Q&A: Notes on the Chapter “One Who Sells a Ship,” page 73
Notes on the Chapter “One Who Sells a Ship,” page 73
Question
In honor of my teacher and master, the great rabbi, may he live long and well,
I have several questions and comments on the chapter “One Who Sells a Ship,” and I would be happy to receive a reply.
I ask forgiveness for the trouble, but it is Torah, and I need to learn, etc.
Bava Batra 73a.
A) “A sail [nis adra], and so it says: ‘Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your covering, to serve you as a sail.'”
See Rashbam: “Adra” — this is the curtain spread over the mast to move the ship with the wind, “voile” in Old French.
“And so it says” — that is, adra, which is made of linen and hemp, a kind of cloth.
And see Rashi on Gittin 87b: “Makhta” — a sail, “over which they spread” the ship’s curtain, and this requires clarification.
B) Rashbam: “And so it says” — “for the ‘igung’ in our Mishnah is a term of delay, as it is written: ‘Will you keep them waiting [te’aggena]?’ — like ‘Will you make yourselves wait,’ that you should be delayed from marrying a husband. This implies that the ‘ugin’ in our Mishnah means ‘igung.'”
I did not understand his words; please explain.
73b:
C) “And he held two cups of wine in his hand, and poured from this one into that one and from that one into this one, and not a single drop fell to the ground. And that day, ‘They mounted up to the heavens, they went down to the depths’…”
And Rashbam says: “Two cups of wine” — “both of them full of wine,” and he would pour both of them together, one into the other, while swaying, and not even one drop spilled, even though that day there was a storm wind, so that those who go down to the sea in ships were rising to the heavens and descending to the depths from the force of the wind, and nevertheless not a drop fell to the ground.
Rashash objected that this is impossible — and how did he know it?
Seemingly, it is obvious that Rashbam learned this from the wording of the Gemara, “two cups of wine,” which indicates that both were full of wine. Simple enough.
However, what still needs a bit of clarification is what Rashbam wrote further on: “and even though that day there was a wind… nevertheless not a drop fell…”
For seemingly this is not such a great novelty; rather, the novelty is that even though both were full of wine, nevertheless not a drop fell. This requires clarification.
D) Rashbam: “Like heating a kettle of water” — enough to heat a kettle of “hot” water.
Seemingly the word “hot” is hard to understand, for one does not heat hot water. This requires clarification.
Signed with great respect,
Sh’
Answer
Hello.
I understand that the great genius in question is me (since this email did not arrive to me by accident). 🙂
A) Despite my “genius,” may I live long and well, I did not understand what the question is.
B) Just as it sounds. “Igung” is a term of delay, just as an “agunah” is a woman delayed from remarrying. Therefore an anchor is that which delays the ship from moving.
C) The novelty is the combination: they were full, and there was also wind. And by the way, your comment is incorrect that the cups must necessarily have been full. So perhaps Rashbam’s intention really is that they were not filled to the brim, but “full” meaning that they contained a lot of wine, and the whole novelty is that despite the storm the wine did not spill. That nicely resolves your questions against each other. So say my newly revealed words of genius. But there is no need to say that all this is, of course, mere pilpul, and in my poverty I do not see what difficulty there is here. And by the way, even with two completely full cups this is in principle possible (and certainly the acrobatics here are no less than Samuel, who was expert in pouring, and that is enough said).
D) One heats a kettle for hot water (that is intended for heating water), meaning one heats it until the water becomes hot.
After your introductory flattery, I was worried and afraid lest you had laid a trap for me, and that your questions were not fitting for a boor like me. But in the end I wonder whether you are making fun of me, and somehow mixed up Passover with Purim; and this needs further thought.
Discussion on Answer
Because he wanted to prove his point.
Many thanks.
Why didn’t Rashbam simply write: “ugin means delay,” and leave it at that?
Why did he write that “igung” means delay, and that “ugin” means “igung”?