Kiddushin 17B

Study Kiddushin folio 17B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.

Text Excerpt

למר ⁠– למעוטי כספים, למר ⁠– למעוטי פרדות.

The Talmud answers: According to one Master, R' Shimon, this term serves to exclude money. According to the other Master, R' Eliezer, it serves to exclude mules.

תנו רבנן: ״אשר ברכך ה׳ אלהיך״, יכול נתברך בית בגללו ⁠– מעניקים לו, לא נתברך בית בגללו ⁠– אין מעניקים לו, תלמוד לומר: ״הענק תעניק״⁠ – מכל מקום. אם כן, מה תלמוד לומר ״אשר ברכך״⁠ – הכל לפי ברכה תן לו.

A baraita states with regard to the verse: “And you should grant severance to him out of your flock, and out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress, of that with which YHWH your God has blessed you” (Deuteronomy 15:14). One might have thought that if the house is blessed due to him, then the master grants him a severance gift, and if the house is not blessed due to him, he does not grant him a severance gift. Therefore, the verse states: “You should grant severance [ha’anek ta’anik],” with the doubled form of the verb used for emphasis, to indicate that you must grant him a severance gift in any case. If so, what is the meaning when the verse states: “Of that with which YHWH your God has blessed you”? This teaches that all that one gives him as a severance gift should be in accordance with the blessing one possesses.

רבי אלעזר בן עזריה אומר: דברים ככתבן. נתברך בית בגללו ⁠– מעניקים לו, לא נתברך בית בגללו ⁠– אין מעניקים לו. אם כן מה תלמוד לומר: ״העניק תעניק״? דברה תורה כלשון בני אדם.

R' Elazar ben Azarya says: The meaning of the statements of the Torah is as they are written, i.e., as indicated by a straightforward reading of the verse. Therefore, if the house was blessed due to him, the master grants him a severance gift, and if the house was not blessed due to him, he does not grant him a severance gift at all. If so, what is the meaning when the verse states: “You should grant severance [ha’anek ta’anik],” with the doubled form of the verb? The Torah spoke in the language of people, i.e., the emphasis of the doubled verb is merely stylistic, but does not serve to teach a novel halakha.

Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.