinyan Kesef, by the Nochri paying money to the Jewish man. During his term as a slave, his master must support his family (Kidushin 22a). The Jew must be set free in the Yovel year (like every other Eved Ivri), as the Torah states (Vayikra ibid.). Some Tana'im maintain that he also must be set free after six years of servitude, like an Eved Ivri who is sold to a Jew (Kidushin 15b).

(b)It is a Mitzvah for the Jewish slave's relatives to redeem him from servitude, so that he does not learn Nochri ways from his master and forget his people and Maker. When they redeem him, they must calculate the outstanding debt by subtracting the amount of money for the years that he served his master from the sum that the master paid for him. It is also possible for the Eved Ivri himself, or for any other Jew, to redeem the Eved Ivri.

(c)The greatest disgrace is when a poverty-stricken Jew sells himself not only to a Nochri, but to an "Eker Mishpachas Ger" - to perform menial tasks for a house of idol worship (but not, Chas v'Shalom, to serve the idol). Idol worship is called "Eker" in this verse because "Sofo l'Aker" (it is destined to be uprooted).

9)[line 30]ונגאל בקרוביםV'NIG'AL BI'KEROVIM- and he is redeemed by relatives

10)[line 31]שכיר שכיר לגזירה שוהSACHIR SACHIR LI'GEZEIRAH SHAVAH (GEZEIRAH SHAVAH)

(a)In the Introduction to the Sifra (the Halachic Midrash to Vayikra), Rebbi Yishmael lists thirteen methods that Chazal use for extracting the Halachah from the verses of the Torah. One of them is Gezeirah Shavah, which is a Halachic device by which two similar words in the Torah from different subjects teach that laws from one subject apply to the other.

(b)A sage is only permitted to use the method of Gezeirah Shavah if he received a tradition from his teachers that a Gezeirah Shavah exists between the two words. However, the comparison that he makes regarding which laws are applied from one subject to the other may be his own, if he did not learn it directly from his teachers.

11)[line 32]הריני כבן עזאי בשוקי טבריאHAREINI K'VEN AZAI B'SHUKEI TEVERYA- (a) I can answer any question put to me, just like Ben Azai did in the marketplaces of Teveryah (RASHI here and RABEINU GERSHOM to Erchin 30b); (b) I can keenly answer any question put to me, just like Ben Azai, who taught Torah in the marketplaces of Teveryah. Ben Azai had a power of reasoning greater than all other sages of his day (RASHI to Eruvin 29a and to Sotah 45a)

12)[line 34]"... כי טוב לו עמך""... KI TOV LO IMACH."- "[And it shall be, if he says to you, 'I will not go away from you,' because he loves you and your house,] because all is well for him with you." (Devarim 15:16)

13a)[line 35]פת נקיהPAS NEKIYAH- bread made from fine flour

b)[line 36]פת קיברPAS KIVAR- bread made from flour of inferior quality

14a)[line 37]מוכיםMUCHIM- soft substances such as hackled wool, rag, lint, etc.

b)[line 37]התבןTEVEN- stubble

15)[line 40]אבקה של שביעיתAVAKAH SHEL SHEVI'IS (SECHORAH BE'FEIREI SHEVI'IS)

(a)The Torah requires that farmers desist from working the land every seventh year, as described in Vayikra 25:1-7. The fruits that grow during the seventh (Shevi'is) year are holy to the extent that 1. they must be considered ownerless; anyone may come into any field and pick the fruit that he intends to eat. 2. The fruits may not be bought and sold in a normal fashion (see Insights to Sukah 39:2). 3. The Torah requires that the fruits of Shevi'is be used only for eating or drinking (in the normal manner of eating for that type of fruit) or for burning to provide light (in the case of oil). They may not be wasted or used for medicinal purposes or animal fodder, etc.

(b)Avkah Shel Shevi'is refers to the less severe prohibitions associated with Shevi'is, such as buying or selling produce of Shevi'is. The Torah writes that the produce of Shevi'is is ours to be eaten (Vayikra 25:6). Chazal infer from this, "To be eaten, but not to be traded" (see a:1 above). This prohibition is referred to as "Avkah Shel Shevi'is," even though it is forbidden mid'Oraisa, since the main prohibitions of Shevi'is involve actually working the ground (Tosfos to Erchin 30b DH Kamah).

16)[line 43]לא הרגישLO HIRGISH- he did not realize [that the misfortunes that befell him were a direct punishment for his sins]

17)[line 43]"כי ימוך אחיך ומכר מאחוזתו...""KI YAMUCH ACHICHA U'MACHAR ME'ACHUZASO..."- "If your brother becomes poor, and has sold some of his possessions (ancestral fields), [if any of his kin comes to redeem it, then he shall redeem that which his brother sold.]" (Vayikra 25:25)

18)[line 44]לא באת לידו עד...LO VA'AS L'YADO AD...- [even a thought of repentance] will not enter his mind before he...

19)[line 47]הותרה לוHUTRAH LO- that is, to him it becomes as if it is permitted (Yoma 86b)

20)[line 50]ולא ניזיף בריביתאV'LO NEIZIF B'RIBISA- rather than taking a loan on interest

21a)[line 51]"וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך... אל תקח מאתו [נשך ותרבית]...""V'CHI YAMUCH ACHICHA U'MATAH YADO IMACH... AL TIKACH ME'ITO [NESHECH V'SARBIS...]"- "And if your brother has become poor, and his means fail with you; [then you shall relieve him; though he may be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with you.] Do not take from him [interest or increase; but fear HaSh-m; that your brother may live with you.]" (Vayikra 25:35-36)

b)[line 52]אל תקח מאתו [נשך ותרבית]...AL TIKACH ME'ITO [NESHECH V'SARBIS] (RIBIS)

(a)It is forbidden to lend money in return for interest (Shemos 22:24, Vayikra 25:36, Devarim 23:20). Even if interest is charged conditionally, and it is not eventually collected, the transaction is prohibited mid'Oraisa according to some Tana'im. It is also forbidden to take money in order to allow the borrower more time to complete the payment of the loan. (Such payment is known as "Agar Natar.")

(b)The Torah only forbids charging interest if the rate or amount of interest for a loan was fixed at the time that the loan was made. This is called Ribis Ketzutzah. If interest was paid but the amount paid was not fixed at the time of the loan, or if a higher price was paid in a sale in order that the seller should allow the buyer more time to complete his payment for the purchase, it is called Avak Ribis. This is forbidden mid'Rabanan.

(c)Certain payments that are not actually Ribis mid'Oraisa or mid'Rabanan were prohibited because they have similarities to Ribis. Chazal refer to this as "Ha'aramas Ribis."

22)[line 53]"[וכי תשיג יד גר ותושב עמך ומך אחיך עמו ונמכר] לגר תושב עמך או לעקר משפחת גר""[V'CHI SASIG YAD GER V'SOSHAV IMACH, U'MACH ACHICHA IMO; V'NIMKAR] L'GER TOSHAV IMACH O L'EKER MISHPACHAS GER."- "[And if a foreigner or resident alien becomes rich by [living near] you, and your brother who dwells with him becomes poor, and sells himself] to the foreigner or resident alien, or to a house of Idol worship (lit. to the offspring of the stranger's family)"; (Vayikra 25:47) - Idol worship is called "Eker" because "Sofo l'Aker" (it is destined to be uprooted). (See above, entry #8.)

23a)[line 53]לגר צדקGER TZEDEK- a true convert to Judaism

b)[last line]גר תושבGER TOSHAV

The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 64b) quotes three opinions regarding who is a Ger Toshav. Rebbi Meir maintains that a Ger Toshav is a Nochri who accepts upon himself, in front of three "Chaverim" (Talmidei Chachamim), not to worship idols. The Chachamim say that a Ger Toshav is a Nochri who accepts upon himself to observe the seven Mitzvos of Bnei Noach (see Background to Avodah Zarah 46:4). Acherim maintain that the above opinions are incorrect, and that a Ger Toshav is a Nochri who accepts all of the Mitzvos except for not eating Neveilos (animals that were not slaughtered properly). See Insights to the Daf and Audio Shi'ur to Avodah Zarah 64: Ger Toshav.

20b----------------------------------------20b

24)[line 1]הנמכר לעבודת כוכבים עצמהHA'NIMKAR LA'AVODAS KOCHACHIM ATZMAH- sold to perform menial tasks for a house of idol worship (but not, Chas v'Shalom, to serve the idol)

25)[line 2]אהדריה קראAHADREI KERA- the verse (that the Gemara cites below) has restored him [to his previous status, for which it is fitting to have mercy upon him]

26)[line 3]כומרKOMER- (usu. a priest) a servant

27)[line 7]דלא ליטמע בין העובדי כוכביםD'LO LITAMA BEIN HA'OVDEI KOCHAVIM- he should not become mixed with and hidden among the Nochrim

28)[line 14]ופש ליהU'FASH LEI- and he has left

29)[line 20]כסיניK'SINAI- (a) like a revelation [from Mount Sinai]; (b) like a person with an encyclopedic knowledge of Torah

30)[line 22]נגאל לחצאיןNIG'AL L'CHATZA'IN- to redeem half of the remaining value of his servitude, thus cutting the remaining years of his servitude in half

31)[line 24]לקולא אמרינן לחומרא לא אמרינןL'KULA AMRINAN, L'CHUMRA LO AMRINAN- we invoke Nig'al l'Chatza'in when it is a leniency for him but not when it will lead to a stringency (as Abaye explains in the Gemara below)

32)[line 29]כגון דאוקיר וזל ואוקירKEGON D'OKIR V'ZAL V'OKIR- it is dealing with a case where the Eved Ivri was purchased at a high price and he went down in value (at which point he paid half of the remaining value of his servitude) and subsequently went back up (at which point he pays the other half of the remaining value. The leniency is that he has paid a total of 150 Dinerin for his freedom while his purchase price was 200.)

33)[line 33]בבתי ערי חומהBATEI AREI CHOMAH

Batei Arei Chomah are houses from a city that was walled at the time of Yehoshua's conquest of Eretz Yisrael. If a person sold a house in one of the Arei Chomah, the Torah gives him the right to purchase it back within one year of selling it. If he does not buy it back during that time, it becomes the permanent property of the buyer (Vayikra 25:29-30).

34)[line 39]שאם הגיע יובל ולא נגאלהSHE'IM HIGI'A YOVEL V'LO NIG'ALAH- that if the Yovel year arrived and it had not been redeemed

35)[line 40]מקדישMAKDISH (SEDEH ACHUZAH - an ancestral field)

(a)A Sedeh Achuzah is a field that came into the possession of its owner's family after the conquest and division of Eretz Yisrael, at the time of Yehoshua bin Nun.

(b)Such a field may only be sold until the Yovel year, at which time it automatically returns to the possession of its original owner (Vayikra 25:25-28). Because of this, when a person sells an ancestral field he normally intends to sell only the Peiros, or produce, of the land until the Yovel year, and not the land itself.

(c)Beginning two years after the sale, the original owner may redeem the field from the person who purchased it. He does so by returning the proportion of the money that was paid for the remaining years until the Yovel year (Erchin 29a).

(d)If a person was Makdish (consecrated to the possession of the Beis ha'Mikdash) his Sedeh Achuzah, everyone has the right to redeem it from Hekdesh from that day until Yom ha'Kipurim of the Yovel year. If the Makdish redeems it, he must pay to Hekdesh an additional fifth (of the ensuing total, or a quarter of the original value) of the value of the field. If the Makdish does not redeem his field by Yom ha'Kipurim of the Yovel year, but rather it is not redeemed, or another person redeems it, it is given to the Mishmar of Kohanim who are on duty at that time (Vayikra 27:15-21). If the son of the Makdish redeems the field, it is not given to the Kohanim; it returns to the possession of the Makdish (Erchin 25b).

(e)When redeeming a Sedeh Achuzah from Hekdesh, its "value" is determined according to the fixed endowment value stated in Vayikra 27:16, i.e. 50 silver Shekels for every parcel of land that is normally sown with a Chomer (1 Chomer = 1 Kor = 30 Se'ah or approximately 216, 248.9, or 432 liters, depending upon the differing Halachic opinions) of barley seed (75,000 sq. Amos). However, fifty Shekels are given only if the field was redeemed at the beginning of a new Yovel cycle; the amount decreases proportionally with every year that passes until it is less than two years before the next Yovel. At that point, it is once again redeemed for fifty Shekels per Chomer (ibid. 25a).

36)[line 43]נחלטNECHLAT- it becomes the permanent possession of the buyer

37)[line 48]שכן הורע כחו ליגאל מידSHE'KEN HURA KOCHO LIGA'EL MIYAD- since it does not have the leniency to be redeemed immediately (but rather it may be redeemed only after two years have passed since the sale)