יום ו Date: 5 Adar, 5777 (3/3/17) – Bava Basra Daf 40 ~ Eliezer Guterman

PROPOSING PROPERTIES

[40b bottom] Gemarah: A man wished to marry a certain woman, but she would only marry him if he would give her all his property. The man agreed and his oldest son got upset that he would lose out on his inheritance. So the man secretly told witnesses to write a document gifting it to his son (before giving it all to the woman). Rava ruled that neither the wife nor the son acquires the man’s property [since ‘secret gifts’ do not have validity for the son, and the the man’s intentions were revealed that he truly did not want his wife to have his property so she loses out also].

D-E-ep Thoughts: It is important to maintain open honesty in all our relationships. (As in the story,) everyone ends up losing when there is deceit involved. When we deal with truth, we truly prosper. Additionally, since one can never fool G-d, we should be crystal clear with how we pray and speak to Hashem.

Today’s P.I.P. (Put Into Practice) TIP: Try not to deal with even ‘white lies’ in family and business settings. The more straightforward we are, the more respectable we become, and the greater Kiddush Hashem we create.