## Sifrei Devarim Paragraph 194

###### Sifrei Devarim 194:1
[Sifrei Devarim 194:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/194:1)

(דברים כ ה) **מִי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה**, אֵין לִי אֶלָּא בָּנָה. יָרַשׁ, לָקַח, נִתַּן לוֹ בְּמַתָּנָה מִנַּיִן? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: **מִי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה**.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**Pisqa’ 194**³⁰³
1. **“Who is the man who has *built* a new house” (Dt. 20:5)?**
I might infer only that
[this exemption applies to]
one who *built* a house!

footnotes:
³⁰³ H:214-215; JN2:82-83.


###### Sifrei Devarim 194:2
[Sifrei Devarim 194:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/194:2)

**בַּיִת**, אֵין לִי אֶלָּא בַּיִת. מִנַּיִן לְרַבּוֹת בּוֹנֶה בֵּית הַתֶּבֶן, וּבֵית הַבָּקָר, וּבֵית הָעֵצִים, וּבֵית הָאוֹצָרוֹת? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: **אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה**. יָכוֹל אַף הַבּוֹנֶה בֵּית שַׁעַר, אַכְסַדְרָה וּמִרְפֶּסֶת? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: **בַּיִת** – מָה בַּיִת מְיֻחָד, שֶׁהוּא בֵּית דִּירָה – יָצְאוּ אֵלּוּ, שֶׁאֵינָם בֵּית דִּירָה.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**On what basis do I know to include**
**one who *inherited* a house,**
**one who *purchased* a house,**
**or one who *received it* as a gift?**
**The Teaching states:**
**“Who is the man who has *built*” (Dt. 20:5)—**
**[*building* includes any mode of acquisition].**
**“A *house*” (Dt. 20:5)—**
**I might infer only that**
**[this exemption] applies to a house (*bayit*)!**
**On what basis do I know to include**
**a storage shed for straw (*beit***³⁰⁴ is the construct state of *bayit* (Heb: “house”). The point of the exegesis is to include in the rule items designated for shelter of any kind. ***hateven),***
**a cattle-barn (*beit habaqar*),**
**a wood-shed (*beit ha`eitzim),***
**or a silo (*beit ha-‘otzarot*)*?***
**The Teaching states:**
**“Who has *built*” (Dt. 20:5)—**
**[a *house* includes any form of permanent shelter].**³⁰⁵
**If so, is it possible to say that**
**[this exemption] applies even to**
**the builder of a gate-house (*beit sha`ar*),**
**a portico, or a balcony?**
**The Teaching states:**
**“A *house*” (Dt. 20:5)—**
**Since a house is distinctive**
**in serving as a dwelling-place (*beit dirah*),**
**these structures,**
**which do not primarily serve as a dwelling-place,**
**must be excluded from the exemption.**³⁰⁶

footnotes:
³⁰⁴ Beit
³⁰⁵ //M. Sotah 8:2.
³⁰⁶ Cf. M. Sotah 8:3.


###### Sifrei Devarim 194:3
[Sifrei Devarim 194:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/194:3)

**וְלֹא חֲנָכוֹ** – פְּרָט לְגַזְלָן.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
“And who hasn’t yet dedicated it” (Dt. 20:5)—
this prevents a robber [from claiming an exemption].


###### Sifrei Devarim 194:4
[Sifrei Devarim 194:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/194:4)

**יֵלֵךְ וְיָשֹׁב לְבֵיתוֹ** – יֵלֵךְ וְיִשְׁמַע דִּבְרֵי כֹהֵן מֵעֶרְכֵי מִלְחָמָה וְיַחֲזֹר.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
2. “**He shall go and return to his *home*” (Dt. 20:5)—**
**that is, he shall go and heed**
**the instructions of the Warrior Priest to return.**


###### Sifrei Devarim 194:5
[Sifrei Devarim 194:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/194:5)

**פֶּן יָמוּת בַּמִּלְחָמָה**, אִם אֵינוֹ שׁוֹמֵעַ לְדִבְרֵי כֹהֵן – לְסוֹף הוּא מֵת בַּמִּלְחָמָה.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**“*Lest* he die in battle” (Dt. 20:5)—**
**failing to heed the instructions of the Warrior Priest,**
**he will eventually die in battle.**³⁰⁷ 195.2.

footnotes:
³⁰⁷ Cf. Pisqa’


###### Sifrei Devarim 194:6
[Sifrei Devarim 194:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/194:6)

**וְאִישׁ אַחֵר יַחְנְכֶנּוּ**, יָכוֹל דּוֹדוֹ וּבֶן דּוֹדוֹ? נֶאֱמַר כָּאן ״אַחֵר״ וְנֶאֱמַר לְהַלָּן (דברים כ ז) ״אַחֵר״, מָה אַחֵר הָאָמוּר לְהַלָּן נָכְרִי, אַף אַחֵר הָאָמוּר כָּאן נָכְרִי.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**“And *another* man will consecrate it” (Dt. 20:5)—**
**is it possible to say that**
**his uncle or cousin might take the house? Here it is stated:**
**“*Another* man will consecrate it” (Dt. 20:5),**
**and elsewhere it is stated:**
**“*Another* man will take her” (Dt. 20:7; cf. Dt. 28:30)—**
**just as the *other man* discussed elsewhere**
**implies a stranger,**³⁰⁸ commonly denotes a gentile. Here, it refers to an Israelite who has no kinship ties to a particular Israelite family.
**so, too, the *other man* discussed here**
**implies a stranger.**³⁰⁹

footnotes:
³⁰⁸ Heb: nochri;
³⁰⁹ //T. Sotah 7:22.