Din & Daf: Conceptual Analysis of Halakha Through Case Study

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The gemara in Bava Metzia 58b states that oppression with speech (ona’at devarim) is a greater sin than oppression with finances (ona’at mammon). One reason given is because while the latter affects money, the former affects the “self.” This distinction is well-worn among Chazal, both in terms of protecting/harming someone’s possessions vs. their person and in terms of using one’s own possessions vs. one’s own person to do good. We will examine this distinction in this shiur.