Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Deuteronomy 24:15/רמב"ן על דברים כ״ד:ט״ו

אוְטַעַם בְּיוֹמוֹ תִתֵּן שְׂכָרוֹ וְלֹא תָבוֹא עָלָיו הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, עַל דֶּרֶךְ הַפְּשָׁט בֵּאוּר מִמָּה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בַּתּוֹרָה (ויקרא יט יג), לֹא תָלִין פְּעֻלַּת שָׂכִיר אִתְּךָ עַד בֹּקֶר, כִּי דֶּרֶךְ הַכְּתוּבִים לְדַבֵּר בַּהֹוֶה, וְהַמִּנְהָג לִשְׂכֹּר הַפּוֹעֵל בְּיוֹם אֶחָד, וְלָעֶרֶב הוּא יֹצֵא טֶרֶם בֹּא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, וִיצַוֶּה הַכָּתוּב לְפָרְעוֹ בְּיוֹמוֹ בְּהַשְׁלִים מְלַאכְתּוֹ מִיָּד וְשֶׁלֹּא תָבוֹא עָלָיו הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּקְנֶה בִּשְׂכָרוֹ לוֹ וּלְאִשְׁתּוֹ וּלְבָנָיו מָה שֶׁיֹּאכְלוּ בַּלַּיְלָה, כִּי עָנִי הוּא כְּרֻבֵּי הַנִּשְׂכָּרִים, וְאֶל הַשָּׂכָר הַזֶּה הוּא נוֹשֵׂא נַפְשׁוֹ שֶׁיִּקְנֶה בּוֹ מָזוֹן לְהַחֲיוֹת נַפְשׁוֹ. יְלַמֵּד אוֹתָנוּ בְּכָאן כִּי מָה שֶׁאָמַר בַּתּוֹרָה, לֹא תָלִין פְּעֻלַּת שָׂכִיר אִתְּךָ עַד בֹּקֶר, הַכַּוָּנָה בּוֹ שֶׁתִּפְרָעֶנּוּ בְּיוֹמוֹ, שֶׁאִם לֹא תִּפְרָעֶנּוּ בְּצֵאתוֹ מִמְּלַאכְתּוֹ מִיָּד הִנֵּה יֵלֵךְ לְבֵיתוֹ וְיִשָּׁאֵר שְׂכָרוֹ אִתְּךָ עַד בֹּקֶר, וְיָמוּת הוּא בָּרָעָב בַּלַּיְלָה. וְכֵן כִּי הִיא כְּסוּתֹה לְבַדָּהּ הִיא שִׂמְלָתוֹ לְעֹרוֹ בַּמֶּה יִשְׁכָּב (שמות כב כו), יַזְכִּיר טַעַם הַמִּצְוָה בְּרֻבֵּי הַלָּאוִין. וְרַבּוֹתֵינוּ פֵּרְשׁוּ (ב"מ קי) כִּי הַכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה עַד בֹּקֶר, בִּשְׂכִיר יוֹם, וְשָׁב לְבָאֵר בְּכָאן דִּין שְׂכִיר לַיְלָה, וְהִנֵּה לְכָל אֶחָד זְמַן לְפֵרָעוֹן שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שָׁעוֹת. וְהוּא הָאֱמֶת בַּקַּבָּלָה וְהַנָּאוֹת בְּטַעַם נָכוֹן:

1IN THE SAME DAY THOU SHALT GIVE HIM HIS HIRE, NEITHER SHALT THE SUN GO DOWN UPON IT. The meaning thereof by way of the plain sense of Scripture is that this explains what is stated in the Torah, the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning,³⁶² for it is the manner of verses to speak of the common occurrence, and the custom is to hire a laborer for one day and for him to leave toward evening before sunset. And so Scripture commands [the employer] to pay him during his day as soon as he finishes his work, and that the sun should not set upon him [before he is paid], in order that he should be able to purchase with his wages what he, his wife, and his children, need to eat at night, for he is poor as are most of those who hire themselves out for the day, he has staked his life upon this wage to buy with it food to sustain his life. Thus he teaches us here that the intent of what He said in the Torah, the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning³⁶² is that you pay him during his day, for if you do not pay him when he leaves his work, he will go home and his wage will be left with you until morning and he may die of hunger at night. In a similar way is the verse, for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin; wherein shall he sleep?³⁶³ It states the reason for the commandment in most of these prohibitions. And our Rabbis have explained³⁶⁴ that the verse [the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night] until the morning³⁶² applies to a day-worker [who departs from work at sundown; the time for paying him his wages is the entire night, and this law is not violated before daybreak]. Then he reverted to explain here the law of a man who is hired for night-work [whose departure from work is at daybreak and the time for paying his wages is the whole day and the law is not violated until sundown]. Thus for each one, there is a twelve hour deadline for payment. This is the truth as received by tradition and is appropriate with correct interpretation.