A Fly's Modification

A bit of Torah U’Madda. The other day in the daf, Bava Batra 166, a dilemma about different items, or amounts, written at the top vs. bottom of the shtar.

בָּעֵי רַב פָּפָּא: ״קֵפֶל״ מִלְּמַעְלָה וְ״סֵפֶל״ מִלְּמַטָּה, מַאי – מִי חָיְישִׁינַן לִזְבוּב, אוֹ לָא? תֵּיקוּ.

Rav Pappa raises a dilemma: What if it is stated kefel above and sefel below? The difference between the two words is that the former begins with kuf, whereas the latter begins with samekh. The orthographical difference between these two letters is a single stroke that extends downward, as the omission of the extension of this stroke would change kuf into samekh. Rav Pappa’s dilemma is: Are we concerned for the possibility that a fly landed on the stroke of the kuf, removing the ink and changing it into samekh? Or are we not concerned with this possibility? The Gemara comments: The dilemma shall stand unresolved.

The concern here is the fly erasing something as it walks across the still drying ink. As Rashbam writes:

מי חיישינן לזבוב - שחיסר רגלה של קו"ף ונעשית סמ"ך ובהא נמי ילמד מעליון:

The Rashash points us elsewhere for a discussion of a fly moving the ink direction.

ר"ש ד"ה מי חיישינן לזבוב. שחיסר רגלה כו'. ועי' בעירובין (י"ג). ובב"י או"ח סי' ל"ו כתב בשם ב"ש באות ק' דזבוב משך רגל הקצר נגד רגל הארוך כו' ע"ש. ותרוייהו צריכן. ועי' תומים סי' מ"ב אות ט' ודבריו מגומגמין:

The gemara he mentions, Eruvin 13a, is this:

מַאי קָאֲמַר לֵיהּ, וּמַאי קָא מְהַדַּר לֵיהּ?

The Gemara clarifies elements of the conversation: What is Rabbi Yishmael saying to Rabbi Meir, and what is he answering him? Rabbi Meir’s response with regard to iron sulfate does not seem to address Rabbi Yishmael’s comments with regard to omissions and additions.

הָכִי קָאֲמַר לֵיהּ: לָא מִיבַּעְיָא בַּחֲסֵירוֹת וּבִיתֵירוֹת [דְּלָא טָעֵינָא] — דְּבָקִי אֲנָא, אֶלָּא אֲפִילּוּ מֵיחַשׁ לִזְבוּב נָמֵי, דִּילְמָא אָתֵי וְיָתֵיב אַתָּגֵיהּ דְּדָלֶת וּמָחֵיק לֵיהּ וּמְשַׁוֵּי לֵיהּ רֵישׁ — דָּבָר אֶחָד יֵשׁ לִי וְקַנְקַנְתּוֹם שְׁמוֹ שֶׁאֲנִי מֵטִיל לְתוֹךְ הַדְּיוֹ.

The Gemara explains that this is what Rabbi Meir is saying to Rabbi Yishmael: There is no need to mention defective and plene words, as I am an expert; however, even with regard to the concern that a fly might come and land on the crown of the letter dalet and blot it out and render it a reish, thereby changing the meaning of the word, I am not concerned, as I have a substance called iron sulfate that I place into the ink so that it will not be erased.

Meanwhile, in The Muppet Movie, the fly works in the other direction, changing the price with its own body.

That is, from $1195

to $11.95