No community start suggestion yet.
When a rooster drags a coal on its foot, causing damage, is this keren (goring) or regel (trampling)? The shiur examines why Rashi (רש"י) holds the question is whether this unusual manner qualifies as regel, while the Rambam (רמב"ם) and Rosh frame it as safek keren/safek regel. The central difficulty: how can tfisa (seizure) apply when knas (fine) liability requires a beis din ruling?
This shiur analyzes a complex sugya in Bava Kamma 19b concerning the liability when a rooster drags a coal with its foot, causing damage. The fundamental question is whether this case is considered a tolda of regel (trampling) or keren (goring). Rabbi Zweig begins by examining Rashi (רש"י)'s interpretation, which appears to frame the safek as whether this unusual manner of damage qualifies as regel at all, not whether it's keren versus regel. The Gemara (גמרא)'s sequence is critical: it initially asks why this shouldn't be keren (since the Torah (תורה) says "ki yugach"), then suggests it's regel, and finally questions whether excessive scratching is still regel. According to Rabbi Zweig's reading of Rashi, the fundamental question is whether unusual regel behavior obligates payment in reshus harabim (public domain) or not. This differs markedly from the Rambam (רמב"ם) and Rosh, who both frame the issue as a safek between keren and regel.
Looking for the full summary?
Full access is available to members of the TUF Alumni Association or the Yam Hagadol Foundation.
Already a member? Let the admin know!
Bava Kamma 19b
Looking for the full transcript?
Full access is available to members of the TUF Alumni Association or the Yam Hagadol Foundation.
Already a member? Let the admin know!
Dedicate a Shiur in Gemara
L'ilui nishmas a loved one. In honor of a simcha or yahrzeit. As a zechus for a refuah sheleimah. Your dedication helps carry Rabbi Zweig's Torah to learners around the world.
When an animal damages crops, the Torah prescribes a unique payment formula based on multiplying the damaged area by sixty. Does this formula redefine the actual loss, or does it merely create a payment mechanism that still acknowledges the full damage sustained? The Gemara explores whether someone who ate in doubt should pay the higher-quality amount, examining how the principle of motzi me-chaveiro alav haraya applies when payments fall within the range of actual loss.
What makes testimony valid when different witnesses testify to different parts of the same event? The Gemara debates whether the principle of "davar v'lo chatzi davar" (complete testimony, not partial) disqualifies witnesses who testify separately to theft and slaughter. Rashi's approach reveals that the issue is not merely combining elements, but whether each witness's statement is independently meaningful.
Why is a ganav who sells a stolen animal on Shabbos exempt from the fourfold/fivefold payment? The shiur analyzes whether this exemption stems from kam lei b'derabbah or from the absence of a valid mechira. The Rashba's principle that matana resembles mechira when it is "nishtarish b'chet" is explored, along with the Rambam's position on hekdesh and the distinction between giving to bedek habayis versus mizbe'ach.
When a ganav shechts a stolen animal l'avodah zarah, why isn't he patur from payment since it's already isur hana'ah? The shiur explores the fundamental machloket Rashi-Tosafot on whether the isur derives from the act of shechita or from the din shechita itself. The Gemara's application of davar garem be'mamon ke'mamon domi extends the analysis to when borrowed animals become niskal.