R. JUDAH RULED: IF THE HOUSEHOLDER
HAS THERE ANY HOLDING THE TENANT IMPOSES NO RESTRICTIONS.
Meaning, if the owner of a property has items stored within
it, the resident does not have ownership in the eruv and if he forgot to
contribute it does not create restrictions for anyone else.
This leads to a story about wealthy owners. It should be
remembered that rabbinic stories often have the wealthy as the object of jokes,
or as normally greedy and being made to see the light of their responsibility
by a wise rabbi. Here, however, the relationship is different:
The son of Bonyis (a very wealthy
man) once visited Rabbi. ‘Make room’, the latter called out, ‘for the owner of
a hundred maneh’. Another person entered, when he called out ‘Make room
for the owner of two hundred maneh’. ‘Master’, said R. Ishmael son of R.
Jose to him, ‘the father of this man owns a thousand ships on the sea and a
corresponding number of towns on land’. ‘When you meet his father’, the other
replied: ‘tell him not to send him to me in such clothes’.
The wealthy should look the part!
Rabbi showed respect to rich men,
and R. Akiba also showed respect to rich men, in agreement with an exposition
made by Raba b. Mari: May he be enthroned before God for ever, appoint mercy
and truth that they may preserve him,(Ps. 61:8) when ‘may he be enthroned
before God for ever’? When he ‘appoint mercy and truth that they may preserve
him’.
That is, the wealthy should be accorded respect (‘enthroned’)
- when they fulfill their obligation to take care of (‘preserve’) those who are
in need. Assuming they do!
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