משנה:
הנוטל שכר להיות רואה את הבכורות אין שוחטין על פיו אא"כ היה מומחה כאילו
באילא ביבנה שהתירו לו.
גמרא:
....בשלמא בעל מום משום דקא שרי ליה אלא תם אמאי דאם כן אתי למיחשדיה ואמרי, האי
בעל מום, תם הוא, והאי דקא שרי לי משום אגרא
[Translation of Gemara from this site (pdf of the specific text): MISHNAH. IF ONE TAKES PAYMENT FOR SEEING THE FIRSTLINGS, THEY MUST NOT BE SLAUGHTERED BY HIS INSTRUCTIONS, UNLESS HE WAS AN EXPERT LIKE ILA IN JABNEH WHOM THE SAGES PERMITTED TO ACCEPT FOUR AS FOR SMALL CATTLE AND SIX AS FOR LARGE CATTLE, WHETHER UNBLEMISHED OR BLEMISHED.
gemara...WHETHER UNBLEMISHED OR BLEMISHED. Now, we quite understand this in the case of a blemished firstling, because in this case he permits it; but in the case of an unblemished firstling, why (does he take payment)? — The reason is that otherwise he might be suspected, and it might be said that the animal pronounced blemished is unblemished, and the reason he permits it is because he receives payment.]
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| Can we eat the calf? Not if we are relying upon the bank. |
I never studied Torah in English. Quite frankly it looks a little corny to me. I understand the Aramaic better than I do the English. I'll try to work with what I have here. We are discussing whether or not it is OK to eat a first-born cow after it was pronounced blemished by a paid expert. Why? Because we fear that the expert will feel obliged to pronounce the cow blemished, otherwise he will be endangering his business.
[If the first-born offspring of a cow or sheep is a healthy male, then it must given to a Cohen. If it has some sort of permanent problem, then it remains with the owners. Therefore it is very lucrative to have your calves proclaimed "blemished" by "experts".]
My father recently wrote to me about problems with his dentist. It seems that every time he goes for a visit they want to remove another tooth. Have you ever taken a tire into to be checked? More often than not you need to replace at least two tires if not all four if you rely upon the advice of the guy "fixing" the tire.
When you go into your bank, it is exactly the same. The mortgage clerk at your local bank is paid by the bank, not you. His interest is the bank's interest, not yours. Despite whatever kind of nonsense they may say in their radio ads, they are trying to sell whatever products are the most profitable for the bank, not for you. Unlike us at Nahala Home Mortgages, where we get paid exclusively by our clients. Our only interest is the client's interest.
If you are considering taking on hundreds of thousands to millions of shekels in debt, this is not the time for cutting corners. Don't rely on your bank's advice, and don't rely upon what you heard from friends or read on the internet.
Every case is different and needs to be planned differently. You should always consult your qualified Israeli Mortgage Advisor before you make any decisions.
