יום ד Date: 17 Tishrei, 5776 (10/19/16) – Bava Metzia Daf 23 ~ Eliezer Guterman

PERSONAL POINTERS

[23b bottom] Gemarah: A man found tar/pitch in his wine press and was told that he could take and keep it by Rav. But the man hesitated because of his concern over the correctness of the ruling (as he might be stealing someone else’s item). Rav told him to even split it with his own son, Chiya, to demonstrate how he was correct (in ruling that he was permitted to keep it).
R’ Rosner: It is important to note that when Rav was demonstrating how permissible it was, he did not say to split the findings with him, but rather to give it to his son. When one is ruling for another, he/she may not have even slight personal interests in mind. If there is any direct personal benefit involved, the ruling may (consciously or not) be skewed.

D-E-ep Thoughts: We must try to remain as level headed and non-judgemental as possible in all our daily dealings. Our evil inclination is always trying to catch us off guard (even though it is honestly helping us, with opportunities to grow). Whenever there is any benefit, pleasure, or monetary gain, we must put ourselves out of the picture and try to gain proper perspective from an outside third party. We should use our friends for external advice, or at least think of what we might say to someone else who would be asking us what to do in a similar situation.