Q&A: Taking, Taking
Taking, Taking
Question
At first glance, in the verse “I have given the money for the field; take it from me,” the meaning is “take the money” and not “take the field.” So how can one derive from this the law of betrothal of a woman, where the “taking” there is also effected through acquisition by money? There, “the field that Abraham acquired” speaks of Abraham acquiring the field, while “take it from me” is Abraham telling Ephron to take the money.
Answer
A verbal analogy is based on a similar word appearing in two different contexts. This is not a conceptual derivation, and therefore it is not bound to the plain meaning of the verse. However, some of the medieval authorities (Rishonim) wrote that this is not a verbal analogy but merely a clarification of the matter, and according to their view the difficulty is greater.
In Tosafot on the passage they noted this and wrote that they were not concerned about it, and the commentators explain that this is because of what I wrote. In Otzar HaMefarshim I saw references to Chiddushei HaRim, s.v. “de-kichah,” and to Yegiot Mordechai and Dibrot Moshe, note 7, which explained why in fact it is not a problem.