Bava Metzia

Because he eases the market. ONE MUST NOT SIFT POUNDED BEANS: THIS IS THE VIEW OF ABBA SAUL. BUT THE SAGES PERMIT IT, etc. Who are the Sages? — R. Aha. For it has been taught: R. Aha permitted it in a commodity that may be seen. MEN, CATTLE, AND UTENSILS MAY NOT BE PAINTED. Our Rabbis taught: An animal may not be given an appearance of stiffness, entrails may not be inflated,  nor may meat be soaked in water.  What is meant by 'one may not give an appearance of stiffness'? — Here [in Babylon] it is explained as referring to branbroth.  Ze'iri said in R. Kahana's name: Brushing up [an animal's hair].  Samuel permitted fringes to be put on a cloak.  Rab Judah permitted a gloss to be put on fine cloths.  Rabbah permitted hemp-cloths to be beaten.  Raba permitted arrows to be painted. R. Pappa b. Samuel allowed baskets to be painted. But did we not learn, MEN, CATTLE, AND UTENSILS MAY NOT BE PAINTED? — There is no difficulty; one refers to new, the other to old. What is the purpose of painting men? — As in the case of a certain aged slave who went and had his head and beard dyed,  and came before Raba, saying to him, 'Buy me.' 'Let the poor be the children of thy house,'  he replied. So he went to R. Papa b. Samuel, who bought him. One day he said to him, 'Give me some water to drink.' Thereupon he went, washed his head and beard white again, and said to him, 'See, I am older than your father.'  At that he applied to himself the verse, 'The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and another cometh in his stead. MISHNAH. WHAT IS NESHEK AND WHAT IS TARBITH?  WHAT IS NESHEK? ONE WHO LENDS A SELA' [FOUR DENARII] FOR FIVE DENARII, OR TWO SE'AHS  OF WHEAT FOR THREE; THAT IS FORBIDDEN,  BECAUSE HE [THEREBY] 'BITES' [THE DEBTOR]. AND WHAT IS TARBITH? THE TAKING OF INTEREST ON PRODUCE, E. G., IF A MAN PURCHASED WHEAT AT A GOLD DENAR [TWENTY-FIVE SILVER DENARII] PER KOR,  WHICH WAS THE CURRENT PRICE,  AND [SUBSEQUENTLY] WHEAT APPRECIATED TO THIRTY DENARII PER KOR. THEN [THE PURCHASER] SAID TO HIM, 'GIVE ME MY WHEAT, AS I WISH TO SELL IT AND BUY WINE WITH THE PROCEEDS;' TO WHICH [THE VENDOR] REPLIED, 'LET THE WHEAT BE CHARGED TO ME AS A DEBT OF THIRTY DENARII [PER KOR]. AND YOU HAVE A CLAIM OF WINE UPON ME FOR ITS VALUE;'  BUT HE ACTUALLY HAS NO WINE [AT THE TIME]. GEMARA. Now, since he [the Tanna] disregards  the Biblical [meaning of] interest  and defines its Rabbinical [connotation]  it follows that Biblically speaking neshek and tarbith are Synonymous: whereas [in fact] there are Scriptural expressions, neshek of money, and ribbith of food!  — Do you think then that there can be neshek [loss to the debtor] without tarbith [profits to the creditor], or tarbith without neshek? How might there be neshek without tarbith? If he lent him a hundred [perutahs] for one hundred and twenty [perutahs], at first [when the loan is made] a danka  being valued at a hundred [perutahs], and subsequently [when the loan was repaid] at a hundred and twenty,  there is neshek, for he 'bites' him [the debtor] by taking from him something which he [the creditor] did not give; yet there is no tarbith [to the creditor], for there is no profit, since he lent him a danka and received back a danka! But, after all, if the original rate is the determining factor,  there is both neshek and tarbith; if the subsequent rate, there is neither neshek nor tarbith? Furthermore, how is tarbith [profit to the creditor] conceivable without neshek [loss to the debtor]? If he lent him a hundred [perutahs] for a hundred, the hundred being worth a danka at first, and now a fifth:  if you regard the first rate, there is neither neshek nor tarbith; if the final rate, there is both neshek and tarbith! — But, said Raba, you can find neither neshek without tarbith nor tarbith without neshek, and the only purpose of Scripture in stating them separately  is [to teach] that one transgresses two prohibitions [by taking interest]. Our Rabbis taught: [Thou shalt not give him thy money upon neshek [usury], nor lend him thy victuals for marbith [interest];  [from this] I only know that the prohibition of neshek applies to money, and that of ribbith to provisions:  whence do we know that [the prohibition] neshek applies to provisions [too]? From the verse, [Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother neshek of money], neshek of victuals.  Whence do we know that the prohibition of ribbith applies to money? From the verse, neshek of money: