Study Bava Batra folio 87A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
ולגורן יפה סלע – אסור להנות הימנו. אבל אם שכרו מהיום בדינר ליום, ולגורן יפה סלע – מותר.
and a day of a laborer’s work during the harvest is worth a sela, the equivalent of 4 silver dinars, for each day, it is prohibited to derive benefit from him, i.e., one may not employ the laborer under these conditions. The reason is that this is akin to taking interest, as the laborer works and receives less than he is entitled to in exchange for early payment. But if one hires him already from now to work for one dinar a day for an extended period of time, including the harvest season, and the work of a laborer during the harvest is worth a sela, this is permitted.
ואי סלקא דעתך ״כור בשלשים, סאה בסלע אני מוכר לך״ – ראשון ראשון קנה; הכא נמי – קמא קמא מיפסק פסק, ואסור להנות הימנו; מדינר ליום ולגורן יפה סלע – מותר?! אמאי? והא אגר ״נטר לי״ הוא!
And if it enters your mind, as Rav and Shmuel claim, that if a seller said: I am selling you one kor for 30 sela, each se’a for one sela, he cannot fully renege on the sale in the middle of the transaction, as the buyer acquires each se’a one by one as it is measured, then the halakha in this case should be different. Here too, as he does not agree to one large sum but fixes a price for each day, one by one, it is akin to taking interest, as the laborer works and receives less than he is entitled to in exchange for early payment. And therefore, it should be prohibited to derive benefit from him. Whereas the baraita states: If one hires him from now to work for one dinar a day over an extended period of time, including the harvest, and one day of a laborer’s work during the harvest is worth one sela, this is permitted. Why is it permitted? But isn’t it payment for waiting, i.e., for advancing the money to the laborer?