For the source text click/tap here: Shavuot 45
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On yesterday’s daf, the beginning of a very long mishnah that continues most of the way down the first side of today’s daf stated that oaths required by Torah can exempt people from payment. By contrast, oaths instituted by the rabbis can compel a party to hand over property. The mishnah goes on to list a number of scenarios in which this can happen, including: a hired worker who sues his employer for unpaid wages (and then takes an oath and receives them), a victim of theft who sues the robber (and then takes an oath and recovers their stolen goods), someone who seeks compensation from another who injured them (who takes an oath and receives damages) and: “a storekeeper relying on his ledger.”
We explore the Talmudic principle of lehafis da’ato shel baal habayit (appeasing the homeowner) in its legal, ethical, and theological dimensions. Beginning with its appearances in Shavuot 45a, Pesachim 86b, and Berakhot 46a, we examine how this phrase operates within Halachic discourse to mediate between rigid legalism and social harmony.