Bava Kamma 106

1:
We have already seen during our study of this chapter and the previous chapter that the God-fearing Jew is expected to keep as far as is humanly possible from aiding or assisting any form of theft or robbery, even in complete innocence. This is the background to our present mishnah as well.

2:
Quite often, people steal without realizing that what they are doing is, in fact, theft or robbery. A story is told of the opera composer Giacomo Puccini: he was once asked for his autograph and was offered a pad to write on and a pen to write with. He wrote on the page, above his signature: "This is a nice pen; I think I'll keep it." He handed the pad back to the fan and walked off with the pen! That, in halakhic terms, is robbery.

3:
But very often, theft and robbery take place when employees try to make a little money on the side. They are handling merchandise all day and are not always aware that what they are handling does not belong to them, but to their employer. For example: David's little daughter visits him while he is working in Sarah's orchard; he gives her an orange from the crate that he is filling to keep her quiet. David has committed a theft (assuming that Sarah was not present).

4:
Shepherds, as we saw in the previous mishnah, were particularly prone to this kind of behaviour. This is why our present mishnah states that one should not purchase from a shepherd "wool, milk or kids". Perhaps the most important animal for the family in Mishnaic times (and later) was the goat, rather than sheep or cattle. The goat, while still alive, provided wool, which a housewife could spin in order to make clothes for her family. Spinning and weaving were usually the female's greatest contribution to the family economy. According to Rabbi Eli'ezer [Ketubot 5:5] a housewife must spin and weave even if she has many servants to do her work for her. (His opinion is not accepted.) The goat also provided milk: goat's milk, and not cow's milk, was the standard in the home at that time. And, of course, the goat also gave birth to kids, which could be sold at a profit. Our mishnah warns honest people not to buy from shepherds, however tempting the deal may be, because in all probability the article being offered for sale has been stolen.

5:
The same applies to anything being offered for sale by someone employed to guard an orchard or field. Even as early as biblical times we find farmers paying someone for guarding their produce. The prophet [Isaiah 1:8] uses this fact for a very striking metaphor to describe the desolation of Jerusalem: "Zion is left like a watcher's booth in a vineyard,like a guard's hut in a cucumber field." So, if someone who is employed to watch over fruit in an orchard offers you fruit or wood at a really good price – do not buy! There is a good chance that you would be buying stolen merchandise.

6:
It seems from our mishnah that even housewives would try to make a bit of pocket-money on the side! However, it is noted that in certain parts of the country it was indeed the custom for women to offer articles for sale as part of the household economy – i.e. with the knowledge and agreement of their husband. In the southern part of the country ("Judah") housewives would offer for sale some of the woolens that they had woven; in the northern part of the country ("Galilee") it was usually linens, made from flax, that were offered for sale. Perhaps the most industrious and economically motivated were the housewives of the Sharon area. The Sharon is the coastal area that stretches from the foothills of the Carmel range down as far as the seaport of Jaffa. The women in the Sharon area reared and sold calves. Our mishnah makes it clear that because the women sold these commodities with the knowledge and approval of their husbands one may buy from them without concern.

7:
Let us not misjudge this reasoning for marital approval. It does not necessarily mean that the women had to have their husbands' permission. What it means is that in these parts of the country women habitually did these things as their contribution to the family's economy.

8:
However, adds our mishnah, if any vendor warns the buyer to "keep it hidden" or not to make it known, or any such warning, that should be interpreted as a sure sign that something underhand is going on regarding this deal; one should stay far away from it.

9:
Certain things could be bought without qualm, because they were so ubiquitous that everybody had them. Everybody kept chickens, so everybody had chickens and eggs for sale.

10:
In his commentary on our present mishnah Rabbi Moshe Zaccut [1620-1697] adds, concerning housewives who sell their produce:

In other words, it must be quite obvious that the sale is above-board.