Mishnayos Meilah Perek 6 Mishnah 1
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מעילה פרק ו׳ משנה א׳
With regard to an agent who performed his agency properly, if he was tasked to make use of a particular item, and the one who appointed him forgot that it was a consecrated item, the homeowner, who appointed him, is liable for misuse of the consecrated item, as the agent acted on his behalf. Contrary to other cases of agency, where the guiding principle is that there is no agency in the performance of a transgression, and the agent is liable, in this case there is agency, and the homeowner is liable for the action of the agent. But if he did not perform his agency properly, the agent is liable for misuse of the consecrated item, as once the agent deviates from his agency, he ceases to be an agent, and his actions are attributable to him. How so? If the homeowner said to the agent: Give meat to the guests, and he gave them liver; or if he said: Give them liver, and he gave them meat, the agent is liable for misuse of the consecrated item, as he deviated from his agency. If the homeowner said to the agent: Give them meat, a piece for this guest and a piece for that guest, and the agent says: Each of you take two pieces, and each of the guests took three pieces, all of them are liable for misuse. The homeowner is liable for their consumption of the first piece of meat, as with regard to that piece his instructions were fulfilled. The agent is liable for the second piece, which he added to the instructions of the homeowner. Finally, the guests are liable for the third piece, which they took at their own initiative beyond the instructions of the agent. If the homeowner said to the agent: Bring me this item or this money from the window in the wall or from the chest [hadeluskema], and the agent obeyed and brought it to him from the place that he instructed him, even though the homeowner said: In my heart, my desire was only that he should bring me the item from that other place, and as he brought it from this place he did not fulfill my instructions, nevertheless the homeowner is liable for misuse if the item or money is consecrated, as the agent did in fact fulfill his instructions. But if the homeowner said to the agent: Bring me this item or this money from the window in the wall, and the agent brought it to him from the chest; or if the homeowner said to the agent: Bring me this item or this money from the chest, and the agent brought it to him from the window, the agent is liable for misuse.
הַשָּׁלִיחַ שֶׁעָשָׂה שְׁלִיחוּתוֹ, בַּעַל הַבַּיִת מָעַל. לֹא עָשָׂה שְׁלִיחוּתוֹ, הַשָּׁלִיחַ מָעַל. כֵּיצַד. אָמַר לוֹ, תֵּן בָּשָׂר לָאוֹרְחִים וְנָתַן לָהֶם כָּבֵד, כָּבֵד וְנָתַן לָהֶם בָּשָׂר, הַשָּׁלִיחַ מָעַל. אָמַר לוֹ, תֵּן לָהֶם חֲתִיכָה חֲתִיכָה, וְהוּא אָמַר טֹלוּ שְׁתַּיִם שְׁתַּיִם, וְהֵם נָטְלוּ שָׁלשׁ שָׁלשׁ, כֻּלָּן מָעֲלוּ. אָמַר לוֹ, הָבֵא לִי מִן הַחַלּוֹן אוֹ מִגְּלֻסְקְמָא, וְהֵבִיא לוֹ, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאָמַר בַּעַל הַבַּיִת לֹא הָיָה בְלִבִּי אֶלָּא מִזֶּה וְהֵבִיא מִזֶּה, בַּעַל הַבַּיִת מָעַל. אֲבָל אִם אָמַר לוֹ, הָבֵא לִי מִן הַחַלּוֹן וְהֵבִיא לוֹ מִגְּלֻסְקְמָא, אוֹ מִן גְּלֻסְקְמָא וְהֵבִיא לוֹ מִן הַחַלּוֹן, הַשָּׁלִיחַ מָעָל:
Bartenura
השליח. שנתן לו בעל הבית הקדש או מעות הקדש להוציאם בתורת חולין, ועשה השליח שליחותו:
בעל הבית מעל. דבמעילה יש שליח לדבר עבירה. ובכל התורה כולה אין שליח לדבר עבירה, חוץ ממעילה משום דכתיב בה (במדבר ה׳) ואשמה הנפש ההיא, מי ששגג תחילה דהיינו המשלח:
תן בשר לאורחים. מאותו בשר של הקדש:
ונתן להם כבד. של הקדש:
והוא אומר טלו שתים וכו׳ ובלבד שיאמר השליח טלו שתים מדעתי, אז בעל הבית מעל, דלא עקר השליח שליחותו אע״פ שהוסיף על דברי המשלח, הלכך המשלח מעל שהרי נעשית שליחותו, והשליח מעל על זאת שהוסיף מדעתו, והאורחים נמי חייבים על השלישית שנטלו מדעתם. אבל אם לא אמר השליח טלו שתים מדעתי, אלא טלו שתים בשליחות בעל הבית, המשלח מעל שהרי נעשה דברו, והשליח פטור מפני שהוסיף על שליחות בעל הבית ולא עקר את השליחות ומה שהוסיף לא הוסיף מדעתו:
גלוסקמא. בלשון יון קורין לתיבה גלוסקוס. וישם בארון, תרגום ירושלמי ושוון יתיה בגלוסקמא:
אע״פ שאמר בעל הבית לא היה בלבי אלא מזה כו׳ מעל. לפי שעשה השליח מאמרו, ודברים שבלב אינן דברים:
השליח – the owner of the house/householder gave him (i.e., the agent) something that is dedicated to a sacred purpose of monies dedicated to the Temple to remove them in the designation of unconsecrated [things], and the agent performed his agency.
בעל הבית מעל – for in regards to religious sacrilege, there Is a deputy to an illegal act (i.e., in this case, the responsibility for an illegal act can be shifted to the employer – as opposed to the normal scenario where it cannot – see Talmud Kiddushin 42b). But in entire Torah, there is no deputy for an illegal act except for the case of religious sacrilege/misappropriation because it is written concerning it (Numbers 5:6): “and that person realizes his guilt,” the person who acted inadvertently firs , which is the person who sent the individual representing him.
תן בשר לאורחים – from that meat that is dedicated to a sacred purpose.
ונתן להם כבד – [liver] dedicated to a sacred purpose.
והוא אומר טלו שתים – but only/provided that the agent would say, “take two [pieces],” from my own intention, then the owner of the house committed sacrilege/misappropriation , for the agent did not abrogate his agency even though he added on to the words of the person sending him, therefore, the person sending him misappropriated/committed sacrilege for his agency had been fulfilled, and the agent [himself] misappropriated/committed sacrilege because he added of his own consent/knowledge, and the guests also are liable on the third piece [of meat] that they took from their own consent/knowledge. But if the agent did not say, “take two [pieces of meat] from my own knowledge,” but rather [said], “take two [pieces of meat] through the agency of the owner of the house,” the person who sent him committed sacrilege for his words had been fulfilled, but the agent is exempt because he [merely] added upon the agency of the owner of the house and did not abrogate his agency – but what he had added, he did not add with his own consent.
גלוסקמא (chest/case) – in the Greek language, they call a chest/case a גלוסקמא (Genesis 50:26): “and placed in a coffin [in Egypt],” the Aramaic Targum/translation “and they placed him in a chest.”
אע"פ שאמר בעל הבית לא יה בלבי אלא מזה כו' מעל – because the agent acted according to his statement/word, but matters that are in the heart are not matters (as he had abrogated his agency).