Mishnah.org Logo
Perek 5

Mishnayos Bava Kamma Perek 5 Mishnah 4

בבא קמא פרק ה׳ משנה ד׳

4
In the case of an ox that was intending to gore another ox but struck a pregnant woman, and her offspring, i.e., the fetuses, emerged due to miscarriage, the owner of the ox is exempt from paying compensation for miscarried offspring. But in the case of a person who was intending to injure another but struck a pregnant woman instead, and her offspring emerged due to miscarriage, he pays compensation for miscarried offspring. How does he pay compensation for miscarried offspring, i.e., how is their value assessed? The court appraises the value of the woman by calculating how much she would be worth if sold as a maidservant before giving birth, and how much she would be worth after giving birth. He then pays the difference in value to the woman’s husband. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: If so, the consequences would be absurd, as when a woman gives birth her value increases. Rather, the court appraises how much the offspring are worth, and the one liable for the damage gives that amount to the husband. And if she does not have a husband, e.g., her husband died, he gives the money to his heirs. If the pregnant woman was a Canaanite maidservant and then she was emancipated, or a convert, and she was married to an emancipated Canaanite slave or to a convert who died without any heirs, the one who caused the damage is exempt from pay-ing compensation for miscarried offspring. This is because this payment is made specifically to the husband, not to the woman.

שׁוֹר שֶׁהָיָה מִתְכַּוֵּן לַחֲבֵרוֹ וְהִכָּה אֶת הָאִשָּׁה וְיָצְאוּ יְלָדֶיהָ, פָּטוּר מִדְּמֵי וְלָדוֹת. וְאָדָם שֶׁהָיָה מִתְכַּוֵּן לַחֲבֵרוֹ וְהִכָּה אֶת הָאִשָּׁה וְיָצְאוּ יְלָדֶיהָ, מְשַׁלֵּם דְּמֵי וְלָדוֹת. כֵּיצַד מְשַׁלֵּם דְּמֵי וְלָדוֹת, שָׁמִין אֶת הָאִשָּׁה כַּמָּה הִיא יָפָה עַד שֶׁלֹּא יָלְדָה וְכַמָּה הִיא יָפָה מִשֶּׁיָּלָדָה. אָמַר רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל, אִם כֵּן, מִשֶּׁהָאִשָּׁה יוֹלֶדֶת, מַשְׁבַּחַת. אֶלָּא שָׁמִין אֶת הַוְּלָדוֹת כַּמָּה הֵן יָפִין, וְנוֹתֵן לַבַּעַל. וְאִם אֵין לָהּ בַּעַל, נוֹתֵן לְיוֹרְשָׁיו. הָיְתָה שִׁפְחָה וְנִשְׁתַּחְרְרָה, אוֹ גִיּוֹרֶת, פָּטוּר:

ד׳

שור שהיה מתכוון לחבירו וכו' – since our Mishnah had to teach the “concluding” (actually, the next phrase) part [of the Mishnah] that a person who intended [to strike] his fellow, the first part [of the Mishnah] teaches also regarding an ox that intends [to gore] its fellow [ox], for even if it had intended [to gore] a woman , the [owner of the] ox is exempt from the payment [for the value of] the offspring, for he is not liable for the payment [for the value of] offspring other than of a human being alone.

א"כ משהאשה יולדת משבחת – if so, that this is what we assess just as you said, it is found that he doesn’t give you anything for from when the woman gives birth, her worth is enhanced for her monetary value is less to be sold prior to her giving birth when she is in danger of dying in the pain of childbirth.

היתה שפחה ונשתחררה – meaning to say, when she was freed, she was married to a convert or to a manumitted slave or a female convert is married to one of them , and the husband (who was a freed slave or a convert) passes away, [the owner of the one who caused the damages] is exempt, for the individual who takes possession of the property of the convert who died and he has no heirs has merited, and this comes prior to acquiring what is in his hands. And the same law applies also to an Israelite woman who married a convert, and the convert died, he is exempt, for the value of the offspring goes to the husband, but because an undefined freed woman slave or a female convert are married to a male convert or to a freed slave, for this reason, [the Mishnah] took the language of a maidservant and a female convert.

שור שהיה מתכוין לחבירו וכו׳ איידי דבעי למיתני סיפא אדם שהיה מתכוין לחבירו, תנא רישא נמי שור שהיה מתכוין לחבירו. דאפילו היה מתכוין לאשה. פטור השור מדמי ולדות, שאין חייב בדמי ולדות אלא אדם בלבד:

אם כן משהאשה יולדת משבחת. אם כן דכך שמין כדקאמרת, אשתכח דלא יהיב ליה מידי, שהרי משהאשה יולדת משבחת, שדמיה פחותין לימכר קודם שתלד שמסוכנת היא למות בצער הלידה:

היתה שפחה ונשתחררה. כלומר היתה משוחררת נשואה לגר או לעבד משוחרר, או גיורת נשואה לאחד מהן, ומת הבעל, פטור. דהמחזיק בנכסי הגר שמת ואין לו יורשים, זכה, וזה קודם לזכות במה שבידו. והוא הדין נמי לישראלית הנשואה לגר ומת הגר, דפטור, דהא דמי ולדות לבעל. אלא משום דסתם משוחררת וגיורת נשואות לגר ולמשוחרר, להכי נקט שפחה וגיורת: