028b – המקדיש שדהו – פרק שמיני – ערכין, דף כח ע”ב

It shall be yours.

לך יהיה - The Torah said this to Aaron, and all his descendants are included.

The fields put under herem go to the kohen of that mishmar.^[1] As it says, “Like a field of herem, it shall be the kohen’s holding” (Vayikra 27:21). And a gezeirah shavah, “to the kohen, to the kohen,” is drawn from the robbery of a convert.

From where do we know that?

As it is taught: “For the Lord, to the kohen” (Bamidbar 5:8) — “He made it His and gave it to the kohen of that mishmar.”

האשם המושב לה' לכהן - The verse speaks of a Jew who robbed a convert, swore falsely, admitted, and died. He pays the principal and a fifth to the kohen, and the asham goes to the altar.

Do you say it is to the kohen of that mishmar, or to any kohen he wishes?

When it says “apart from the ram of atonement, with which he atones” (Bamidbar 5:8), the verse speaks of the kohen of that mishmar.

הרי בכהן שבאותו משמר - The verse teaches that the kohen who atones with the ram of atonement receives the principal and the fifth.

A field that reverts to the kohanim at the jubilee is given to the mishmar in whose watch the jubilee falls.^[2]

שדה היוצאה כו' - Rav Chiya bar Avin said it to him.

The question was raised: if it falls on Shabbat, what is the law?

פגע בו יובל בשבת - Since the watches rotate and Yom Kippur falls on that same day, to which watch does he give it?

R. Chiya bar Ami said in the name of Chulfana: he gives it to the outgoing watch.

למשמר היוצא - The one in whose possession the jubilee began last night.

R. Nachman bar Yitzchak said: it is taught [also in this way]:

א"ר נחמן בר יצחק תנ"ה - We go after the beginning.

So you are saying:

נמצאת אומר - Since the year 49 begins the shemitah cycle, and the year after it is the jubilee.

One jubilee and one shemitah release together, except that the jubilee is at its beginning and the release at its end.

אחד יובל ואחד שביעית משמטין כאחד - On one day the shemitah releases loans of money and the jubilee releases the sale of land, except that the jubilee…

Is it, on the contrary, for this reason that it is so?

אדרבה - The reason both release on one day: the shemitah is at the end and the jubilee at the beginning, so that at the twilight of Erev Shabbat the jubilee ends and the shemitah begins, and at that moment both are released.

Say instead: because the jubilee…

אלא תני הכי - Teach it thus: they release together, because the jubilee is at its beginning and the shemitah at its end.

Surely the shemitah^[3] is at its end, as it says “At the end of seven years you shall make a release” (Devarim 15:1).

But the jubilee is at its beginning: it is on Yom Kippur^[4], as it says “On Yom Kippur you shall sound the shofar throughout your land” (Vayikra 25:9)?

This is R. Yishmael^[5], son of R. Yochanan ben Beroka, for he says the jubilee begins from Rosh Hashanah.

דרבי ישמעאל - In the first chapter of Rosh Hashanah (8b).

Chizkiyah bar Bilutu heard.

שמעה חזקיה בר בילוטי - The statement of R. Chiya bar Avin.

And he went and said it before R. Avahu.

Should he not analogize^[6] movables to land?

וליקיש מטלטלין - Concerning herem.

לקרקעות - Concerning herem: since it is compared, as it says “from all that he has, and from the field of his holding” (Vayikra 27:21); and let us say that movables too go to the kohen of that mishmar.

This is not a dispute between Tannaim: some analogize and some do not.

לאו תנאי היא - R. Yehuda and R. Shimon disputed above, in the matter of R. Yehuda who analogizes and R. Shimon who does not.

According to the one who says we do not analogize:

Mishnah:

Herem of kohanim^[7] has no redemption; they are given to the kohanim as terumah.

חרמי כהנים - Herem for kohanim has no redemption, as it says “it shall not be sold or redeemed” (Vayikra 27). Herem for Temple upkeep may be redeemed, since it is only fit for upkeep in money.

R. Yehuda ben Beseira says: an unspecified herem goes to Temple upkeep^[8].

As it says “every herem is holy of holies to the Lord” (Vayikra 27:28).

And the Sages say: an unspecified herem goes to the kohanim, as it says “like a field of herem, it shall be the kohen’s holding” (Vayikra 27:21).

If so, why does it say “every herem is holy of holies to the Lord”? It applies both to holy-of-holies and to lesser sacred things.

שחל החרם על קדשי קדשים כו' - As the Mishnah explains: a man may dedicate his sacred things. How can they be dedicated if they are not his? If he vowed, “I take on myself an olah”, and set aside an animal for it, then since he bears the risk of it, if it dies or is stolen it is his loss, so it is his: he gives its full value to the kohen, and offers the animal for his vow, since it is redeemable. But if it was a freewill offering, he does not bear its risk, so if it dies herem does not take effect, since it is not his.

A man may dedicate his sacred things, whether of holy-of-holies or of lesser sacred things.

If by vow^[9], he gives their value; if by freewill, he gives their benefit.

אלא בכדי טובתה - The benefit he has in it^[10] he gives to the kohen. How? If an ox is set aside as herem to be an olah, one appraises how much a person would pay for this ox to bring it as an olah, though he is not permitted to. That is the benefit he has in it: if it dies he is not liable, and once he has set it aside he has discharged his obligation; if it is lost he loses only the chance to bring a gift to his Maker. Some texts read to offer an olah he is not permitted to, which is the same.

This ox is an olah — one appraises how much a person would pay to bring this ox as an olah, though he is not permitted to.^[11]

רשאי - The term means ‘owes’, as a creditor (Shemos 22), which the Targum renders rashya.

The firstborn^[12], whether unblemished or blemished, is put under herem.

And how is it redeemed?

וכיצד פודין אותו - The firstborn itself is not herem, since it is not his but the kohen’s. Rather, one appraises how much an Israelite would pay the owner to give this firstborn to his daughter’s son or his sister’s son, if he is a kohen, and that benefit he gives to the kohen for the herem. It specifies a daughter’s son or a sister’s son, not a grandson or brother, since a kohen who is a grandson or brother is like a kohen who assists at the threshing floor (Bechoros 26b).

One appraises how much a person would pay to give this firstborn to his daughter’s son or his sister’s son.

Tosafot

שדה היוצאה לכהנים ביובל נותנין (למי) [למשמר] שפגע בו יובל - This statement is not from the baraisa; it comes from the statement of R. Chiya bar Avin, which Rav Chisda said.

כמאן דלא מקיש - The difficulty: above it was said that kohanim cannot put herem on their own property, and a field under herem is due to the kohen of that watch, so why need it not go to the kohen of the watch if a kohen dedicates his own field? The answer: he said it for the sake of expansion; a field dedicated by a kohen is not herem, since it says it is an everlasting holding for them. Though the verse is written about the Levites, it applies to kohanim too. If a kohen dedicates movables, on the view that analogizes it is obvious he cannot dedicate; even on the view that does not analogize, the herem of kohanim is given to any kohen he wishes. This also explains what was said above about R. Shimon: it is because of movables that he said so, though there is no analogy; but for land, the everlasting holding written of the Levites applies equally to kohanim.

חרמי כהנים - The herem (given) to kohanim has no redemption, as it says: “it shall not be sold or redeemed” (Vayikra 27:28). So the passage speaks of kohanim's herem, although the verse is general; for herem for Temple upkeep is obviously redeemed, to be spent on the upkeep.

אומדין כמה אדם רוצה ליתן בשור זה להעלותו עולה אע"פ שאינו רשאי - “(To give)” means he is not obligated, like a creditor (nosheh), which the Targum renders rashya; so Rashi explains. Rabbi Yaakov bar Shimshon says: the statement in Kiddushin (33b) that craftsmen may not stand before Torah scholars while working at their craft refers even to those engaged in their own work, and “rashin” there means “obligated”, as “even though he is not permitted” here means “even though he is not obligated”. If it refers to others' work, one can read “permitted” literally.

לבן בתו או לבן אחותו כהן - One cannot say a son of his son or a son of his brother, for since he sees him, he is like a kohen who assists at the threshing floor, as in Bechoros (26b). So Rashi explains.

Notes

1. 1. Mishmar: one of the twenty-four priestly watches. Each served in the Temple for one week, and the watch changed every Shabbat.
2. 2. Jubilee (yovel): the fiftieth year, when land returns to its original owners (Vayikra 25).
3. 3. Shemitah: the sabbatical year that comes every seven years. The land lies fallow and loans of money are released (Devarim 15).
4. 4. On Yom Kippur: according to the verse (Vayikra 25:9), the shofar is sounded on Yom Kippur in the jubilee year.
5. 5. R. Yishmael holds that the jubilee begins on Rosh Hashanah, not on Yom Kippur.
6. 6. Hekesh (analogy): comparing movables to land in the law of herem. The Gemara asks why this analogy is not drawn.
7. 7. Herem: property dedicated to Hashem by the word herem. Herem given to kohanim cannot be redeemed (Vayikra 27:28). Redemption (pidyon): paying the value of the item plus a fifth.
8. 8. Temple upkeep (bedek ha-bayit): repairs and expenses of the Temple. Since it is only fit for money, such herem may be redeemed for money.
9. 9. Vow and freewill offering: a vow is an offering one has taken on; a freewill offering is brought of one's own accord. For a vow one gives the value of the animal; for a freewill offering one gives its benefit.
10. 10. The benefit (tovat hana'ah): the value the owner has in the animal, that is, what a person would be willing to pay for it, since if it dies or is stolen he is not liable for it.
11. 11. Olah: a burnt-offering, wholly burned on the altar. The animal is appraised at what a person would pay to bring it as an olah, though the owner may not do so himself.
12. 12. Firstborn (bechor): the firstborn of a kosher animal is holy from birth and belongs to the kohen. If it has a blemish, the kohen eats it (Devarim 15).