Tuesday's Thoughts on the Daf - Bava Kamma 30

Right before the beginning of the second mishna on Bava Kamma 30(a), the gemara digresses and presents a middos analysis. After having discussed the liability of an individual who takes thorns and glass shards and inserts them in a wall which is subsequently destroyed (spilling the dangerous objects out into the street) the gemara then discusses various righteous individuals who tried to safeguard the public from these objects.

The gemara first mentions that the "chassidim harishonim" used to bury the objects three tefachim deep under their fields, either so that the plow blade would not be damaged by them, or as Tosafos (d'h Shelo) explains, so that the plow would not dislodge the objects and leave them in a place where someone could hurt themselves on the thorns/shards.

After this, the gemara states that R' Sheshes would burn the dangerous items, while Rava dumped them into the Tigris River.

The gemara then presents various opinions on how one can become a chassid (not the curly ones). R' Yehuda states that one who wants to become a chassid should study "Nezikin" which is understood to mean the three tractates of Bava Kamma, Bava Metzia and Bava Basra. Rava then states that one should study Avos (Rabbenu Channanel learns this means Pirkei Avos). Rava also offers the alternative explanation that one should study Berachos.

I was struck by the contrast in approaches to the goal of becoming a chassid. By studying Nezikin, one learns how to treat other people's property, seemingly a pure bein adam l'chavero route to chassidus. In learning Avos, one studies the philosophy of the world as well as how to interact with one's fellow man, a hybrid of bein adam l'makom and l'chavero. By learning Berachos, one concentrates solely on his relationship with Hashem. All in all, three different approaches are presented to reaching the same goal.

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