What are the laws regarding taking a collateral from a borrower in a case that he doesn’t return the loan on time? The gemara analyzes how to understand the laws based on the verses in Shmot and Devarim that discuss the issue. Is there a difference between the lender and the court acting as his representative? Two different explanations are brought.
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Halachot are derived from the various words in the verses about holding back another’s salary to match the 3 different opinions of the tannaim discussed in the previous daf. Further drashot are made to explain all the exceptions to the halacha. Do these laws apply also to a kablan – one who gets paid for the job and not per hour? If there is disagreement between the employer and the worker about whether he was paid or not, if it was before the time he was supposed to get paid, we allow the worker to swear that he didn’t get paid and then the employer needs to pay. This goes against the general principal that the one who swears is the one who doesn’t pay. Why is that? Is there a reason to protect the laborer more than the employer? Various arguments are brought and rejected as the issue is complex.
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Halachot regarding the obligation to pay a worker on time: what is the time frame? Does it depend on when he worked? How long did you hire him for? Was it a week long job, etc.? What time of day/night did he finish the job? Does the same apply for a rental payment for one who rents animals or vessels? To a ger toshav (one who keeps the seven Noachide commandments)? These laws appear in the Torah in 2 different places. The rabbis understand each section as referring to 2 different cases (day worker/night worker). Do each of these apply to rentals also and to a ger toshav? There is a 3 way tannaitic debate regarding this.
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Does a cultivator have to the increase in value of the field that happened while he was cultivating the property? Can a cultivator leave in the middle of his agreement? What if he does? If he causes a loss to the field, can he be removed from his job?
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One needs to leave an area near the bank of the river bare so that the sailors who need to pull the boats have a place to stand and pull. A story is brought about a rabbi who refused to cut his trees down. Although he was jsutified in his argument, another rabbi came by without checking properly into the details and had them cut down. Various cases are brought where one may be wrong for doing something; however by law he can’t be forced to undo it. In the context of this, the gemara discusses the laws of bar metzra – one has the right to buy his neighbor’s property and even buy it from the purchaser once it was sold. In which cases do those laws not apply?
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Does one need to keep to his commitment of what he will grow in the field he is cultivating? Does it depend on what the change is (from which item to another – if it is better for the field in the long term or worse?) A number of random halachot or advice are brought regarding trees near the border between 2 neighbors, is it best to have a field close to the city, what diseases are considered the worst, what one can do to avoid certain diseases, how important breakfast is and what one should eat for breakfast. In the context of these, the idea of the evil eye is brought up and how destructive it can be, which in other words could be a way of talking about the dangers of jealousy/envy. The last issue discussed has to do with measuring and making sure to leave 4 cubits of space bare in certain areas to allow access to people and in some cases other measurements, depending on what space is being discussed.
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One who cultivates another’s land (chocher in Hebrew) and a plague or windblast ruins the crops – in which scenarios can he pay less than the agreed upon amount. Various theological arguments are raised here which mostly lead to protecting the landowner.
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Rava raises issues regarding a heiter iska that allows one to invest money for someone else in a way that they can share the profits. Based on the way it is set up, that a loss will be split 50/50 but gains 2/3 to the borrower (the one investing the money) and 1/3 to the investor, if one takes an investment and splits it into 2 documents, there can be a loss for the investor if one yields profit sand the other a loss. And if 2 deals are put into one document, it can cause a loss for the borrower. Various other investment issues are discussed. If a sharecropper who pays a fixed amount to the owner decides not to weed the field, this is not allowed for various reasons cited in the mishna and gemara. If one sharecrops for percentages and there is very little yield, he is not responsible. The mishna and gemara discuss what the amount is. From here the gemara digresses to various halachot regarding measurements in other areas of halacha including ritual impurity.
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Laws regarding sharecroppers are discussed. What if he agrees to work an irrigated field and the river dries up? Can he deduct soemthing from what he owes the owner? If he agrees to sharecrop for a percentage of the yield and decides not to work the land at all, he needs the landowner according to the agreed upon percentage calculated at what the field should have yielded. Rabbi Meir says this is common law that became halacha (doresh lashon hedyot). There are various interpretations about what this means and there are various cases listed in which this principle is used. The concept of asmachta is raised in a case where a sharecropper said “if I don’t work the land I will pay you 1,000 zuzim.” There is a disagreement about whether this is valid or not.
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What items in the house are the responsibility of the landlord to fix and what are the responsibility of the renter? Items that come into the courtyard of the landlord belong to the landlord, even if someone is renting the house. This is supported by Rabbi Yossi son of Rabbi Chanina’s view that a courtyard can acquire items even without the knowledge of the owner. Various tannaitic sources are brought to question Rabbi Yossi’s opinion. If one rents for a year and the year becomes a leap year, is the rental of the extra month included in the original price or does the renter need to pay extra? It depends on whther the agreement was for month or for the year. If the agreement mentioned both months and years, there is a debate about what the halacha will be.
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