The dinar is a unit of currency that was in wide circulation during the rabbinic period — and still today, in a handful of Mediterranean countries. In the Talmud, there are two different plural forms for the word dinar: dinarei and dinarin. For the purposes of understanding contract law, the Gemara on today’s daf asks: Are these simply two plural forms of the same word, or is there a difference in meaning? To answer this question, the rabbis turn to a mishnah in tractate Keritot.
Mishnah Keritot discusses the sacrifices that one has to bring after committing different kinds of sin, or becoming ritually impure through childbirth or genital discharge. Neither childbirth nor genital discharge are considered sins, but they make the person experiencing them ritually impure, and someone who is ritually impure cannot eat from sacrificial meat until they have been returned to a state of purity — a process that often includes making required sacrifices at the Temple.
Though Mishnah Keritot doesn’t have its own dedicated tractate of Talmud, we do get to read talmudic discussions of some of its mishnahs in other contexts — like today’s discussion of the plural forms of the word dinar. Mishnah Keritot 1:7 reads:
A woman for whom there was uncertainty with regard to five births, or uncertainty with regard to five irregular discharges, she brings one sacrifice, and she may partake of sacrificial meat. And the remaining are not an obligation for her.
When it is uncertain whether someone gave birth, or whether a particular vaginal discharge counts as an irregular discharge, rather than bring one sacrifice for each uncertain event, the woman can bring one offering and become ritually pure. But if we are certain there were five events that lead to impurity, it’s a different story:
If she has had five definite births or five definite discharges, she brings one offering, and then she may partake of offerings. But the remaining offerings are still an obligation for her.
Each definite birth or discharge requires its own sacrifice at the Temple. The first offering is enough to allow this woman to eat sacrificial meat, but doesn’t exempt her from afterward bringing the other four.
Or at least, that’s how things used to be. The Mishnah explains how this rule was changed:
There was an incident where nests (containing sacrificial birds for sale) cost golden dinarei in Jerusalem. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: I swear by this abode of the Divine Presence that I will not lie down tonight until they cost dinarin.
We can imagine that people who didn’t live in or near Jerusalem would have saved up all their purification sacrifices to offer at once when they finally make it to the holy city. With limited supply, and a huge demand, the great Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel sees that the cost of birds has become outrageous. If birds are too expensive for the average person to purchase, then people won’t be able to perform the required sacrifices or to be in relationship with God in this way. So Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel finds a way to lower the demand:
He entered the court and taught: A woman for whom there were five definite births or five definite discharges brings one offering, and then she may partake of the meat of offerings. And the remaining are not an obligation for her. And nests stood that day at one-quarter (dinar).
On today’s daf, the rabbis use this mishnah to prove that there is a difference between dinarei and dinarin. Dinarei, according to Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel, are gold dinars with a very high value; dinarin are not made of gold and are therefore a much less valuable currency. The upshot: When writing a contract, it’s important to specify which is meant: dinarei or dinarin.
But let’s not overlook what is much more interesting about this mishnah in Keritot, in which a preeminent sage of his day changes the law to make Temple sacrifices more accessible to everyone. Curiously, the Mishnah doesn’t provide a halakhic rationale, an oral tradition or some other legal reason that Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel felt authorized to make this change. Instead, we get only a recognition of the inaccessible price, a strong vow to God and a public announcement in the court of law. It seems the practicality of ensuring that people can offer a sacrifice, even when five would be preferred, was reason enough.
Read all of Bava Batra 166 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on December 8, 2024. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
Help us keep Jewish knowledge accessible to millions of people around the world.
Your donation to My Jewish Learning fuels endless journeys of Jewish discovery. With your help, My Jewish Learning can continue to provide nonstop opportunities for learning, connection and growth.
