The Gemara says that if one is transporting the bones of a deceased and he is concerned about נכרים וליסטים ,Gentiles and bandits, along the way he is permitted to wrap the bones in a pouch and sit on them. The same is true, the Gemara says, when transporting a Sefer Torah.
Tosefos explains that if one is concerned about the safety of the Torah he may even sit upon it as he rides away quickly. RIF disagrees and maintains that the Gemara only means that you can hang the Torah on your back in a manner that would otherwise be considered to be disrespectful in order to escape, but not to sit upon it. Imrei Shefer finds the RIF to be quite puzzling. If the Sefer Torah is in danger, he asks, isn't it better to sit upon it, which is temporarily demeaning to the Torah, than to allow it to fall into the hands of those who might treat with with the utmost disrespect? He therefore suggests that the RIF had a different text in his Gemara and that it read גנבים ולסטים, thieves and bandits (and it said nothing about Gentiles). The thieves about whom he is concerned are Jewish and although they might steal the Torah they will treat it with respect and you may therefore not sit upon it to protect it.
Tosefos explains that if one is concerned about the safety of the Torah he may even sit upon it as he rides away quickly. RIF disagrees and maintains that the Gemara only means that you can hang the Torah on your back in a manner that would otherwise be considered to be disrespectful in order to escape, but not to sit upon it. Imrei Shefer finds the RIF to be quite puzzling. If the Sefer Torah is in danger, he asks, isn't it better to sit upon it, which is temporarily demeaning to the Torah, than to allow it to fall into the hands of those who might treat with with the utmost disrespect? He therefore suggests that the RIF had a different text in his Gemara and that it read גנבים ולסטים, thieves and bandits (and it said nothing about Gentiles). The thieves about whom he is concerned are Jewish and although they might steal the Torah they will treat it with respect and you may therefore not sit upon it to protect it.
No comments:
Post a Comment