Talmud - Bava Metzia 54b בבא מציעא נ״ד ב׳

Learn from it that the legal status of its one-fifth payment is like that of the principal itself, in that it must be paid from non-sacred property. The Gemara affirms: Learn from it that it is so.

§ Rava said: With regard to robbery, it is written: “And he shall restore the robbed item that he robbed…and he shall add its one-fifth payments to it” (Leviticus 5:23–24), and we learned in a mishna (Bava Kamma 103a): If the robber gave the robbery victim the principal and took a false oath to him concerning the additional one-fifth payment, asserting that he had already paid it, then the additional one-fifth is considered a new principal obligation. This robber adds an additional one-fifth payment apart from the additional one-fifth payment about which he had taken a false oath. If he then takes a false oath concerning the second one-fifth payment, he is assessed an additional one-fifth payment for that oath, until the principal, i.e., the additional one-fifth payment about which he has most recently taken the false oath, is reduced to less than the value of one peruta.

Rava continues: With regard to teruma too, it is written: “If a man eats that which is sacred unwittingly, then he shall add its one-fifth payment to it” (Leviticus 22:14), and as we learned in a mishna (Terumot 6:1): One who partakes of teruma unwittingly pays the principal and an additional one-fifth. This is the halakha whether it concerns one who partakes of teruma, or one who drinks it, or one who applies oil to himself; or whether it is ritually pure teruma or ritually impure teruma. He pays its one-fifth payment, and if he partook of that one-fifth, he pays one-fifth of its one-fifth. Rava concludes: While with regard to second tithe, it is neither written in the Torah, nor taught in a mishna, nor raised as a dilemma before us by the amora’im.

The Gemara pursues a similar line of inquiry: With regard to consecrated property it is written: “And if he who consecrated it will redeem his house, then he shall add one-fifth of the money of your valuation unto it, and it shall be his” (Leviticus 27:15), and we learned in a mishna (55b): One who redeems his own consecrated property that he consecrated himself adds one-fifth to the sum of the redemption. We learned one-fifth; we did not learn one-fifth of the one-fifth. What is the halakha? The Gemara elaborates: With regard to teruma it is written: “Then he shall add,” and with regard to consecrated property too, isn’t it written: “Then he shall add”? Apparently, in a case of consecrated property one also pays one-fifth of the one-fifth.

Or perhaps we should learn the halakha as follows: With regard to teruma it is written: “Then he shall add [veyasaf ],” and the halakha of one-fifth of the one-fifth is derived in this manner: If you take the letter vav of the word veyasaf, and cast it to the end of the word ḥamishito, its one-fifth payment, it then becomes the plural ḥamishitav, its one-fifths payments, as it is written in the case of robbery, indicating that one pays one-fifth of one-fifth. With regard to consecrated property, it is written: “Then he shall add [veyasaf ] one-fifth [ḥamishit].” Even when you take the vav of veyasaf and cast it to the end of the word ḥamishit, ultimately it is only ḥamishito, in the singular, indicating payment of only a single one-fifth. What is the halakha?

The Gemara suggests: And why not derive the halakha of consecrated property from the fact that it is tantamount to a second consecration. When one redeems consecrated property with another item, although that item is thereby consecrated, not all the halakhot of consecrated property apply to it. And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: For redemption of first consecration one adds one-fifth; for redemption of second consecration one does not add one-fifth. Rav Pappi said to Ravina that this is what Rava said: The legal status of the additional one-fifth is like that of initial consecration, not like that of second consecration.

The Gemara asks: What halakhic conclusion was reached about this dilemma? Rav Tavyumei said in the name of Abaye that the verse states with regard to one who redeems a house that he consecrated: “Then he shall add one-fifth of the money of your valuation unto it” (Leviticus 27:15). The Torah juxtaposes its payment of one-fifth to the money of its valuation, i.e., the consecrated house: Just as when redeeming the money of its valuation one adds one-fifth, so too, when redeeming the money of its one-fifth, one adds one-fifth as well.

§ The Gemara analyzes the matter itself. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: For redemption of first consecration one adds one-fifth; for redemption of second consecration one does not add one-fifth. Rava said: What is the reason for the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi? It is as the verse states: “And if he who consecrated it will redeem his house, then he shall add one-fifth of the money of your valuation unto it” (Leviticus 27:15), from which it may be inferred that when he who consecrates the house redeems it, he adds one-fifth, but this is not so with regard to one who associates an item with an existing sanctity, as in this case, where the sanctity of the one-fifth is derived from its association with the sanctity of the house.

The Gemara relates that the tanna who recited mishnayot and baraitot in the study hall taught a baraita before Rabbi Elazar. It is written: “And if it is of a non-kosher animal, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation” (Leviticus 27:27). This verse teaches that just as a non-kosher animal that was consecrated is unique in that it is an example of initial consecration and it is devoted entirely to Heaven, as neither the owner nor anyone else may derive benefit from it after its consecration, and one violates the prohibition against misuse of consecrated property by using it after it was consecrated, so too, with regard to any item that both undergoes initial consecration and is devoted entirely to Heaven, one violates the prohibition against misuse of consecrated property by using it after it was consecrated.

Rabbi Elazar said to the tanna: Granted, the statement: It is devoted entirely to Heaven, serves to exclude offerings of lesser sanctity, e.g., peace-offerings. Since the owners have a share in them, as they may partake of those offerings, they are not subject to the prohibition against misuse of consecrated property. But what does the mention of initial consecration in the baraita serve to exclude? Is it that initial consecration is subject to the prohibition against misuse of consecrated property and ultimate consecration is not subject to the prohibition against misuse of consecrated property? Even the property consecrated last in a series of redemptions is full-fledged consecrated property. Perhaps it is with regard to the matter of the payment of one-fifth that you are saying this, and it is in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi? The tanna said to him: Yes, that is what I am saying.

Apropos that baraita, Rav Ashi said to Ravina: Is it so that a non-kosher animal is subject to initial consecration

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

BavaMetzia 54b examines how one-fifth penalty payments apply to robbery, teruma, and consecrated property under Torah law.