Bava Metzia 97 - Mice Kill Cat (Finds)

A man borrowed a cat from his friend to chase away mice. The mice united against the cat and killed it. Is it considered that the cat died because of its work, in which case the borrower would not be liable, or perhaps the borrower did not act according to the loan terms in stationing the cat in a place so overpopulated with mice and thus is liable?

Said Rava, "Regarding a man whom women overcame and killed, there is no judgment and no judge," that is, there is no redress. The borrower was not negligent and is thus exempt.

Some say that the story was that the borrowed cat ate too many mice, became overheated, and died.

Art: Cat killing mice in a landscape by Gottfried Mind or Mindt

Bava Metzia 96 – Borrower’s Exemption from Liability (Finds)

When a man borrows a cow, and it breaks a limb or dies, "...if its owner is with him, he shall not pay."

Does the owner have to be "with him" at the time of borrowing, at the time of the accident, or both? Since it says, "…if its owner is not with him, he shall surely pay", the owner being with him at one point is sufficient, but at which point?

Is it at the time of the borrowing when the cow comes under his control or at the time of the accident when he becomes obligated? - It is the time of borrowing because then he becomes responsible for its sustenance.

And "with him" means either working for him or serving him.

Art: Milking Cows by Camille Pissarro

Bava Metzia 95 – Deriving Borrower's Law With an "A Fortiori" Argument (Finds)

The passage of the borrower imposes liability for a broken limb and natural death – unavoidable mishaps. It is silent, however, about theft and loss, which are avoidable mishaps.

We can derive it ourselves with a fortiori argument: if a paid custodian, who is exempted from liability when the animal suffers a broken limb or dies, is nonetheless liable in cases of theft and loss, is it not logical that a borrower, who is indeed liable in cases of the animal suffering a broken limb or dying, is also liable in cases of theft and loss? Surely this is so.

Art: Coastal Landscape with Figures and Animal by Thomas Sidney Cooper

Bava Metzia 94 – Conditions in Contracts (Finds)

An unpaid custodian may stipulate to be exempt from an oath, and a borrower may stipulate to be exempt from paying.

Whoever makes a stipulation contrary to what is written in the Torah, his stipulation is void. Any stipulation after the action is void. For example, “This item is yours on condition that you walk a mile” - the item is his, and he does not have to walk. Any stipulation that is impossible to fulfill is void. For example, “This is your Get on condition that you cross the sea on foot” - the condition is void, the Get is valid, and the woman is divorced.

If one borrows a cow but hires the owner along with it, he is not liable if the cow dies.

Art: Woman in While on a Beach by Peder Severin Kroyer

Bava Metzia 93 - Dealing in Food Entitlement (Finds)

The produce that the worker eats while harvesting is a charitable gift from Heaven, not a fringe benefit of his work, and therefore, he can't assign it to his wife and children.

A person may stipulate that he will not eat from harvested produce in exchange for higher wages. He may also stipulate this for his adult children and his wife since they have an understanding, but not for his minor children or his animals.

Of the four custodians, an unpaid custodian swears concerning every mishap and is not liable; the borrower pays for everything, and the paid custodian and the renter swear if an animal broke a limb, was captured, or died of natural causes.

Art: Boy Eating Grapes by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida

Bava Metzia 92 – How Much Can a Worker Eat? (Finds)

A worker may eat a cucumber (cucumbers were expensive vegetables) or a date (which were expensive fruit) even if worth a dinar (six times his wage). The Torah tells the worker, "You may eat grapes as your desire, to your satiety," which implies that he may eat any amount needed to satisfy his hunger.

Rabbi Elazar Chisma says a worker may not eat more than his wage.

But the Sages permit this - however, his friends should teach him not to be a glutton, thereby closing the door to future employment.

Art: Still Life with Cucumbers and Tomatoes by Luis Eugenio Melendez

Bava Metzia 91 - Muzzling an Animal and Mother who is a Harlot (Finds)

One who muzzles an animal and threshes with it receives lashes and must pay four Kavs (6 liters) for a cow and three Kavs for a donkey. But why should it be so? The rule is that one does not receive lashes and pay money for the same crime!

The proof is from the case of a son consorting with his mother, who is a harlot. Since the son is liable to the death penalty for incest, he is not obligated to pay, and the sheep that he gave her should be considered a present, not a payment. Since the Torah forbade that sheep as a sacrifice, he must be legally obligated to pay, only that it is unenforceable in court. So, too, in the case of muzzling.

Art: Grazing Sheep with a Sheperdhess Beyond by Charles Emile Jacque

Bava Metzia 90 – Who Can Muzzle? (Finds)

One IS allowed to muzzle an animal that is suffering from diarrhea. The prohibition of muzzling concerns what's good for its body, not the anguish it feels from being unable to eat.

Can a man say to a non-Jew, "Muzzle my cow and thresh with it?" In general, can a Jew ask a non-Jew to do something forbidden to a Jew? The answer is "No," based on the following ruling. If a Jew had his bull stolen and castrated, thus turning the bull into an ox, the Jew is penalized by having to sell the ox. Q.E.D.

Art: Head of a Muzzled Dog, by Antonio Pisano from the The Vallardi Album

Bava Metzia 89 – Workers Prepare to Eat More (Finds)

Workers who are partaking from the harvest naturally want to eat more, and their employer wants them to eat less.

The employer is allowed to ply the workers with wine so they will not be inclined to eat many grapes. The workers are allowed to dip their bread in brine so that they will be inclined to eat more grapes. However, the workers are not allowed to eat anything along with the grapes to increase their appetite.

Can the workers prepare their food in a more delectable way, such as toasting the grains or grapes on fire? This differs from preparing themselves to eat more and adding something else to the food. The last question remains unresolved at this time.

Art: Harvest At Eragny by Camille Pissarro

Bava Metzia 88 - Ox Eats While Harvesting (Finds)

By Torah law, one is obligated to tithe only the produce that he grows and consumes - "...you shall surely tithe..." and "...you shall eat...", but not produce that one sells. However, the Sages have established that a tithing obligation is fixed also when the produce is sold or when the Sabbath arrives.

The obligation not to stop your workers from eating when harvesting is similar to the prohibition of "You shall not muzzle an ox in its threshing," which applies to already harvested produce. Clearly, all animals are included, so mentioning "ox," the Torah teaches another law: just as a worker is allowed to eat unharvested produce, so is an ox.

Art: Apple Harvest at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

Bava Metzia 87 - Workers Eat While Harvesting (Finds)

Abraham asked that people would exhibit signs of aging, and "Now Abraham was old, well on in years…" Jakov asked for feebleness to precede death, and "…he said to Joseph, 'Behold! – your father is ill'…"

Workers may eat from the employer's food while harvesting it. They may also snack on it while working on it until the work process is complete and the tithing obligation starts. This is a Torah decree, and it applies only to something that grows from the ground.

A worker hired to weed out a field of onions can't eat them, and so is one hired to repack fig cakes that split apart.

Art: The Potato Eaters by Vincent Van Gogh

Bava Metzia 86 – The Story of Rabbah Bar Nachmani (Finds)

Slanderers told the king that there was a man among the Jews who made twelve thousand of them idle for two months a year by teaching them Torah, and Rabbah had to flee.

Finally, he escaped to a marsh and studied there. In the Heavenly Academy, there was an argument about impurity connected to skin discolorations. If a white hair grew on a white spot, it was impure. If a white spot appeared under a white hair, it was pure. What if it was not known which came first? God was saying it was pure, and the Academy ruled that it was impure. They called Rabbah to decide on the issue, and his soul ascended to heaven.

Art: Students by Jacobello Dalle Masegne

Bava Metzia 85 - Teaching Torah to Children (Finds)

Rabbi Tarfon used to take oaths, "May I bury my sons..." if something was false. After his death, Rebbi traveled to his locale and asked if he had any sons left. They told Rebbi that the son of Rabbi Tarfon's daughter was alive and that every harlot whose own price was two coins would hire him for eight. Rebbi told him, "If you repent, I will give you my daughter in marriage." He repented but did not marry her so that people would not say he repented just because of her.

Why did Rebbi go to such lengths to teach children of his friends? The one who teaches his fellow's son Torah merits to learn in the Heavenly Academy, and the one who teaches the son of an ignoramus can cancel decrees that God makes.

Art: The Three Candles by Marc Chagall

Bava Metzia 84 - Robber Knows his Trade (Finds)

Rabbi Yochanan, who was extremely beautiful, was swimming in the river. Resh Lakish, a highwayman, mistook him for a woman and jumped after. Rabbi Yochanan told Resh Lakish that he had a sister even more beautiful than him, and if Resh Lakish decided to study Torah, he could marry her.

Resh Lakish became a great scholar. Once, they discussed when weapons are considered finished and therefore susceptible to ritual impurity. Rabbi Yochanan said, "When they are hardened," but Resh Lakish said, "When they are polished." Rabbi Yochanan said, "Robber knows his trade" - as praise, but Resh Lakish misunderstood and said, "And what have you given me? I was called Teacher among robbers also." Rabbi Yochanan was displeased, and Resh Lakish died. Rabbi Yochanan was inconsolable about losing his student, and his mind became disturbed. The Sages asked for mercy on him, and he departed.

Art: Boys Bathing by Henry Scott Tuke

Bava Metzia 83 - Negligent Porters Break a Keg of Wine (Finds)

Rabbah bar bar Chanan hired porters to carry a keg of wine, and they broke it through negligence, such as stumbling on level ground. Rabbah bar bar Chanan took their cloaks as payment.

The porters went to Rav's court and told him about it. Rav told Rabbah bar bar Chanan, "Give them back their cloaks." "Is that the law?" - he asked. "Yes," - said Rav, quoting from Proverbs, "So that you go on the path of good people..."

They said to Rav, "We are poor people, and we labored the entire day; we are starving and have nothing to eat." Rav told Rabbah bar bar Chanan, "Pay them their fee." "Is that the law?" - he asked. "Yes," - said Rav, quoting the end of the phrase, "...and keep the ways of the righteous."

Art: Algerian Water Carrier by William Sartain

Bava Metzia 82 - Porter Breaks a Keg (Finds)

When a porter carries someone’s keg from one place to another, he has the legal responsibility of a custodian. If he accidentally slips and breaks the keg, then Rabbi Meir says that whether he is paid or not, he can swear and free himself from liability.

Rabbi Yehudah says that slipping is negligence. Therefore, a paid porter is liable - as any paid custodian - but an unpaid porter is not.

And Rabbi Meir? He agrees that stumbling is considered negligence, but since people are usually not careful about it, the Rabbis made a decree that a porter can be absolved through an oath because otherwise, nobody will move a keg of his fellow. He swears that he did not break it deliberately.

Art: A Young Venetian Water-Carrier by Ludwig Passini

Bava Metzia 81 - What Type of Guardian Are You? (Finds)

All craftsmen are considered paid guardians. Therefore, they are liable for loss or damage due to their negligence, or even not due to their negligence, provided that the loss was not unavoidable, such as theft.

Once the craftsman says to the one who hired him, "Take your property and bring the money that is due to me," he is considered an unpaid guardian, liable only for loss or damage due to negligence.

One who lends money to another against security is considered a paid guardian regarding the security. The lender is permitted to rent the poor man's security to others to reduce the debt because he is as one returning lost property to its owner.

Art: Interior with Two Men by the Fireside by Quiringh Gerritsz. van Brekelenkam

Bava Metzia 80 - Transportation Rentals (Finds)

If one rented a donkey on which to bring wheat and he brought barley instead - the renter is liable for the injury to the donkey. Barley is lighter than wheat, so the renter first loaded the same volume of barley as wheat but then loaded some more to bring the weight up to the weight of wheat. However, the extra bulkiness of the load is hard on the donkey, which is why the renter is liable.

With the same type of load as mentioned in the rental agreement, what is the amount of overload at which the renter becomes liable for injury? 1/30, and this applies to animals, boats, and human porters.

Art: The Green Donkey by Marc Chagall

Bava Metzia 79 - Boat Rentals (Finds)

Regarding one who rents a boat to transport wine and it sinks midway through the voyage, Rabbi Nathan said that if the renter had already paid the rental fee, he could not have it back, but if the renter had not yet paid the fee, he does not pay it.

What are the circumstances? If the contract was for a specific boat and any wine, the renter should get back the fee since the owner cannot provide the boat. And if the contract was for any boat and specific wine, the owner should keep the fee since the renter can't provide the same wine.

However, the case here is that the contract was for a specific boat and a specific wine. Since each party can blame the other for not fulfilling the contract, the payment stays where it is now.

Art: Boat At Low Tide At Fecamp by Claude Oscar Monet

Bava Metzia 78 – Rental Agreements (Finds)

If one rents a donkey to lead it on a mountain and leads it in a valley instead, or vice versa, and the donkey dies on the way, the renter is liable.

If one rents a donkey to lead it on a mountain and leads it in a valley instead, then if the animal slips, the renter is not liable since slipping is even more likely in the mountain. He was responsible if the animal died of heat since the valley was a warm place surrounded by cool mountains.

If the donkey was temporarily put into the king's services, the renter waits for its return, but if it dies, the owner provides another donkey.

Art: The Donkey Ride by Eva Gonzales

Bava Metzia 77 – Labor Laws (Finds)

Hourly workers can stop working with their employer at any time, according to the Torah commandment "...since the children of Israel are My slaves..." - but not slaves to my slaves. They receive hourly wages for the time they have already worked.

Contractors hired to perform a specific task can also quit at any time. However, if the employer has to hire other workers at a higher rate to complete the job, the difference is deducted from the contractors' pay.

If not finishing the task causes a loss, the employer can obtain a refund of significantly higher wages of replacement workers - from the first workers' pay and their tools, if he has them. 

Art: Dock Builders by George Wesley Bellows

Bava Metzia 76 - Hiring Craftsmen (Finds)

If one hires craftsmen and they deceive one another - they can only have grudges but no monetary claims.

For example, if one hired wagon drivers to deliver flutes for a bride or a funeral, or he hired them to do anything which, if not performed, would cause a loss and they reneged on their commitment and refused to work, then if he has to hire other workers at higher wages, they will have to pay the difference, or he can trick them into working for him.

If they renege on their commitment in mid-task, their wages are calculated in the way least favorable to them.

Art: A Flute Player by Adriaen van Ostade

Bava Metzia 75 - When Commodity Loans are Allowed (Finds)

Although commodity loans are generally prohibited, a person may say to his fellow, "Lend me a bag of wheat until my son comes back to unlock my wheat or until I find the key." It is deemed as if the lender acquires the other wheat right away, and consequently, if its value increases, it is as though the lender's own wheat increases, and there is no question of interest.

Nevertheless, Hillel prohibits it. Hillel also wanted to prohibit a woman from lending a loaf to her friend, to be repaid with another loaf unless they assessed the value at the time of the loan, but the Sages disagreed with him.

Art: The Delivery of the Keys to St. Peter by Bernardo Strozzi

Bava Metzia 74 - Commodity Loans (Finds)

Commodity loans - such as a loan of a bag of wheat to be repaid with a bag of wheat later - are generally prohibited. If the price of the commodity increases in the interim, the lender will receive back more value than he lent, which constitutes interest. The correct way to give such loans is to estimate the value of the bag when it is given and later return the amount of wheat of equal value.

Nevertheless, a person may lend his sharecropper wheat to be used as seeds to repay the same amount of wheat after the harvest. In this case, it is not a commodity loan but the terms of the shareholder agreement. 

Art: Still Life With Two Sacks And A Bottle by Vincent Van Gogh 

Bava Metzia 73 - Forward Contracts with High Risk (Finds)

Before the grapes ripen, a buyer can pay in advance for the wine yield of a vineyard. He pays much less than the estimated value of the wine.

Rav forbids it: since the wine will be worth much more in the future, it resembles a "reward for waiting," or interest. Shmuel permits it: sometimes a misfortune can befall the vineyard, and the reduced price is due to accepting risk. And Rav? – The slight chance of loss does not justify the significant price reduction. The law follows Rav. But Rav agrees to Shmuel, where harvesting is done with the aid of oxen because of the high risk to the oxen.

Art: Figures and Animals in a Vineyard by John Frederick Lewis

Bava Metzia 72 - Guarantor and Loan Assumption (Finds)

One may act as a guarantor for an interest-bearing loan advanced by a non-Jew to a Jew, structured so that there is no interest payment if the borrower pays back to the guarantor.

One may assume an interest-bearing loan given by a non-Jew to a Jew, but the non-Jew must agree, for otherwise, one would, in fact, be paying interest to the first borrower, who would then be paying it to the lender.

If a non-Jew lent money on interest to a Jew and then converted, he may still collect interest if, before his conversion, he establishes it as a new loan, in the amount of principal plus interest.

Art: Rudolph Ernst - A Hard Bargain

Bava Metzia 71 - Taking Interest from Non-Jews is also Prohibited (Finds)

King Solomon and his court prohibited taking interest from non-Jews, as it says in Proverbs, "One who increases his wealth by interest collects it for he who favors the poor"- and who will distribute the interest to the poor after the usurer's demise.

This prohibition is because if the financier becomes used to taking interest, he may come to take it from Jews, too. Excluded are cases of minor interest, "enough to live on," and Torah scholars who know the law and will not come to take interest from the Jews. Later on, taking interest from non-Jews became permitted since it was not possible otherwise.

Art: King Solomon by Simeon Solomon

Bava Metzia 70 - When Interest is Allowed (Finds)

One is not allowed to put money into a business venture where he shares in profits but not in losses or even where his proportionate share of profits is greater than that of his losses. The guaranteed part of the investment is then a loan, and its profit is a form of interest prohibited by the Sages.

However, one is allowed to invest the money of orphans where they stand to gain more than to lose by a court appointee.

One is allowed to loan on interest to a non-Jew. In fact, there is nothing wrong with charging interest, but the Torah wants all Jews to behave like family members.

Art: Young Beggar by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Bava Metzia 69 – Half-and-half Venture (Finds)

One can assign an animal to a shepherd to be raised, sharing in profit and loss. The shepherd needs to be paid wages; otherwise, his service constitutes interest on that half of the animal, which is a loan. The offspring represents profits and can be divided.

If the shepherd continues to care for the offspring after the prescribed time of growth, he now takes ¾ of the new profits. Half of the offspring is his, and the other half constitutes a new half-and-half venture.

One may pay an independent son of a lender to obtain a loan from his father, and it is not considered interest.

Art: A Shepherdess And Her Flock by Cornelis van Leemputten

Bava Metzia 68 – Joint Venture Avoids Interest Prohibition (Finds)

Originally, the financier supplied the capital, and the managing partner conducted the business. They would share equally in the profits. If the venture failed, the financier would sustain the loss.

Since financiers were not eager, the Rabbis enacted that the managing partner sustains a share of the losses, corresponding to his share of the profits. Now, half of the capital is essentially loaned to the managing partner since he is responsible for returning it intact. Thus, the managing partner receives profit from his half of the capital and manages the financier’s half for free. This free service constitutes interest, so the managing partner must also receive wages.

Art: Double portrait of two men by Jacopo Tintoretto

Bava Metzia 67 - Excessive Penalty on Default is Illegal (Finds)

The rule that the lender takes a field pledged for a loan of smaller value is only sometimes valid. It applies only to a case where the borrower transmitted the field to the lender at the beginning of the term so that the sale is canceled retroactively upon payment. In the interim, the produce is deposited with a third party because, for the lender, the crop may constitute interest if the borrower pays, and the borrower can't take it because the field is not his.

Typically, however, any agreement that calls for an excessive penalty IF the party defaults is NOT binding. If the borrower mistakenly gives the field up, the lender returns the field and the fruit he collects.

Art: Slender with the assistance of Shallow Courting Anne Page by Charles Robert Leslie