- Two different sources brought as the source for the warning of מוציא שם רע
The Gemara asks: אזהרה למוציא שם רע מנלן – From where do we derive the source for the warning of a defamer? Rebbe Elazar says: It is from the passuk, "לא תלך רכיל" – You shall not go out as a gossipmonger. Rebbe Nassan says: It is from the passuk, "ונשמרת מכל דבר רע" – beware of any evil davar, referring to a word. The Gemara explains that Rebbe Elazar did not derive it from Rebbe Nassan’s source for he needs it for what Rebbe Pinchas ben Yair stated in the following Baraisa: The passuk says, "ונשמרת מכל דבר רע" – Beware of any evil thing. From here Rebbe Pinchas ben Yair said: אל יהרהר אדם ביום ויבא לידי טומאה בלילה – A man should not think immoral thoughts by day and come to tumah by night. Rashi explains that this is learned from the juxtaposition of this passuk to the next passuk: “If there will be among you a man who will not be clean because of a seminal emission”. Rebbe Nassan does not learn the source for warning from Rebbe Elazar’s passuk, for he needs the passuk as a warning to Beis Din, שלא יהא רך לזה וקשה לזה – not to be soft on this litigant and harsh on that one. Rashi explains that Rebbe Nassan expounds רכיל as רך לי – go easy on me.
- How the Chochomim understand the pesukim of מוציא שם רע if the defamer did not have relations
The Gemara on Daf 45b brought a machlokes whether the defamer must have had relations with her in order to be punished with malkus and the fine. The Chochomim hold that he is punished whether he had relations or not, and Rebbe Eliezer ben Yaakov holds that he is only punished if he had relations with her. The Gemara asks how the Chochomim, who hold that he does not have to have had relations with her, understand the words, "ובא אליה" "ואקרב אליה" – and he comes to her…and I came near to her, and answers that it means, "ובא אליה" בעלילות "ואקרב אליה" בדברים – and he comes to her with accusations, and I came near to her – with words. This means he became suspicious from speaking with her, which eventually lead to witnesses that she committed adultery. When it asks how they understand the passuk, "לא מצאתי לבתך בתולים" – I did not find signs of besulim on your daughter, it answers that it means, לא מצאתי לבתך כשרי בתולים – I did not find for you witnesses who uphold her virginity. When it asks how they understand the passuk, "ופרשו השמלה" – and they spread out the sheet, it answers that Rebbe Abahu said: פרשו מה ששם לה – They clarify the accusation that he placed on her, as it was taught in a Baraisa that witnesses come from both sides, ובוררין את הדבר כשמלה חדשה – and they clarify the matter like a new sheet.
- The source that a father receives his daughter’s kiddushin money
The next Mishnah opens: האב זכאי בבתו בקידושיה בכסף – A father is zocheh in his daughter’s kiddushin to receive the money. The Gemara asks for the source for this, and after rejecting several answers, returns to its original source from the parshah of a Jewish shifchah who becomes a naarah, where the passuk states: "ויצאה חנם אין כסף" – she shall leave free of charge, without payment. From the superfluous phrase, without payment, it can be inferred, אין כסף לאדון זה ויש כסף לאדון אחר – There is no payment made to this master, meaning no money is needed to purchase the girl from his reshus, but there is payment made to a different master upon leaving his reshus. And who is this? Her father.
