Deuteronomy Chapter 15
Tractate Sheviit in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of the Sabbatical year in Exodus 23:10–11, Leviticus 25:1–34, and Deuteronomy 15:1–18, and 31:10–13.
Mishnah Sheviit chapter 10 and Tosefta Sheviit 8:3–11 interpreted Deuteronomy 15:1–10 to address debts and the Sabbatical year. The Mishnah held that the Sabbatical year cancelled loans, whether they were secured by a bond or not, but did not cancel debts to a shopkeeper or unpaid wages of a laborer, unless these debts were made into loans. When Hillel saw people refraining from lending, in transgression of Deuteronomy 15:9, he ordained the prosbul, which ensured the repayment of loans notwithstanding the Sabbatical year. Citing the literall meaning of Deuteronomy 15:2 — “this is the word of the release” — the Mishnah held that a creditor could accept payment of a debt notwithstanding an intervening Sabbatical year, if the creditor had first by word told the debtor that the creditor relinquished the debt.
Rabbi Isaac taught that the words of Psalm 103:20, “mighty in strength that fulfill His word,” speak of those who observe the Sabbatical year. Rabbi Isaac said that we often find that a person fulfills a precept for a day, a week, or a month, but it is remarkable to find one who does so for an entire year. Rabbi Isaac asked whether one could find a mightier person than one who sees his field untilled, see his vineyard untilled, and yet pays his taxes and does not complain. And Rabbi Isaac noted that Psalm 103:20 uses the words “that fulfill His word (dabar),” and Deuteronomy 15:2 says regarding observance of the Sabbatical year, “And this is the manner (dabar) of the release,” and argued that “dabar” means the observance of the Sabbatical year in both places.
Rabbi Shila of Nawha (a place east of Gadara in the Galilee) interpreted the word “needy” (אֶבְיוֹן, evyon) in Deuteronomy 15:7 to teach that one should give to the poor person from one’s wealth, for that wealth is the poor person’s, given to you in trust. Rabbi Abin observed that when a poor person stands at one’s door, God stands at the person’s right, as Psalm 109:31 says: “Because He stands at the right hand of the needy.” If one gives something to a poor person, one should reflect that the One who stands at the poor person’s right will reward the giver. And if one does not give anything to a poor person, one should reflect that the One who stands at the poor person’s right will punish the one who did not give, as Psalm 109:31 says: “He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from them that judge his soul.”
The Rabbis interpreted the words “sufficient for his need, whatever is lacking for him” in Deuteronomy 15:8 to teach the level to which the community must help an impoverished person. Based on these words, the Rabbis taught in a Baraita that if an orphan applied to the community for assistance to marry, the community must rent a house, supply a bed and necessary household furnishings, and put on the wedding, as Deuteronomy 15:8 says, “sufficient for his need, whatever is lacking for him.” The Rabbis interpreted the words “sufficient for his need” to refer to the house, “whatever is lacking” to refer to a bed and a table, and “for him (לוֹ, lo)” to refer to a wife, as Genesis 2:18 uses the same term, “for him (לוֹ, lo),” to refer to Adam’s wife, whom Genesis 2:18 calls “a helpmate for him.” The Rabbis taught that the words “sufficient for his need” command us to maintain the poor person, but not to make the poor person rich. But the Gemara interpreted the words “whatever is lacking for him” to include even a horse to ride upon and a servant to run before the impoverished person, if that was what the particular person lacked. The Gemara told that once Hillel bought for a certain impoverished man from an affluent family a horse to ride upon and a servant to run before him, and once when Hillel could not find a servant to run before the impoverished man, Hillel himself ran before him for three miles. The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that once the people of Upper Galilee bought a pound of meat every day for an impoverished member of an affluent family of Sepphoris. Rav Huna taught that they bought for him a pound of premium poultry, or if you prefer, the amount of ordinary meat that they could buy with a pound of money. Rav Ashi taught that the place was such a small village with so few buyers for meat that every day they had to waste a whole animal just to provide for the pauper’s needs. Once when a pauper applied to Rabbi Nehemiah for support, Rabbi Nehemiah asked him of what his meals consisted. The pauper told Rabbi Nehemiah that he had been used to eating well-marbled meat and aged wine. Rabbi Nehemiah asked him whether he could get by with Rabbi Nehemiah on a diet of lentils. The pauper consented, joined Rabbi Nehemiah on a diet of lentils, and then died. Rabbi Nehemiah lamented that he had caused the pauper’s death by not feeding him the diet to which he had been accustomed, but the Gemara answered that the pauper himself was responsible for his own death, for he should not have allowed himself to become dependent on such a luxurious diet. Once when a pauper applied to Rava for support, Rava asked him of what his meals consisted. The pauper told Rava that he had been used to eating fattened chicken and aged wine. Rava asked the pauper whether he considered the burden on the community of maintaining such a lifestyle. The pauper replied that he was not eating what the community provided, but what God provided, as Psalm 145:15 says: “The eyes of all wait for You, and You give them their food in due season.” As the verse does not say “in their season” (in the plural), but “in His season” (in the singular), it teaches that God provides every person the food that the person needs. Just then, Rava’s sister, who had not seen him for 13 years, arrived with a fattened chicken and aged wine. Thereupon, Rava exclaimed at the coincidence, apologized to the pauper, and invited him to come and eat.
The Gemara turned to how the community should convey assistance to the pauper. Rabbi Meir taught that if a person has no means but does not wish to receive support from the community’s charity fund, then the community should give the person what the person requires as a loan and then convert the loan into a gift by not collecting repayment. The Sages, however, said (as Rava explained their position) that the community should offer the pauper assistance as a gift, and then if the pauper declines the gift, the community should extend funds to the pauper as a loan. The Gemara taught that if a person has the means for self-support but chooses rather to rely on the community, then the community may give the person what the person needs as a gift, and then make the person repay it. As requiring repayment would surely cause the person to decline assistance on a second occasion, Rav Papa explained that the community exacts repayment from the person’s estate upon the person’s death. Rabbi Simeon taught that the community need not become involved if a person who has the means for self-support chooses not to do so. Rabbi Simeon taught that if a person has no means but does not wish to receive support from the community’s charity fund, then the community should ask for a pledge in exchange for a loan, so as thereby to raise the person’s self-esteem. The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that the instruction to “lend” in Deuteronomy 15:8 refers to the person who has no means and is unwilling to receive assistance from the community’s charity fund, and to whom the community must thus offer assistance as a loan and then give it as a gift. Rabbi Judah taught that the words “you . . . shall surely lend him” in Deuteronomy 15:8 refer to the person who has the means for self-support but chooses rather to rely on the community, to whom the community should give what the person needs as a gift, and then exact repayment from the person’s estate upon the person’s death. The Sages, however, said that the community has no obligation to help the person who has the means of self-support. According to the Sages, the use of the emphatic words “you . . . shall surely lend him” in Deuteronomy 15:8 (in which the Hebrew verb for “lend” is doubled, וְהַעֲבֵט, תַּעֲבִיטֶנּוּ) is merely stylistic and without legal significance.
The Gemara related a story about how to give to the poor. A poor man lived in Mar Ukba’s neighborhood, and every day Mar Ukba would put four zuz into the poor man’s door socket. One day, the poor man thought that he would try to find out who did him this kindness. That day Mar Ukba came home from the house of study with his wife. When the poor man saw them moving the door to make their donation, the poor man went to greet them, but they fled and ran into a furnace from which the fire had just been swept. They did so because, as Mar Zutra bar Tobiah said in the name of Rav (or others say Rav Huna bar Bizna said in the name of Rabbi Simeon the Pious, and still others say Rabbi Johanan said in the name of Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai), it is better for a person to go into a fiery furnace than to shame a neighbor publicly. One can derive this from Genesis 38:25, where Tamar, who was subject to being burned for the adultery with which Judah had charged her, rather than publicly shame Judah with the facts of his complicity, sent Judah’s possessions to him with the message, “By the man whose these are am I with child.”
The Gemara related another story of Mar Ukba’s charity. A poor man lived in Mar Ukba’s neighborhood to whom he regularly sent 400 zuz on the eve of every Yom Kippur. Once Mar Ukba sent his son to deliver the 400 zuz. His son came back and reported that the poor man did not need Mar Ukba’s help. When Mar Ukba asked his son what he had seen, his son replied that they were sprinkling aged wine before the poor man to improve the aroma in the room. Mar Ukba said that if the poor man was that delicate, then Mar Ukba would double the amount of his gift and send it back to the poor man.
When Mar Ukba was about to die, he asked to see his charity accounts. Finding gifts worth 7,000 Sijan gold denarii recorded therein, he exclaimed that the provisions were scanty and the road was long, and he forthwith distributed half of his wealth to charity. The Gemara asked how Mar Ukba could have given away so much, when Rabbi Elai taught that when the Sanhedrin sat at Usha, it ordained that if a person wishes to give liberally the person should not give more than a fifth of the person’s wealth. The Gemara explained that this limitation applies only during a person’s lifetime, as the person might thereby be impoverished, but the limitation does not apply to gifts at death.
The Gemara related another story about a Sage’s charity. Rabbi Abba used to bind money in his scarf, sling it on his back, and go among the poor so that they could take the funds they needed from his scarf. He would, however, look sideways as a precaution against swindlers.
Rabbi Hiyya bar Rav of Difti taught that Rabbi Joshua ben Korha deduced from the parallel use of the term “base” with regard to withholding charity and practicing idolatry that people who shut their eyes against charity are like those who worship idols. Deuteronomy 15:9 says regarding aid to the poor, “Beware that there be not a base thought in your heart . . . and your eye will be evil against your poor brother,” while Deuteronomy 13:14 uses the same term “base” when it says regarding idolatry, “Certain base fellows are gone out from the midst of you . . . saying: ‘Let us go and serve other gods there.’” That Deuteronomy employs the same adjective for both failings implies that withholding charity and practicing idolatry are similar.
In Deuteronomy 15:10, the heart is troubled. A Midrash catalogued the wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew Bible. The heart speaks, sees, hears, walks, falls, stands, rejoices, cries, is comforted, becomes hardened, grows faint, grieves, fears, can be broken, becomes proud, rebels, invents, cavils, overflows, devises, desires, goes astray, lusts, is refreshed, can be stolen, is humbled, is enticed, errs, trembles, is awakened, loves, hates, envies, is searched, is rent, meditates, is like a fire, is like a stone, turns in repentance, becomes hot, dies, melts, takes in words, is susceptible to fear, gives thanks, covets, becomes hard, makes merry, acts deceitfully, speaks from out of itself, loves bribes, writes words, plans, receives commandments, acts with pride, makes arrangements, and aggrandizes itself.
Part of chapter 1 of Tractate Kiddushin in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the Hebrew servant in Exodus 21:2–11 and 21:26–27; Leviticus 25:39–55; and Deuteronomy 15:12–18.
The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that the words of Deuteronomy 15:16 regarding the Hebrew servant, “he fares well with you,” indicate that the Hebrew servant had to be “with” — that is, equal to — the master in food and drink. Thus the master could not eat white bread and have the servant eat black bread. The master could not drink old wine and have the servant drink new wine. The master could not sleep on a feather bed and have the servant sleep on straw. Hence, they said that buying a Hebrew servant was like buying a master. Similarly, Rabbi Simeon deduced from the words of Leviticus 25:41, “Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him,” that the master was liable to provide for the servant’s children until the servant went out. And Rabbi Simeon deduced from the words of Exodus 21:3, “If he is married, then his wife shall go out with him,” that the master was responsible to provide for the servant’s wife, as well.
Read more about this topic: Re'eh, In Classical Rabbinic Interpretation
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