002a – הכל מעריכין – פרק ראשון – ערכין, דף ב ע"א

Chapter One – Hakol Ma’arichin

Mishnah

All may evaluate, and be evaluated, may vow and be vowed: kohanim, levi’im and Yisraelim, women and slaves.^[1]

מתני' הכל מעריכין - The valuation is written in the Torah portion. (A vow of “my value is upon me” – they assess him like a slave sold in the market.)

מעריכין - If one said of someone, “The valuation of so-and-so is upon me,” he gives that person’s valuation according to his years, for the valuation is given according to the years written in the portion of valuations, and one goes by the years of those evaluated.

נערכים - If one said “My valuation is upon me,” or another said of him “The valuation of so-and-so is upon me.”^[2]

נודרין - “The value of so-and-so is upon me.”

נידרין - “My value is upon me,” or another said of him “The value of so-and-so is upon me.”

נשים ועבדים - And they pay later, when the woman is divorced or the slave is freed.^[3]

A tumtum and an androginus^[4] may vow and be vowed and may evaluate, but may not be evaluated, for only a definite male and a definite female are evaluated.

וטומטום ואנדרוגינוס נודרין ונידרים - For they do have a value.

מעריכין - Others: if they said “The valuation of so-and-so is upon me,” they give that person’s valuation.

אבל לא נערכין - If one said “My valuation is upon me,” or another said of them “The valuation of so-and-so is upon me,” he has said nothing, for they have no valuation, since “male” and “female” are stated in the portion.

A deaf-mute, a deranged person and a minor may be vowed and be evaluated, but may not vow nor evaluate, because they lack understanding.^[5]

Gemara

“All may evaluate”^[6] – to include what?

To include one of keen understanding who is close to manhood.^[7]

גמ' מופלא סמוך לאיש - A boy of twelve years and one day, who is close to manhood but is not a man until he brings two hairs. He is called mufla because they examine him whether he knows how to make distinctions (lehaflos) and to state for Whose sake he vowed and for Whose sake he consecrated, as taught in the chapter Yotzei Dofen in tractate Niddah (45b).

“May be evaluated”^[8] – to include what?

נערכין לאתויי מאי - That is, “all” also stands over “may be evaluated,” for “all” stands over the whole Mishnah; whom does it add to those evaluated?

To include one who is repulsive or stricken with boils.^[9]

For you might have said: “a vow, according to your valuation”^[10] is written – whoever has a value has a valuation, and whoever has no value has no valuation;

נדר בערכך כתיב - (“Persons” implies.) Valuations are compared to value, and the repulsive and the boil-stricken have no value; they may vow others’ value but may not be vowed, for they are worth nothing.

it teaches us: “persons”^[11] – whoever he may be.

נפשות - Implies whoever is a living person. All these cases that he brings as a challenge are taught explicitly in our Mishnah.

“May vow”^[12] – to include what?

He needed it for “may be vowed.”

“May be vowed”^[13] – to include what?

If to include a tumtum and an androginus – he teaches them explicitly!

And if to include a deaf-mute, a deranged person and a minor – he teaches them explicitly!

If to include one less than a month old – he teaches them explicitly!^[14]

And if to include a gentile – he teaches them explicitly!^[15]

In fact, to include one less than a month old; he teaches it and then explains it.^[16]

תני והדר מפרש - He could equally have taken one of these others, but he took one of two or three. Another explanation: he took this one because the Rabbanan and Rabbi Meir disagree in this chapter (below 5a) about one who evaluates a child under a month: Rabbi Meir says he gives his value, for a person knows that a child under a month has no valuation, and he decided to speak in terms of value; and the Sages say he has said nothing. Therefore he stated it first without comment, to teach us from the extra Mishnah that even according to the Rabbanan, where one said “his value is upon me,” he has a value and gives his value. From the mouth of our teacher.

“All perform semichah”^[17] – to include what?

To include an heir, and not according to Rabbi Yehudah.

יורש - A person whose father set aside an offering and did not manage to offer it before he died.

“All may make an exchange”^[18] – to include what?

To include an heir, and not according to Rabbi Yehudah.

As it was taught: “An heir performs semichah; an heir makes an exchange.

Rabbi Yehudah says: An heir does not perform semichah; an heir does not make an exchange.”

What is Rabbi Yehudah’s reason?

(Vayikra 1) “His offering”^[19] – and not his father’s offering;

קרבנו - Regarding semichah “his offering” is written three times, with shelamim in Vayikra; Rabbi Yehudah expounds one of them: “his offering” – and not his father’s offering.

and he learns the start of consecration from the end of consecration: just as at the end of consecration an heir does not perform semichah, so at the start of consecration an heir does not make an exchange.^[20]

תחלת הקדש - Temurah, which is the start of this animal’s consecration.

סוף הקדש - Semichah, which is close to the slaughter.

And the Rabbanan: (Vayikra 27) “he shall surely exchange”^[21] – to include the heir;

and we learn the end of consecration from the start of consecration: just as at the start of consecration an heir makes an exchange, so at the end of consecration an heir performs semichah.

And the Rabbanan – what do they do with this “his offering”?^[22]

They need it: “his offering” – and not a gentile’s offering; “his offering” – and not his fellow’s offering; “his offering” – to include all partners in semichah.^[23]

כל בעלי חוברין - Five who brought one offering in partnership all must perform semichah on it, and one may not perform semichah on it [for them].

And Rabbi Yehudah does not hold of including all partners in semichah.^[24]

לית ליה - For he holds that one performs semichah for all of them, and it is not like performing semichah on his fellow’s offering, since he has a share in it.

And even if he does hold it…^[25]

Tosfos

מתני' הכל מעריכין - In Nazir (2a) and in Nedarim (2a) the Mishnah mentions substitute terms, so as not to mention Hashem’s Name in vain, as stated there; but here he was not concerned to mention them, for they would not mention Hashem’s Name over valuations.^[26] A valuation is written in the portion; vows: “my value is upon me,” and they assess him like a slave sold in the market.

מעריכין - If one said of someone in the market “The valuation of so-and-so is upon me” (or if he said “The valuation of that so-and-so is upon me”), he gives according to the years written in the portion of shekalim, and one goes by that person’s years.

נערכין - If one said “My valuation is upon me,” or another said [of him] “The valuation of so-and-so is upon me.”

נשים ועבדים - They pay later, when the woman is divorced or the slave is freed – so Rashi explains. Alternatively, where something was given to them on condition that the master or the husband has no rights in it. And even if they have nothing, one writes against them at once, as taught in the Tosefta: “Women and slaves may vow and be vowed; if they have [means] at this time one collects from them, and if not, [one writes] against them and collects later.” And a slave, though regarding mitzvos he has the law of a woman, is evaluated by the valuation of a male, for no Tanna ever said that he is evaluated like a woman.

טומטום ואנדרוגינוס נודרין ונידרין - For they have a value; and they may evaluate others: if they said “The valuation of so-and-so is upon me,” they give that person’s valuation; but they may not be evaluated: if one said of them “The valuation of so-and-so is upon me,” he has said nothing, for male and female are stated in the portion. Another version.

חרש שוטה וקטן - This implies that a deaf-mute has a value. And what is said in the chapter Hachovel (Bava Kamma 85b) – that if one deafened him he gives him his whole value^[27] – speaks of a deafness that cannot be healed. Alternatively, Rabbeinu Tam explained that one deafened by Heaven has a value.

מופלא סמוך לאיש - A boy of twelve years and one day, close to manhood but not a man until thirteen years and one day. He is called mufla because they examine him whether he knows how to make distinctions and to state for Whose sake he vowed and for Whose sake he consecrated, as taught in the chapter Yotzei Dofen (Niddah 45b).

נערכין לאתויי מאי - That is, “all” also stands over “may be evaluated,” for “all” stands over the whole Mishnah; (to include those evaluated) – this is what he means.

לאתויי מנוול ומוכה שחין - This implies that it also refers to slaves in the Mishnah. One may ask: we inquire in the chapter Hasholei’ach (Gittin 42b) about a slave whose master sold him for a fine – what is the law? So he has a value! One may answer that here it speaks of a tereifah.^[28] And if you ask: one who kills him should be liable, since he is included in “persons,” so he is called a living person – for on that basis we include one who kills a day-old infant in the chapter Yotzei Dofen (Niddah 44b), even though he may be a stillborn – one may answer that there, in Toras Kohanim, we establish it where his months were complete, and so too we establish it there according to Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, who said that whatever has not lived [thirty days]…

נדר בערכך נפשות - This implies that valuations are compared to value; the repulsive and the boil-stricken are not for value, and they may vow others but may not be vowed, for they are worth nothing.

כל שישנו בדמים נערכין כו' - Not precisely, for there are a palm tree and land; rather, he means any person who has a value.

קרבנו - Regarding semichah “his offering” is written three times in Vayikra, and Rabbi Yehudah expounds one of them: “his offering” – and not his father’s offering – Rashi’s words. In his sharpness he did not look closely, for there are only two there.^[29] Perhaps the “on its head” written there counts like “his offering”; alternatively, he expounds from the remaining mentions of “his offering.”

תחלת הקדש - Temurah, which is the start of this animal’s consecration; the end of consecration is semichah, which is close to slaughter. Another version. And where temurah is called “the end of consecration” in the chapter Hazahav (Bava Metzia 54b)^[30], that is in relation to the first offering. And if you ask: let us also learn slaughter from semichah, so that an heir may not slaughter – that is not so, for even his agent is not excluded from slaughter.

[קרבנו ולא קרבן חבירו - And if you ask: since we say at the end of the chapter Shtei Midos (Menachos 93b), “and he shall lean his hand” – not his agent’s hand, all the more so not his fellow’s hand, then why do I need “his offering”? One may answer:] if not for “his offering” I would say that “his hand” comes to exclude his fellow, but his agent may perform semichah. And if you ask: let us learn from here for the whole Torah that a person’s agent is not like himself; why then does he learn in Kiddushin, the second chapter (41b), that he is like himself?^[31] One may answer: because semichah, yevamah and eglah arufah are three verses that come as one: for of yevamah it is written (Devarim 25) “and they shall call him” – they and not their agent; and likewise of eglah arufah, “and they shall measure” – and not their agent. And if you ask: let us learn from them that everywhere one’s agent is like himself, since they had to be excluded – one may answer that if not for those verses in Kiddushin that teach us that his agent is like himself, we would have set these three verses of semichah, yevamah and eglah arufah to another exposition.

כל בעלי חוברין - Five who brought an offering in partnership all must perform semichah on it, and one may not perform semichah on behalf of all.

לית ליה - For he holds that one performs semichah for all of them, and it is not like performing semichah on his fellow’s offering, since he has a share in it – Rashi’s words. And so it is implied in the chapter Shtei Midos (Menachos 94a): “Just as tenufah, which was extended to those who slaughter, was restricted among partners, semichah, which was not extended to those who slaughter – is it not right that it be restricted among partners? The verse states ‘his offering’ to include all of them”^[32]. So according to the one who does not expound “his offering,” he learns it from tenufah, and we learned there that one waves for all of them.

Notes

1. 1. Erech (valuation): one who says “the valuation of so-and-so is upon me” (or “my valuation”) gives the Temple treasury the fixed sum the Torah sets by age and gender [Vayikra 27], whatever the person is worth. Neder of damim (value): one who says “the value of so-and-so is upon me” gives what that person would fetch as a slave in the market. Ma’arichin/nodrin are those who pledge; ne’erachin/nidarin are those about whom the pledge is made.
2. 2. See further Rashi below [Arachin 4a], s.v. נערכין לאתויי כו', where the Gemara returns to the teaching “all may be evaluated – to include the repulsive and the boil-stricken.”
3. 3. A wife and a slave own no property of their own: what a wife acquires belongs to her husband, and what a slave acquires belongs to his master. So their pledge is paid later.
4. 4. A tumtum is one whose gender cannot be seen; an androginus has the features of both. The Torah fixes a valuation only for a definite male or a definite female.
5. 5. A deaf-mute, a deranged person and a minor lack the understanding to make a vow, but others may pledge their valuation or their value.
6. 6. The Gemara asks about the word “all”: the Mishnah goes on to list everyone, so whom does “all” come to add?
7. 7. A mufla samuch l’ish is a boy in his thirteenth year. If he understands to Whom he vowed and consecrated, his vow stands [Niddah 45b].
8. 8. That is, “all” also stands over “may be evaluated,” so one must ask whom it adds among those who may be evaluated.
9. 9. A menuval is repulsive in appearance; a mukeh shechin is covered with boils. Neither would fetch anything in the market.
10. 10. The verse: “When a man shall make a special vow, according to your valuation of persons, to Hashem” [Vayikra 27:2]. Since “vow” stands beside “valuation,” one might think the valuation depends on the person having market value.
11. 11. “Persons” includes every living person, even one with no market value at all.
12. 12. Anyone with understanding may vow, so there is no one to add here; “may vow” was said only because of “may be vowed” that follows it.
13. 13. Nidar: one about whom someone says “his value is upon me.” The Gemara looks for someone added here who is not stated outright in the Mishnah.
14. 14. A child under a month has no valuation, since the Torah’s valuations begin at one month, but he does have a market value. His law is stated outright in the Mishnah below [Arachin 5a].
15. 15. The law of a gentile is stated outright in the Mishnah below [Arachin 5b].
16. 16. The Tanna first includes the case within “all,” and afterwards spells out its law explicitly.
17. 17. A Mishnah in Menachos [Menachos 93a]: “All perform semichah except a deaf-mute, a deranged person and a minor…” Semichah: the owner leans his hands on the head of his offering before it is slaughtered.
18. 18. A Mishnah in Temurah [Temurah 2a]: “All may make an exchange.” Temurah: one who tries to exchange a consecrated animal for another. Both become holy, and he receives lashes.
19. 19. Of semichah it says “and he shall lean his hand on the head of his offering” [Vayikra 3:2]. Rabbi Yehudah expounds: “his offering” – not his father’s.
20. 20. Temurah makes a new animal holy – “the start of consecration”; semichah comes just before slaughter – “the end of consecration.” Each side learns the heir’s law in one from the other.
21. 21. The verse: “and if he shall surely exchange animal for animal” [Vayikra 27:10]. The doubled wording “shall surely exchange” includes the heir.
22. 22. The Rabbanan do not expound “his offering – not his father’s”; the three mentions of “his offering” in semichah serve them for other teachings.
23. 23. Partners who brought one offering together: each of them performs semichah.
24. 24. According to Rabbi Yehudah one partner performs semichah on behalf of all (Rashi).
25. 25. Continued on the next amud [Arachin 2b]: “a gentile and his fellow are derived from one verse” – so even if Rabbi Yehudah includes partners, he still has a “his offering” left to exclude a father’s offering.
26. 26. Nazir and Nedarim open with “all substitutes” – forms of words by which one vows without mentioning Hashem’s Name. Here the Tanna had no need of them.
27. 27. In Bava Kamma: one who wounds his fellow and makes him deaf pays him his whole value – which implies that a deaf person has no value at all.
28. 28. A tereifah is a person with a bodily defect he cannot survive; he has no market value.
29. 29. Tosfos question Rashi’s “three”: in Parshas Vayikra “his offering” is said of semichah only twice. They answer that “on its head” counts as “his offering.”
30. 30. In Bava Metzia temurah is called “the end of consecration” – in relation to the first offering that was exchanged.
31. 31. A person’s agent is like himself: the agent acts in the sender’s place. Semichah, chalitzah and eglah arufah are “three verses that come as one,” and nothing is learned from them for the rest of the Torah.
32. 32. Tenufah is the waving of parts of the offering before Hashem. Menachos teaches that one partner waves for all, and from there Rabbi Yehudah learns that one performs semichah for all.