Bava Kamma 41 - Rosh Chodesh Tevet - December 13, 1 Tevet

Today's daf is sponsored by Ellie Gellman in honor of Becky Portnoe's retirement. "Wishing you a healthy, relaxing and interesting new stage of life. And of course, now you will have lots more time for the daf!" Today's daf is sponsored by Rabbi Nicki Greninger in loving memory of Rabbi David Ellenson. "Beloved teacher, rabbi, leader, colleague, friend who brought so much light and love to the world and to the Jewish people. He was a fierce supporter of Israel, dedicated in the core of his neshama to teaching and learning, one of the greatest leaders of our generation. His menschlekeit was unparalleled. On this Chanukah and Rosh Chodesh, when we desperately need light, may his wisdom, leadership, and enormous heart continue to light our paths." According to the Torah, both a shor tam and a shor muad who kill a person get stoned, but the kofer (ransom) payment is only for a shur muad. If a shor tam who kills get stoned, how can the animal become a shor muad who kills someone? Different rabbis suggest eight different scenarios of how this can be - however many of the answers are rejected. The Gemara then brings a braita that explains what is learned from the words in the verse regarding the stoning of the animal, "and its flesh should not be eaten." Do we derive from those words that it is forbidden to eat the animal if one slaughtered it before it was stoned or that one cannot benefit from the meat after the animal is stoned? What is derived from other phrases in that verse? In the verse regarding the shor tam, it says, "And the owner of the ox shall be clear." Some derive from this that one cannot benefit from the ox, others that they cannot benefit from the hide, but Rabbi Eliezer learns from the phrase that there is no ransom payment for the owner of a shor tam who kills a person. Rabbi Akiva questions why there is even a need for a drasha teaching this, as since the ox would be killed, and half payment of a shor tam is from the body of the animal, presumably the ransom payment would be as well, and in this case, there is no body from which to pay! Rabbi Eliezer offers several possible suggestions of cases where the animal would not get killed, and in those cases a verse is needed to say that there is also no ransom payment.