SHIUR #87: Siman 153

by Rav Asher Meir

87. SIMAN 153 - SEIFIM 8-15

SELLING A SEFER TORAH

As mentioned in the MB, this halakha appears both in our siman and also in Yoreh Deah, siman 270 (Laws of a Torah Scroll).  The central source is a braita in Megilla. The gemara is discussing the question dealt with in seif 4 of our siman - is it permissible to sell one sefer Torah in order to buy another one?

Hear [the beraita] which Rebbe Yochanan said in the name of Rebbe Meir: A sefer Torah may not be sold except to study Torah and to marry a wife. It follows that one Torah for another is permissible [since this is also selling Torah for Torah, that is, a Torah scroll for Torah learning].Perhaps study is different, because study leads to performance. Marrying a wife also [is different] - "He did not create [the world] desolate, [rather]  He formed it for settlement" (Yishayahu 45). But one Torah scroll for another - no.

The Rabbis taught [in a beraita]: A person may not sell a Torah scroll even if he doesn't need it [Rashi: he has another Torah scroll]. Furthermore, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said, even if he has nothing to eat and sold a Torah scroll or his daughter, he will never see a sign of blessing [from the sale]. (Megilla 27a)

SELLING A SEFER TORAH TO LEARN TORAH

Obviously, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is not suggesting that a person should starve rather than sell a sefer Torah. This prohibition is not one of the three which override the saving of life! Rather, a person should rather solicit charity than sell a Torah scroll or one's daughter (to be an "ama" - a maidservant and future wife).

There is an interesting paradox in this halakha. At first glance, the ruling seems straightforward. It is true that we are urged to go to great lengths to avoid living from tzedaka - even to live in straitened circumstances or work in a menial profession, as explained in Yoreh Deah 255:1 (Laws of Charity). However, a person is NOT required to sell his basic furnishings - only those which are luxuries, as explained in Yoreh Deah 253:1.

This is one of the innumerable areas where the halakha distinguishes between a loss and a foregone gain. One who is living with poor furnishings should not collect charity in order to raise his level to a middle-class dwelling, but someone who is in a middle-class dwelling may collect in order not to fall below this. And "luxuries" are defined as conspicuous luxuries - like having a silver grater when an iron one will do. Washers, dryers, dishwashers and the like, even though not everyone owns these, are not "luxuries" which a poor person needs to sell before soliciting charity.

Seen in this light, this halakha, merely defines a Torah scroll as a "necessity" and not a "luxury." We certainly would not expect the halakha to consider a Torah scroll more expendable than a dishwasher. And while it is true that a person MAY sell his dishwasher in order to stay off the dole (and it would even be praiseworthy to do so), since one NEED not do so, selling a sefer Torah in like circumstances implies that it should be considered a "luxury," and so is considered improper (there is no sign of blessing from it).

The seeming paradox follows from the ruling of the Rema in Yoreh Deah 246:21 (Laws of Talmud Torah). There we learn that some say it is wrong to study Torah without working and turn to charity to support one's self, but then the Rema explains that the custom is now that needy Torah scholars receive "haspakot min hanotnim," namely, stipends from donors (what we call today a Kollel stipend). However, the Rema explains that this refers to accepting from the community, not to collecting gifts from many private individuals. The implication seems to be that it is wrong to solicit charity in order to study Torah.

It emerges from these halakhot that an individual may solicit private donations in order to avoid selling a sefer Torah, and may sell a sefer Torah in order to study Torah. Yet the individual should not solicit donations in order to study Torah (of course the community should strive to provide for Torah students without the need for them to bang on doors).

However, the paradox is easily resolved. As we mentioned above, a person MAY sell even his necessities in order to stay off the dole, and certainly he may do so in order to study Torah. The problem is that since he NEED not do so, selling something suggests that it is a luxury, and selling a Torah scroll thus seems to dishonor the Torah. However, one who sells the scroll in order to study Torah is clearly not dishonoring the Torah. Everyone can see that for this person Torah is a vital necessity.

There is no paradox in the permission to sell a Torah scroll to get married since this is explicitly enumerated as one of the needs for which charity is collected - YD 250:1.

Regarding selling one's daughter in order to avoid collecting charity: a similar issue is often discussed, namely the propriety of sending one's daughter to work where she will be exposed to advances (selling door to door, working as a maid, etc.). See Chavot Yair 108 for one approach, Minchat Yitzchak X:21 for the many authorities who disagree.

SELLING A TORAH SCROLL FOR OTHER NEEDS

The case of selling a sefer Torah is mentioned three times in the SA. There seems to be a discrepancy among the rulings.

Here in Orakh Chaim the SA writes "Some say that regarding his own property he may sell even a sefer Torah and do anything he likes with the money, as long as it was not dedicated to congregational reading. And there is one who forbids this except to study Torah or to marry a wife." In other words, according to the lenient opinion there is no prohibition whatsoever to sell a PRIVATE Torah scroll.

In Yoreh Deah 282:18 there is a similar wording but with an important difference: "An individual who sells a Torah scroll and its appurtenances - there is one who says that he may use the proceeds [as he wishes] and there is one who forbids [this]." The same two opinions are brought, but now the permission is after the fact: IF he sells the scroll, what becomes of the proceeds? The IMPLICATION is that selling is improper according to both opinions.

In Yoreh Deah 270:1 he writes: "There is a positive commandment on every Jewish man to write a sefer Torah. And even if his ancestors bequeathed him a sefer Torah, it is a mitzva to write one himself. And he is not permitted to sell it, even if he has many sifrei Torah. (The Rema adds, even if he has nothing to eat except the bare minimum.) And even to sell an old one to buy a new one is forbidden. But to study Torah or to marry a wife it is permitted to sell, if he has nothing else to sell." Here the SA enunciates a clear prohibition to sell a Torah scroll.

In order to understand the final ruling of the SA, let us examine the rulings of the Rishonim mentioned in the Beit Yosef, which serve as the basis of the SA's rulings. There are two main approaches in the Rishonim enumarated in the Beit Yosef in our siman:

1. The Raviah (cited in Mordekhai Megilla 824) suggests that the gemara's question regarding selling a sefer Torah is to be understood in the context of the entire section, which discusses selling a beit knesset and the like. In other words, the problem is only if the Torah scroll belongs to the community. But an individual MAY sell his Torah scroll, though he will not see any sign of blessing from the sale. This is also the view of Rabbeinu Meshulam and of the Tur.

2. The Rambam (Sefer Torah 10:2) rules that even one who wrote his own sefer Torah may not sell it except for Torah study and a dowry. Even then one may only sell it "if he has nothing else to sell."

These are clearly the two opinions mentioned in our siman - one permits selling a sefer Torah, one forbids.

In YD 282 the Beit Yosef also brings two opinions: that of the Rambam, and that of the Rosh. The Beit Yosef concludes that the Rambam forbids selling a private sefer Torah and requires that the proceeds go to buy another one, whereas the Rosh forbids selling but permits using the money for any purpose whatever.

And in Yoreh Deah 270 the Tur himself writes that a sefer Torah may not be sold even if the owner has nothing to eat. The Beit Yosef cites this as the view of the Rambam, suggesting that the expression "he doesn't see any sign of blessing"  means that it is forbidden. But he cites the view of Remakh (Rav Moshe Kohen of Luniel) in the Hagahot Maimoniot who expresses surprise at the Rambam, since providing food should take priority over learning Torah and marrying a wife. The Remakh cites the Yerushalmi (very end of Bikkurim) which concludes: "Rebbe Yochanan [said] in the name of Rav Shimon ben Gamliel, one may sell a sefer Torah to study Torah and to marry a wife, and certainly [kol sheken] to supply his basic needs [mipnei chayav]."

In each case the Beit Yosef brings the opinion of the Rambam and of one other Rishon. In each case it is a different Rishon and in each case the ruling is different!

The Perisha resolves the different rulings as follows:

Fundamentally, the lenient opinion PERMITS selling an ordinary private sefer Torah. This explains the wording in our siman. However, even though this approach does not interpret "no sign of blessing" as a prohibition, even so it is clear that it is a bad idea, and this explains the "after the fact" wording of YD 282.

As for YD 270, we have a problem not only with the SA but with the Tur himself, who is lenient in our siman and extremely strict in YD 270!  On this the Perisha writes: "It seems that what [the Tur] wrote that he may not sell it, refers only to the sefer Torah which he wrote for himself - since even if he inherited several Torah scrolls he must write another one for himself. And regarding THIS Torah scroll [the Tur] quite properly wrote that it is forbidden to sell it."

According to the Perisha, the SA's ruling is neatly harmonized as follows:

1. A person's PERSONAL sefer Torah, one which he wrote himself to fulfill the mitzva of writing a sefer Torah, may never be sold for private needs, and one should rather collect charity than sell it (as explained in the Bach). It may be sold only for Torah study and marriage.

2. A person's PRIVATE sefer Torah, one privately owned but not specially written or commissioned, is the subject of a dispute. According to the Rambam, such a scroll is equivalent to a PERSONAL sefer Torah; and practically speaking the same as one belonging to the congregation. Even if it IS sold, the proceeds must go to buy another scroll. But other Rishonim permit selling a private sefer Torah, and the proceeds may be used for any purpose whatever. However, all agree that it is better not to sell the scroll even in the case of straitened circumstances, and so "after the fact" wording is also appropriate, even though there is no real prohibition.