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Perek 5

Mishnayos Nedarim Perek 5 Mishnah 5

נדרים פרק ה׳ משנה ה׳

5
And what are examples of objects belonging to those who ascended from Babylonia? For example, the Temple Mount, and the Temple Courtyards, and the water cistern in the middle of the road. And what are objects of that city? For example, the city square, and the bathhouse, and the synagogue, and the ark which houses the Torah scrolls, and the Torah scrolls. And one who writes, i.e., signs, his portion of the shared objects of that city over to the Nasi. Rabbi Yehuda says: This is the halakha with regard to both one who writes his portion over to the Nasi and one who writes it over to a common person. Rabbi Yehuda adds: What is the difference between one who writes it over to the Nasi and one who writes it over to a common person? That one who writes it to the Nasi need not formally confer possession of the item, whereas one who writes it over to a common person must confer possession to him. And the Rabbis say: Both this one and that one must confer possession, and they specifically mentioned the Nasi only so as to speak in the present, addressing situations that were prevalent. Rabbi Yehuda says: The people of Galilee do not have to write their portion over to the Nasi because their fathers already wrote it for them, declaring that all the public property belongs to him.
וְאֵיזֶהוּ דָבָר שֶׁל עוֹלֵי בָבֶל, כְּגוֹן הַר הַבַּיִת וְהָעֲזָרוֹת וְהַבּוֹר שֶׁבְּאֶמְצַע הַדֶּרֶךְ. וְאֵיזֶהוּ דָבָר שֶׁל אוֹתָהּ הָעִיר, כְּגוֹן הָרְחָבָה וְהַמֶּרְחָץ, וּבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת וְהַתֵּבָה וְהַסְּפָרִים. וְהַכּוֹתֵב חֶלְקוֹ לַנָּשִׂיא. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אֶחָד כּוֹתֵב לַנָּשִׂיא וְאֶחָד כּוֹתֵב לְהֶדְיוֹט. מַה בֵּין כּוֹתֵב לַנָּשִׂיא לְכוֹתֵב לְהֶדְיוֹט, שֶׁהַכּוֹתֵב לַנָּשִׂיא אֵינוֹ צָרִיךְ לְזַכּוֹת. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אֶחָד זֶה וְאֶחָד זֶה צְרִיכִין לְזַכּוֹת. לֹא דִבְּרוּ בַנָּשִׂיא אֶלָּא בַהֹוֶה. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אֵין אַנְשֵׁי גָלִיל צְרִיכִין לִכְתֹּב, שֶׁכְּבָר כָּתְבוּ אֲבוֹתֵיהֶם עַל יְדֵיהֶם:
ה׳

הרחבה (town square) – the markets that are in the city.

והתיבה (ark) -where they place in it the Scrolls/books.

והספרים – that the people of the city buy to study them.

והכותב חלקו לנשיא – It explains in the Gemara (Tractate Nedarim 48a) that this is what it is said, and what is their remedy? They should write/assign their portion to the President/Nasi, meaning to say that those who made vows are not to benefit from each other and are prohibited to use the street of the city and the Ark and the Scrolls/books, each one of them should write/assign the part/share that each has to the President/Nasi, and afterwards each one of them will be able to use them, for they are using the wealth of the President/Nasi, and not one of them is benefitting from his fellow.

רבי יהודה אומר – if they wanted, let them assign their shares/portions to an ordinary person, but if they wrote/assigned them to the Nasi, there is no need to make assignment to him/to take possession of it through another person, since because of the importance of the Nasi, he acquires even though that he was not assigned it by another, but an ordinary person does not acquire until he makes assignment to him/he takes possession of it through another [person].

אנשי גליל אין צריכין לזכות – the people of the Galilee were quarrelsome (see Talmud Nedarim 48a) and through their anger, they would make vows against benefiting from one another, their fathers stood up and assigned their shares to the Nasi, so that if their children after them would make vows forbidding benefit from one another, they would not be forbidden in the street of the city or the Ark or the Scrolls/Books, for they are the wealth of the Nasi.

הרחבה. השווקין שבעיר:

והתיבה. שמניחין בה ספרים:

והספרים. שקונים בני העיר ללמוד בהם:

והכותב חלקו לנשיא. מפרש בגמרא דהכי קתני, ומה תקנתן, יכתבו חלקן לנשיא, כלומר אלו שנדרו הנאה זה מזה ואסורים להשתמש ברחובה של עיר ובתיבה ובספרים, יכתוב כל אחד מהם חלקו שיש לו ברחבה ובתיבה ובספרים לנשיא, ואחר כך יוכל כל אחד מהם להשתמש בהם, שבממון של נשיא הם משתמשים ואין אחד מהם נהנה משל חבירו:

רבי יהודה אומר. אם ירצו יכתבו חלקם להדיוט, אלא שאם כתבו לנשיא אין צריך לזכות לו ע״י אחר, דמשום חשיבותו של נשיא קונה אף על פי שלא זיכה לו על ידי אחר, ובהדיוט לא קנה עד שיזכה לו על ידי אחר:

אנשי גליל אין צריכין לזכות. אנשי גליל קנטרנים היו ובכעסן היו נודרים הנאה זה מזה, עמדו אבותיהן וכתבו חלקיהן לנשיא, שאם בניהם אחריהם ידרו הנאה זה מזה לא יהיו אסורים ברחבה של עיר או בתיבה או בספרים, דממון נשיא הם: