Pisqa’ 1941
1
“Who is the man who has built a new house” (Dt.20:5)?
I might infer only that
[this exemption applies to]
one who built a house!
On what basis do I know to include
one who inherited a house,
one who purchased a house,
or one who received it as a gift?
The Teaching states:
“Who is the man who has built” (Dt.20:5)—
[building includes any mode of acquisition].
“A house” (Dt.20:5)—
I might infer only that
[this exemption] applies to a house (bayit)!
On what basis do I know to include
a storage shed for straw (beit2 hateven),
a cattle-barn (beit habaqar),
a wood-shed (beit ha`eitzim),
or a silo (beit ha-‘otzarot)?
The Teaching states:
“Who has built” (Dt.20:5)—
[a house includes any form of permanent shelter].3
If so, is it possible to say that
[this exemption] applies even to
the builder of a gate-house (beit sha`ar),
a portico, or a balcony?
The Teaching states:
“A house” (Dt.20:5)—
Since a house is distinctive
in serving as a dwelling-place (beit dirah),
these structures,
which do not primarily serve as a dwelling-place,
must be excluded from the exemption.4
“And who hasn’t yet dedicated it” (Dt.20:5)—
this prevents a robber [from claiming an exemption].
2
“He shall go and return to his home” (Dt.20:5)—
that is, he shall go and heed
the instructions of the Warrior Priest to return.
“Lest he die in battle” (Dt.20:5)—
failing to heed the instructions of the Warrior Priest,
he will eventually die in battle.5
“And another man will consecrate it” (Dt.20:5)—
is it possible to say that
his uncle or cousin might take the house?
Here it is stated:
“Another man will consecrate it” (Dt.20:5),
and elsewhere it is stated:
“Another man will take her” (Dt.20:7; cf. Dt.28:30)—
just as the other man discussed elsewhere
implies a stranger,6
so, too, the other man discussed here
implies a stranger.7
- H:214-215; JN2:82-83.
- Beit is the construct state of bayit (Heb: “house”). The point of the exegesis is to include in the rule items designated for shelter of any kind.
- //M. Sotah 8:2.
- Cf. M. Sotah 8:3.
- Cf. Pisqa’ 195.2.
- Heb: nochri; commonly denotes a gentile. Here, it refers to an Israelite who has no kinship ties to a particular Israelite family.
- //T. Sotah 7:22.