Resources for Moed Katan 16

Rabbi Yitzchok Gutterman

  1. The גמרא says that the שליח בית דין is allowed to tell בית דין if the person he was מזמין to ב"ד treated him inappropriately and it is not considered לשון הרע. The גמרא proves this from the fact the משה’s messenger repeated back to משה that דתן ואבירם said העיני” האנשים ההם תנקר”. See the ירושלמיin פּאה פּרק א' הל' א that says that one is allowed to speak לשון הרע about בעלי מחלוקת. See theגליון הש"ס  there who quotes the חתם סופר who asked that based on this ירושלמי our גמרא should have no proof about whether a שליח בית דין is allowed to repeat what was said to him, since דתן ואבירם were infamous בעלי מחלוקת and it was מותר to speak לשון הרע about them anyway!? He answers that the ירושלמי is only allows speaking לשון הרע about בעלי מחלוקת where by doing so it will help to diffuse the מחלוקת. However, if it will make the מחלוקת even worse, then there is certainly no היתר. Since telling משה what דתן ואבירם certainly did not diffuse the מחלוקת, our גמרא proves that there must be some exception for a שליח בית דין. As to why the שליח בית דין has that dispensation, see the ריטב"א who explains that it is because we need to maintain respect towards ב"ד.
  2. The גמרא says that בית דין has a right to be מפקיר נכסים as we see from the story by עזרא who said that anyone who doesn’t come in three days will have his property become חרם. See רש"י who says that this is the source for הפקר ב"ד הפקר in all of ש"ס. See the מהר"ץ חיותhere who asks that the גמרא in יבמות on דף פּ"ט proves the concept of הפקר ב"ד הפקר from a totally different פּסוק in יהושע where the “ראשים” are able to be מנחיל the nation whatever they want. If so, how does רש"י know that the פּסוק that our גמרא quotes is the עיקר? He answers that there is no מחלוקת הסוגיות. Rather, our גמרא is proving that ב"ד has the right to take away money from people. The גמרא in יבמות is proving that ב"ד can be מזכה money to someone without them doing anything. Those are two total different concepts, and each פּסוק brought by the two גמרות fits the concept it is trying to prove. Whether ב"ד actually has the power to do both things is actually a big מחלוקת ראשונים ואחרונים.  For example, see the  אפרים מחנה in הלכות מכירה, קנין משיכה who says that while ב"ד has the power to be מפקיר (as you see from our גמרא), they don’t have the power to give something to someone else without them being קונה
  3. The גמרא discusses נידוי and נזיפה. While the גמרא mentions the details of what a person in נידוי can and cannot do, it does not discuss explicitly what a person in נזיפה can and cannot do. See the רא"שin סימן ז who says that a נזוף is really מותר in just about everything. People can eat with him and don’t need to stay away from him; he can greet them, wash his clothes, get a haircut, wear shoes, etc. The main thing he must do is stay indoors like a person who is embarrassed (maybe mortified is a better word) and in pain, and must make sure he does not come to see the person he insulted during that time. He must show people that he is in pain, and minimize his joking and business dealing. This is Paskened in שולחן ערוך in יו"ד סימן של"ד סעיף י"ד. However, theש"ך  there brings that he may not take a haircut as it is not an appropriate time for that.

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