The Story of Dama ben Netinah
Who was Dama ben Netinah? Explore the famous Talmudic story of the Gentile merchant who refused a fortune to honor his father, the reward of the Red Heifer, and the deeper rabbinic symbolism behind his life.
Sometime in the first century, the Sages found themselves in need of one of the precious stones of the High Priest's Ephod¹. They were told of a merchant in Ashkelon who possessed one, who might be willing to sell it.
His name is Dama ben Netinah. And he is an important figure mentioned in the Talmud. You'll see why in a moment.
Dama's Deal
As the story goes², the Sages made the few-day journey to the Mediterranean coastal city and found Dama at home. Wasting no time, they explained their interest in the stone and offered him six hundred thousand gold dinars³. This was an incredible amount of money; by some rough math, this could be close to a billion dollars today.
Dama indeed owned such a stone, and he went inside to retrieve it. But he came back a moment later, empty-handed. Assuming he was driving a hard bargain, the Sages raised their price. This seems to have gone on for a bit until Dama finally emerged with the item.
Prepared to pay him the full amount, Dama declined, settling on the first amount the Sages offered. They were stunned.
(In some versions of the story, the monetary value varies, but nevertheless, Dama forfeited a large sum of money.)
Dama explained that the stone was inaccessible without waking his father. He accepted their first offer; he just had to wait for his father to awaken to retrieve it. His act of honoring his father serves as a universal lesson for all to follow.
But the story does not end there.
The Red Heifer (Para Adumah)
The following year, a blemish-free Para Adumah (פָּרָה אֲדֻמָּה), also known as a Red Heifer, was born in Dama's herd. The Sages viewed this as a reward from Heaven, for his prior good deed.
A kosher and viable Para Adumah is possibly the rarest and most important animal in Jewish law, as its ashes purify those who have contracted corpse impurity.
The Para Adumah is a classic Chok, a Divine decree with no rational explanation. To this day, it remains one of the most mysterious commandments given in the Torah.
The Sages once again made the journey to purchase it. But when Dama named his price, he surprised them again:
"... I know that if I were to ask for all the money in the world you would give it to me. But I ask only that money that I lost due to the honor of Father." - Kiddushin 31a
In one version of the story, Dama was paid 600,000 dinars, which is an interesting number to take note of.
A Gentile Who Lived Torah
I'm aware of the Talmudic approaches to this story, one of which evokes the discussion of who is greater, one who is commanded and fulfills the commands, or one who is not commanded, yet fulfills.