Study Bava Kamma folio 109A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
בחייו ובמותו, אם מת – לא יירשנו, ויחזיר לבניו או לאחיו. ואם אין לו – לוה ובעלי חוב באים ונפרעים.
The Mishnah continues: If the father stated in his vow that his son may not derive benefit from his property in his life and in his death, then even if the father then dies the son does not inherit from him, as the prohibition is still in effect. And instead of taking his inheritance, he returns his portion in the estate to his sons or to his brothers. And if he does not have sufficient funds to subsist without his inheritance, he borrows money in the amount of the value of his share in the inheritance and the creditors come and are repaid from his share.
גמ׳ אמר רב יוסף: אפילו לארנקי של צדקה. אמר רב פפא: וצריך שיאמר: ״זה גזל אבי״.
Talmud: With regard to the halakha written in the Mishnah that one who robs his father pays the principal and the additional 1/5th payment to the father’s heirs, Rav Yosef says: One may even put this money in a charity purse if he so chooses. Rav Pappa says: And when giving the money he must say: This is what was robbed from my father.
אמאי? נמחליה לנפשיה! מי לא תנן: מחל לו על הקרן ולא מחל לו על החומש? אלמא בר מחילה הוא!
§ The Talmud questions the Mishnah’s ruling that one who robs his father must return the stolen item to others even if he is the sole heir. Why must he do this? Let him forgive the debt to himself; as the heir, to whom payment is due, he should be able to forgive it. Didn’t we learn in a Mishnah (103a) that in the case of a robber who took a false oath claiming to be innocent and later admitted his liability: If the owner forgave him concerning the principal, but did not forgive him concerning the additional 1/5th payment, he need not pursue him to repay the remaining debt. Apparently, even the principal is subject to forgiveness, so why doesn’t he forgive the obligation to himself?