Bava Kamma 7 - 9: Discussions among Wise Students

בס"ד

After a discussion of the types of property damages. The Gemara discusses the medium of exchange used for payment. It first states (Exodus 21:34) that the person who causes the damage must make restitution. The text uses the word כֶּסֶף. The purest translation of כֶּסֶף is silver, but it is commonly understood to mean cash or money. The Midrash credits Abraham our patriarch as being the first person to use silver as a medium of exchange and even using standard weights. The shekel is the currency for the State of Israel, and is first mentioned in the Book of Genesis. It was a unit of weight, around 9.6 or 9.8 grams (0.34 or 0.35 oz). However silver was valued for its use in things like jewelry and eating utensils, as such it was still a barter item. Its use here seems to be as a medium of exchange. 

A little later (Ibid 22:4) the Chumash states that the person who has caused damage must pay with the best of his field or orchard. In other words crops are being used to settle the obligation, which in this situation would be an act of bartar. What constitutes the “best” (מֵיטַב) is the subject of a debate. Rabbi Akiva, following the fundamental text of the Torah says that it is the best of the damager’s field. Rabbi Yishmael, using a system of logic, claims it is the best of the damagee’s field. In addition another source (a Beraisa בָּרַיְתָא‎) is brought analyzing the phrase, “will pay, money (כסף) he will return”, and saying the word, ישיב (he will return), is redundant. This redundancy is meant to teach that any item worth money, including an inferior commodity, constitutes a valid form of restitution. 

The Gemara then analyzes whether the “best of his field”, עידית in Aramaic, applies to the relative quality in the person's field or if it means generally accepted evaluations. Germane to this there are several discussions, often entertaining and interesting. One concerns the quality of goods that can be used to satisfy various obligations. It also analyzes the effect of seasonal variations in the price of produce on the calculation of the amount to be paid. Another discusses priority in payment using this approach.

At some point the focus on the basic issues is lost resulting in confusion about them. What remains is a discussion of informed students in the beis midrash with later works rendering a legal analysis and conclusion. It seems to me that the intent of the Chumash is that damages should be paid in legal tender. But, in a barter economy the damager is required to use his best crops to pay off the obligation. However if there is going to be a problem with collection, it behooves the injured party to take whatever he can and be done with it. The Gemara, though, does not say that, at least not explicitly. 

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