Bava Kamma 99: Paying Craftspeople for Damaged Work; Free, Expert Work and Liability

We have just learned that a craftsperson is responsible for damages made to an item that s/he was hired to repair or build.  Today's daf brings in the question of payment.  We are obliged to pay a craftsperson for their work on the day that that work is done.  It is forbidden to wait even until the following morning to pay someone for their work.  Would it be permitted to restrict or delay payment to a craftsperson who damaged one's property?  The rabbis consider this question.

The rabbis consider a number of different circumstances including that of a woman who agrees to be betrothed to a craftsperson upon his completion of the task of creating golden earrings, bracelets, or necklaces for her.   But doesn't betrothal require the exchange of money?  Would the jewelry be thought of as money?  The rabbis question whether or not his work and return of the jewelry could be construed as a loan.  It is also debated whether or not loans are permissible to enact a betrothal.  And is the craftsperson's fashioning the jewelry would be worth at least one peruta, which is the minimum amount of money required to secure a betrothal?

The rabbis consider the possibility that the craftsperson adds a jewel of his own to the woman's property.  Is this a valid proposal?  The rabbis suggest that a craftsperson would have to say in advance of his work that he wishes to betroth the woman.  If he failed to do this, she would be betrothed on a loan (for she would owe him money until the item was returned to her; he 'loaned' her the payment for his work until she paid in full.

Using the example of a butcher who slaughters improperly, the rabbis move their conversation into the realm of professional conduct.  When a person hires a butcher to slaughter his/her animal, there is an understanding that the butcher is accepting the obligations to slaughter competently according to Jewish law.  

The Gemara provides a number of examples.  Sometimes 'expert' craftspeople have offered to do their work for free.  Are they exempt from liability when they err in their work?  Sometimes an 'expert' butcher will cut in the wrong spot or one who processes barley uses the wrong amount of water to wet the grain, spoiling the work.  The Gemara tells us that these craftspeople will have to provide proof of their expertise to exempt themselves from liability.  And regardless of their 'expertise', they are liable to pay for property that they have damaged.

Our daf ends with a conversation about one who finds that a coin is in fact not worth its weight, so to speak.  The bad coin should be brought to the person who tends to monetary exchange.  They are expected to go beyond the letter of the law, which suggests that she is responsible for this error to some degree.  Instead, the person who gave her this coin should exchange it for her.

Sometimes reading Talmud creates a picture in my mind of what life might have been like for these Jews.  I imagine that whatever pictures I conjure are quite inaccurate.  Talmud offers us the gift of a window into ancient living.