Комментарий к Швуот 8:1

ארבעה שומרים הם – [and their laws are three].

Introduction The first mishnah in this chapter was taught in its entirety in Bava Metziah 7:8. It is repeated here as an opening to the rest of the chapter which discusses when a guardian is liable to bring a sacrifice for having sworn a false oath. There are certain types of guardians who under circumstances if not able to return the object under their guard may take an oath and thereby exempt themselves from having to pay back the owner. Our chapter will teach that they are liable to bring a sacrifice only if they take an oath that exempted them from paying back the owner. The type of oath described here is an “oath of deposit”, discussed above in chapter five. The punishment for intentionally swearing a false oath of deposit is a guilt offering.

נושא שכר – bailee with payment

There are four kinds of guardians: an unpaid guardian, a borrower, a paid guardian and a hirer. An unpaid guardian may take an oath [that he had not been neglectful] in every case [of loss or damage and be free of liability]. A borrower must make restitution in every case. A paid guardian or a hirer may take an oath if the beast was injured, or taken captive or dead, but he must make restitution if it was lost or stolen. This mishnah lists the four types of guardians in Jewish law. The general principle is that the more benefit a guardian receives and the less benefit he gives to the owner of the object, the more liable he will be if the object is not returnable. Therefore a borrower, who does not pay and gets full use of the object pays in any case that the object is not returnable. On the other hand, an unpaid guardian only gives benefit to the owner and receives no benefit in return. Therefore in all cases in which something occurs to the object that he is guarding he may take an oath that he was not neglectful and be exempt from liability. Paid guardians and hirers are in-between cases. The hirer gets use of the object but he pays for such use. The paid guardian is not allowed to use the object but he gets paid for watching it. Therefore both of these guardians are sometimes allowed to take an oath and thereby be exempt from liability and sometimes they are liable to pay the owner. If the animal was lost or stolen and is no longer in front of us, they must pay the owner the value of the animal. If, however, it died a natural death, was taken captive or injured then they may take an oath and exempt themselves from liability.

נשבע על הכל – that he was not negligent.

משלם על הכל – all those that we taught in our Mishnah, taken captive, and/or injured and/or who died and/or was something stolen and/or lost. But if it (i.e., the animal) had died on account of the labor [done], he does not pay, because this cannot be established as a measure of the borrowing. But this Mishnah is explained in [Bava Metzia, Chapter 7] “One who Hires Workers”/”HaSokher Et HaPoalim.”