[Avodah] Eishes Yefas Toar and Pruzbul

[David Riceman]

> RMB:
> 
> 
> So why the difference in approach? Why wasn't ribis permitted keneged YhR,
> or lending past shemittah, or qinyan deOraisa be when the buyer takes
> posession of the merchandise, rather than the seller takes the money?
> Again, all for the sake of keneged YhR?

It is in general true that the Torah prefers to regulate strong emotions
(like greed and lust) rather than to extirpate them.  See for example Hagigah
9b “yaeh aniyusa liyehudaei …”, and yet the Torah doesn’t prohibit wealth (though
see Parshas Shoftim 17:16-17), though historically several communities have enacted 
sumptuary laws.  And see H. Deos 1:4-5 about the difference between
a tzaddik and a hasid.  The Rambam implies (at the end of 1:5) that he prefers tzidkus
to hasidus but see H. Deos 6:1 that this applies only in a virtuous society.

It is in general true that the Torah allows multiple regimes, so that it is open to differing
economic regulation (as you observe).  On a technical level, however, I don’t see how
we could permit yefas toar if the Torah prohibited it, so that would reduce rather than increase our options.

But there’s a more important point.  What’s weird about war is that it’s not a permanent state.
One has to make the transition between civilian/soldier/civilian, and very different rules apply
in those different contexts (look again at H. Deos 6:1).  When Hazal say “hasatan mekatreg b'shaas hamilhama” that’s partly
because the soldiers don’t have years of experience internalizing the rules of war.

But economic change (from Biblical small farmer to Hazal large estates to rishonim merchants)
was generational, and it is much easier for a person to regulate his own YhR internally if his
temptations are uniform over his lifetime.

So it makes a lot of sense that k’nagged YhR is specifically mentioned in the context of milhama.

David Riceman