Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Exodus 22:8/רמב"ן על שמות כ״ב:ח׳

אאֲשֶׁר יֹאמַר כִּי הוּא זֶה כָּתַב רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על שמות כ"ב:ח') לְפִי פְּשׁוּטוֹ אֲשֶׁר יֹאמַר הָעֵד כִּי הוּא זֶה שֶׁנִּשְׁבַּעְתָּ עָלָיו וַהֲרֵי הוּא אֶצְלְךָ. וְרַבּוֹתֵינוּ אָמְרוּ (ב"ק קו:) "כִּי הוּא זֶה", לְלַמֵּד שֶׁאֵין מְחַיְּבִין אוֹתוֹ שְׁבוּעָה אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן הוֹדָה בְּמִקְצָת, כָּךְ וְכָךְ אֲנִי חַיָּב וְהַמּוֹתָר נִגְנַב מִמֶּנִּי. וְזֶה הָעִנְיָן שֶׁכְּתָבוֹ הָרַב דִּבְרֵי יְחִידִים הוּא וְאֵינוֹ כַּהֲלָכָה (ב"ק קו. קז.), שֶׁהַשּׁוֹמְרִים אֵינָן צְרִיכִין כְּפִירָה בְּמִקְצָת וְהוֹדָאָה בְּמִקְצָת, וַאֲפִילּוּ כְּשֶׁטּוֹעֵן טַעֲנַת גַּנָּב בְּכָל הַפִּקָּדוֹן חַיָּב הוּא לִשָּׁבַע שְׁבוּעַת הַשּׁוֹמְרִים. וְעוֹד מִתְבָּאֵר בַּגְּמָרָא בִּרְאָיוֹת גְּמוּרוֹת כִּי כְּשֶׁהוּא כּוֹפֵר בְּעִקַּר הַפִּקָּדוֹן וְאוֹמֵר לֹא הִפְקַדְתָּ אֶצְלִי, אִם כּוֹפֵר בַּכֹּל פָּטוּר, וְאִם מוֹדֶה מִקְצָת חַיָּב שְׁבוּעָה, וְזֶה לְדִבְרֵי הַכֹּל, וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהָרַב אֵינוֹ אוֹמֵר כֵּן בְּפֵרוּשָׁיו בַּגְּמָרָא (ב"ק קז. ד"ה מעיז):
וְאִם כֵּן נֹאמַר כִּי הַכָּתוּב הַזֶּה לְפִי מִדְרַשׁ חֲכָמִים הוּא בְּטוֹעֵן לֹא הִפְקִיד אֶצְלִי מֵעוֹלָם, שֶׁאִם כָּפַר בַּכֹּל פָּטוּר, וְאִם הוֹדָה בְּמִקְצָת וְכָפַר בְּמִקְצָת חַיָּב שְׁבוּעָה, וְיֹאמַר אִם לֹא יִמָּצֵא הַגַּנָּב יִקְרַב בַּעַל הַבַּיִת אֶל הָאֱלֹהִים עַל כָּל טַעֲנַת פֶּשַׁע שֶׁיִּטְעַן עָלָיו פָּשַׁעְתָּ בַּשְּׁמִירָה, אוֹ אֲשֶׁר יֹאמַר הַשּׁוֹמֵר כִּי הוּא זֶה פִּקָּדוֹן שֶׁבְּיָדִי וְלֹא הִפְקַדְתָּ לִי יוֹתֵר, הַנִּפְקָד אֲשֶׁר יַרְשִׁיעוּן אוֹתוֹ הָאֱלֹהִים יְשַׁלֵּם שְׁנַיִם לְרֵעֵהוּ, וְהִנֵּה שְׁנֵיהֶם יְשַׁלְּמוּ, אֲבָל אֵין תַּשְׁלוּמֵי הַשְּׁנַיִם אֶלָּא בְּטוֹעֵן טַעֲנַת גַּנָּב, וְטַעֲנַת מוֹדֶה בְּמִקְצָת נוֹהֶגֶת בְּכָל הַתְּבִיעוֹת וַאֲפִילּוּ בְּהַלְוָאָה וּגְזֵלָה וּשְׁאָר עִנְיָנִים. וּבְאֵלֶּה הַדִּינִין מִקְרָא מוּעָט וַהֲלָכוֹת מְרֻבּוֹת, אֵין צֹרֶךְ לְבָאֵר מֵהֶם בְּכָאן אֶלָּא בִּכְדֵי יִשּׁוּב הַמִּקְרָאוֹת:

1WHEREOF ONE SAITH: ‘THIS IS IT.’ Rashi comments: “according to the literal sense it means: that which the witness will say ‘this is it — this is that article about which you have taken an oath [that it was stolen from you] but see, it is in your possession!’ And our Rabbis have explained that the phrase this is it teaches us that an oath cannot be imposed [by the court on a defendant] unless he admits part of the claim, saying ‘I owe you so and so much, but the rest was stolen from me.’”²¹⁸But this principle of partial admission which the Rabbi [Rashi] has written here, is in accordance with the opinion of certain individual Rabbis [in the Talmud],²¹⁹ but is not the accepted decision of the law, for guardians [to incur liability to an oath] need not partially deny and partially admit the claim,²²⁰ but even if they claim that the whole article was stolen, they still have to take the oath of the guardians, [unlike debts, which, if the debtor denies completely, do not require an oath of the Torah]. Moreover, it has been explained in the Gemara²²¹ with convincing proofs, that when he denies the very fact that he ever became a guardian, such as where he says “you have never given me the object to keep,” in that case if he denied it totally, he is free from taking an oath, and if he admitted it partially he is obliged to take an oath, this being the opinion of all Rabbis in the Talmud,²²² even though the Rabbi [Rashi] has not written so in his commentaries to the Gemara.²²¹ If so, we may say that the phrase [this is it — from which we derive the principle of partial admission, as explained above], speaks according to the interpretation of the Sages of a case where the guardian’s defense is: “He never gave me anything to keep,” in which case if he denied it totally he is free of an oath, and if he partially admitted it and partially denied it, he is liable to take an oath.²²³ Thus the verses are to be explained as follows: If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall come near unto the judges²¹⁴ — for every claim of trespass which he may claim against him, such as: “You were negligent in your guarding it,” or where the guardian says: “this is it, — this is what you have deposited with me, and you did not deposit any more with me” — then the one with whom the article was deposited that the judges will condemn, [upon testimony given before them that he embezzled it], shall pay double unto his neighbor. Thus, both [the debtor and the guardian] pay, but double restitution is only where the guardian claims falsely that it was stolen, and the rule concerning the plea of partial admission applies to all claims, even to loans, robbery and other matters. In all these laws the verses of Scripture are few and the rules many. But there is no need to explain them here, except in order to interpret the verses.