ערובין-לה

There was an עם-הארץ in Volozshin who would borrow ספרים, write comments in the margins and sign his name.   He once asked רבי חיים מוולוז׳ין if he could borrow a מסכת עירובין.  “I will lend you the גמרא if you agree not to make any writing on any of the pages and not to sign your name in the גמרא,” the רב said.  The man agreed to those conditions, but as he turned the pages of the גמרא and got to דף ל״ה, he saw in the משנה the words חמר גמל.  It seemed odd to him.  What were the חמר and the גמל doing there together?  And anyways, חמור is spelled with a ו.  After deep thought, he concluded that there was an error that needed correction.  He simply couldn’t resist writing in the margin חמור גדול.  When the ספר was returned to ר׳ חיים, and he saw the notation, he said: “I see that he not only broke his promise not to make any notation, but he even signed his name.”

05/07/2020