[Avodah] Home Rule

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Joel Rich asked:
> The gemara and poskim use differing terms to describe what
> at first glance seems to be the same thing (e.g.)
> zayin tovei hair / bnai hair / manhigei hair / parnas
> Is anyone aware of any distinctions made between these?

The "zayin tovei ha'ir" and the "bnai ha'ir" are most definitely NOT the same thing. See the fourth perek of Megillah, not-coincidentally entitled "Bnai Ha'ir". (ArtScroll translates these phrases as "trustees" and "townspeople" respectively, but does not go into any further detail that I've seen.)

At the bottom of 25b, the Mishna talks about a shul which was sold by the bnai ha'ir, without the approval of the shiva tovei ha'ir. At the bottom of 26a, the Gemara talks about a shul which is sold by the shiva tovei ha'ir, without the approval of the bnai ha'ir. (My chavrusa and I are stumped as to who actually owns the shul, if it can be sold by either group.)

Akiva Miller
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