יום ג Date: 9 Tishrei, 5776 (10/11/16) – Bava Metzia Daf 15 ~ Eliezer Guterman

ALTRUISTIC ALLOTMENTS

[15b middle] Shmuel: If a purchaser knew that the field did not belong to a seller, and yet he bought it anyway, the purchaser is not entitled even to the original price of the purchase. We assume that the purchaser wanted to simply give the seller the money as a gift and did it in this particular manner since he thought that the seller might be bashful (to accept it as a gift).

D-E-ep Thoughts: When giving ‘charity’ it is important to do so without embarrassing the recipients. Although the best way is to help people find real jobs (so they are able to then support themselves and not have to rely on handouts), if we are able to give anonymously, we get much more reward (and help keep people more dignified in the process so they do not feel indebted to a particular person or group of individuals). This also helps to subdue our egos since we cannot be arrogant about seeing our names in lights or demanding thanks from the beneficiaries.