Talmud - Bava Metzia 114b בבא מציעא קי״ד ב׳

Rabba bar Avuh now asks Elijah another question: From where is it derived with regard to a naked person that he may not separate teruma? He replied: As it is written: “And He see no unseemly thing in you” (Deuteronomy 23:15). This verse indicates that one may not recite any words of sanctity, including the blessing upon separating teruma, in front of one who is naked.

The amora proceeded to ask Elijah a different question and said to him: Is not the Master a priest? What is the reason that the Master is standing in a cemetery? Elijah said to him: Has the Master not studied the mishnaic order of Teharot? As it is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says that the graves of gentiles do not render one impure, as it is stated: “And you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are man” (Ezekiel 34:31), which teaches that you, i.e., the Jewish people, are called “man,” but gentiles are not called “man.” Since the Torah states with regard to ritual impurity imparted in a tent: “If a man dies in a tent” (Numbers 19:14), evidently impurity imparted by a tent does not apply to gentiles.

Rabba bar Avuh said to him: How could I be familiar with that baraita? If I cannot be proficient in the more commonly studied four orders of the Mishna, can I be knowledgeable in all six? Elijah said to him: Why are you not learned in them all? Rabba bar Avuh said to him: The matter of a livelihood is pressing for me, and I am therefore unable to study properly. Elijah led him and brought him into the Garden of Eden and said to him: Remove your cloak, gather up and take some of these leaves lying around. Rabba Bar Avuh gathered them up and took them.

When he was exiting, he heard a voice that declared: Who else consumes his World-to-Come like Rabba bar Avuh, who takes his merit of the next world for his use in the present one? He spread out his cloak and threw away the leaves. Even so, when he brought his cloak back, he discovered that the cloak had absorbed such a good scent from those leaves that he sold it for twelve thousand dinars. Since he knew that this was taken from his portion in the World-to-Come, he did not want to benefit from it himself, and he therefore divided the sum among his sons-in-law.

§ The Sages taught with regard to the verse: “If he be a poor man, you shall not sleep with his collateral” (Deuteronomy 24:12), but if he is wealthy, one may lie down. The Gemara asks: What is the tanna saying? Rav Sheshet said that this is what he is saying: And if he be a poor man, you shall not sleep while his collateral is with you; rather, you must restore it to him before the sun sets. But if he is a wealthy man, you may lie down while his collateral is with you.

The Sages taught: One who lends money to another is not permitted to take collateral from him, and is not obligated to return it to him, and transgresses all of these labels [shemot] of prohibitions. The meaning of this baraita is unclear, and the Gemara asks: What is the tanna saying? Rav Sheshet said: This is what he is saying: One who lends money to another is not permitted to take collateral from him, and if he did take collateral from him, he is obligated to return it to him. As for the clause: And he transgresses all of these labels of prohibitions, this is referring to the latter clause, i.e., the case implicit in the baraita, where the creditor took collateral from the debtor and did not return it, and the baraita explains that such a person violates all of the Torah prohibitions that apply to this situation.

Rava said: This is what the tanna is saying: One who lends money to another is not permitted to take collateral from him, and if he did take collateral from him, he is obligated to return it to him. In what case is this statement said? It is referring to where he took collateral from him when it was not at the time of the loan, but rather as a means of ensuring payment. But if he took collateral from him at the time of the loan, in which case the collateral serves as a guarantee of the loan, he is not obligated to return it to him. According to this interpretation, the statement: And he transgresses of all these labels of prohibitions, is referring to the first clause of the baraita, concerning the prohibition against taking collateral.

Rav Sheizevi taught the following baraita before Rava: With regard to the verse: “And if you take as collateral your neighbor’s garment, you shall restore it to him until the sun goes down” (Exodus 22:25), this is referring to a garment worn at night and teaches that the garment is returned during the day; and with regard to the verse: “You shall restore to him the collateral when the sun goes down” (Deuteronomy 24:13), this is referring to a garment worn during the day. Rava said to him: This statement is puzzling, as with regard to a garment worn in the day, why do I need it at night, and as for a garment worn at night, why do I need it in the day? What purpose is served by giving back the garments at such times?

Rav Sheizevi said to him: Do you think this baraita is so corrupt that I should erase it, i.e., no longer teach it? Rava said to him: No, do not erase it, because this is what it is saying: With regard to the verse “You shall restore it to him until when the sun goes down,” this is referring to a garment worn during the day, which may be taken as collateral by night but must be returned to the debtor for the day. With regard to the verse “You shall restore to him the collateral when the sun goes down,” this is referring to a garment worn at night, which may be taken as collateral by day.

§ Rabbi Yoḥanan said: If he took collateral from him, returned it, and then the debtor died, the creditor may take the collateral from the debtor’s children and is under no obligation to leave it with them. The Gemara raises an objection to this from a baraita: Rabbi Meir said: But since one takes collateral, why does he return it? The Gemara expresses surprise at this question: Why does he return it? The Merciful One states to return it. Rather, the question is as follows: Since he must return it,

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Bava Metzia 114b explores Elijah's teachings on teruma laws for the naked, priestly impurity near gentile graves, and Rabba bar Avuh's Garden of Eden vision.