25b----------------------------------------25b
1)R. ZEIRA'S FATHER - THE KOSHER TAX COLLECTOR
א"ר יהודה סתם רועה פסול סתם גבאי כשר אבוה דר' זירא עבד גביותא תליסר שנין כי הוה אתי ריש נהרא למתא כי הוה חזי רבנן א"ל (ישעיהו כו) לך עמי בא בחדריך כי הוה חזי אינשי דמתא אמר ריש נהרא אתא למתא והאידנא נכיס אבא לפום ברא וברא לפום אבא ומיגנזו כולי עלמא כי אתי א"ל ממאן נבעי כי ניחא נפשיה א"ל שקולו תליסר מעי דציירי לי בסדינאי והדרו ליה לפלניא דשקלתינהו מיניה ולא איצטריכו לי
Translation: Rav Yehuda said: A shepherd is disqualified (until the court knows that he does not let his animals graze in the fields of others). A tax collector is valid (until the court knows that he adds more than what was imposed upon him). The father of R. Zeira was a tax collector for thirteen years. When the head tax collector of the river district would come to the town, the father of R. Zeira would go ahead and say to the people of the place. When he saw the sages, he would say to them: "Come, My people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide for a little moment until the wrath passes" (Yishayah 26:20). When he saw the common people, he would say to them: "Beware, the head tax collector of the river is coming to the town, and now he will slaughter the father before the son, and the son before the father." And they would all hide. When the head tax collector would come, the father of R. Zeira would say to him: "From whom shall I collect tax? There are no people here-lighten the tax." When he was dying, he said to those who were standing by him: "Take thirteen Ma'ah that are tied in my sheet and give them to so-and-so, for I took them from him and did not need them for the tax."
(a)Why did R. Zeira's father describe that the head tax collector will slaughter the father before the son and the son before the father?
1.Ben Yehoyada: The Pasuk states (Devarim 12:23), "For the blood is the soul." Just as blood is essential to life, so too is a person's livelihood. Money sustains a person and enables him to live. Taking it away is not just theft; it is, in effect, like slaughtering him. The mention of a father and son highlights this idea, as a father often supports his son, and sometimes a son supports his father.
(b)Why did R. Zeira's father address the Talmidim Chachamim differently than he did the common people?
1.Ein Eliyahu: R. Zeira's father would warn the Talmidei Chachamim by saying, "Go, my people, enter your rooms" (Yeshayahu 26:20). As we find in Bava Basra (8a), R. Yehuda haNasi placed guards to protect the Chachamim, but they said they did not require it because the Torah itself protects them. Therefore, they could hide in their study rooms and would not be found. However, for the rest of the people, the tax collectors would seize the father until the son paid the tax. Unlike the Talmidei Chachamim, they had to hide completely. Since they did not study Torah, merely being in their rooms inside their homes was not enough to ensure their safety.
2.Ben Yehoyada: He was able to speak with the Talmidei Chachamim in a way of Remez - hinting, since they would be able to understand it.
