(Permission is granted to print and redistribute this material
as long as this header and the footer at the end are included.)


ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS

prepared by Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler
Kollel Iyun Hadaf, Jerusalem

Previous daf

Bava Basra 103

BAVA BASRA 101-105 - Sponsored by a generous grant from an anonymous donor. Kollel Iyun Hadaf is indebted to him for his encouragement and support and prays that Hashem will repay him in kind.

Questions

1) One redeems an inherited field (that is fit to seed and) that one declared Hekdesh in times ...

1. ... when the Yovel does not apply - at their market price.
2. ... when it does, at the rate of - fifty Shekalim for every potential Chomer (Kur) of barley that could be planted there.
2)
(a) The Mishnah in Erchin considers ditches and rocks part of the field - when they are less than ten Tefachim deep or tall, but not when they are ten Tefachim or more.

(b) According to the Tana, the latter are redeemed at - market price.

(c) We learn the basic Halachah from the Pasuk "Zera Chomer Se'orim ba'Chamishim Shekel Kesef". From the Pasuk there "ve'Im Ga'ol Yig'al es *ha'Sadeh* ha'Makdish Oso" - we learn that even plots of land smaller than a 'Chomer Se'orim' are redeemed at that special rate ('Lesech [half a Kur], Chatzi Lesech, Sa'ah, Tarkav, Chatzi Tarkav')

3)
(a) Rav Ukva bar Chama reconciles this with the above Mishnah in Erchin, which requires ditches and rocks of ten Tefachim or more to be redeemed at market price - by establishing the case when they are filled with water (and are therefore unfit for sowing).

(b) We prove this from 'Sela'im', which the Tana mentions together with 'Neka'im' - and which are unfit for sowing ('Dumya di'Sela'im').

(c) We learn from the Pasuk "ve'Im Achar ha'Yovel Yakdish *Sadeihu*" - that plots of land that are unfit for sowing are precluded from the Din of 'Zera Chomer Se'orim' (and are therefore redeemed at market price).

(d) Ditches and rocks that are less than ten Tefachim are not precluded - because they are considered 'cracks of the land' (with no independent identity).

4)
(a) Our Mishnah precludes ditches and rocks of ten Tefachim from a sale of 'Beis Kur Afar' - even if they are not full of water (like those of Sadeh Achuzah) ...

(b) ... because the reason that large ditches and rocks are not part of the sale of the field (as opposed to the reason that they are precluded from the Din of Sadeh Achuzah) is - because the purchaser has bought one field and not two (as we explained earlier), so it is irrelevant whether they contain water or not.

(c) And the Tana mentions them together with rocks, which cannot be sown - because of the Seifa, to teach us that if they are less than ten Tefachim deep, they are included in the sale, even if they are full of water (and are therefore, unsowable, like rocks).

(d) The Tana is not in fact, making a false inference in the Reisha (to accommodate the Seifa) - because the Reisha too, incorporates unsowable ditches, like rocks (only it speaks about sowable ditches too, as we explained).

5)
(a) Rebbi Yitzchak limits 'T'rashin' - rocks, to a maximum of four Kabin per Kur. More than that, even though they are less than ten Tefachim, the purchaser is not Mochel, and are therefore not Batel to the field.

(b) The same will apply to ...

1. ... ditches - provided they are full of water and unfit for sowing, and to ...
2. ... more than two Kabin of ditches or rocks in half a Kur.
(c) Rav Ukva bar Chama qualifies the Din of four Kabin to a maximum area of five Kabin, by which he means - that the purchaser is only Mochel the four Kabin of Rebbi Yitzchak, if they are spread out over five, and certainly ...
1. ... over six or seven Kabin, but not, if they are spread out over ...
2. ... four and a half Kabin.
(d) If there is one rock that is less than ten Tefachim tall, which measures just under four Kabin - the purchaser will be Mochel, and it is therefore Batel to the field.
6)
(a) Rebbi Chiya bar Aba Amar Rebbi Yochanan disagrees with Rav Ukva' bar Chama. According to him, even if the four Kabin of water-filled ditches or rocks are spread out over five Kabin, they will not be counted in the sale. He will concede however - that if they are spread out over the majority of the field, the purchaser will be Mochel.

(b) Rebbi Chiya bar Aba Asks on Rebbi Yochanan 'Ruban be'Mi'utah, u'Mi'utan be'Rubah, Mahu', and remains with 'Teiku'. He has no problem for example, if the four Kabin are spread out at a quarter of a Kav per Sa'ah over sixteen Sa'ah (which is the majority of a Kur).

(c) The case of 'Ruban be'Mi'utah u'Mi'utan be'Rubah' is - where, for example, nine quarter Kabin are spread out over seven Sa'in, and the remaining seven quarter Kabin, over nine Sa'in.

(d) His She'eilah is then - whether Rebbi Yochanan requires the majority of the rocks to be spread out over the majority of the field for the purchaser to be Mochel, or whether he is Mochel anyway, provided that the entire four Kabin is not spread out over the minority of the field.

103b---------------------------------------103b

Questions

7)

(a) We ask what the Din will be if the majority of the field in which the four Kabin are situated are circular shaped like a bracelet, whether perhaps - since it is more difficult to pass one's plow backwards and forwards ('ke'Shesi ve'Arev') than the regular square-shaped pattern of rocks (where it is much easier to lift one's plow over each rock and continue), they are not counted as part of the field.

(b) We then ask - on the assumption that, in the previous case, they do count as part of the field, what the Din will be if they are placed in a straight row, which is more difficult to maneuver than a circle (since it means carrying the plow across that many times more).

(c) Following the same pattern, we ask what the Din will be if they are shaped 'ke'Itztadin' - which means like the shape of a pair of horns that project from the head of an ox.

(d) The final She'eilah, before concluding 'Teiku' is 'Derech Akalason Mahu' - which is the shape of a zigzag.

8)
(a) When the Beraisa says ...
1. ... 'Im Hayah Sela Yechidi, Afilu Kol-she'Hu, Ein Nimdad Imah', the Tana is referring to - our Mishnah 'Pachos mi'Kein, Nimdadin Imah', to teach us that if a small rock is situated outside the field, then, irrespective of its small size, it is not counted as part of the field that is being sold (since it is not 'absorbed in the field').
2. ... 'Im Hayah Samuch le'Meitzar, Afilu Kol-she'Hu, Ein Nimdad Imah' - the Tana is adding that even if it is situated inside the field, but it is near the border of the field, it still cannot be considered to be absorbed inside the field.
(b) Others connect this Beraisa with Rebbi Yitzchak (who restricts rocks of less than ten Tefachim in our Mishnah to four Kabin). They qualify Rav Ukva and Rebbi Yochanan's respective interpretations of Rebbi Yitzchak - by restricting the need for the small rocks to be spread out in an area of more than five Sa'in or in the majority of the field, respectively, to where the rocks are at least three Tefachim high, but where they are less, they are Batel to the field anyway.

(c) And what the Beraisa is now coming to teach us is - that if it is one rock that is the size of four Kabin, then it is not counted as part of the field, even though it is less than three Tefachim.

(d) We reject this explanation however, on the grounds - that a. there is no S'vara to make a distinction between one rock of less than three Tefachim and a number of rocks, and b. because there is no source to differentiate between rocks of more than three Tefachim and of less.

9)
(a) When Rav Papa asks what the Din will be if there is earth in between, he means to ask - whether that rock will still be considered part of the field if a strip of ground less than three Tefachim wide divides between it and the border of the field.

(b) And Rav Ashi finally asks, whether, assuming that the earth *is* considered a Hefsek - if the same rock reaches the borders of the field on top, but a little below the surface, there is a strip of earth that divides between it and the border, or vice-versa.

(c) These She'eilos remain unresolved ('Teiku').

10)
(a) We already discussed our Mishnah of 'Beis-Kur Afar Ani Mocher Lach, Midah be'Chevel'in the first Perek. If, in this case, Reuven gave Shimon ...
1. ... more than a Beis-Kur - the latter must return the balance (as we will explain shortly).
2. ... less than a Beis-Kur - he must deduct accordingly from the price.
(b) We reconcile this with ...
1. ... Rava, who learned in 'ha'Mocher es ha'Sefinah' that a sale that involves measuring, weighing or counting, is invalid even as the result of an error that is less than a sixth - by confining Rava to Metaltelin, but not to Karka (where we assume that the purchaser would prefer to go on with the sale notwithstanding the discrepancy).
2. ... the principle 'Ein Ona'ah le'Karka'os' - by confining the principle to a price error, but not to where the error was one of measurement.
11)
(a) The Tana rules in a case where Reuven stipulated 'Hein Chaser Hein Yeser' and he then gave Shimon ...
1. ... a quarter of a Kav per Sa'ah less or more than a Beis-Kur - that the sale is valid and final.
2. ... in excess of a quarter of a Kav per Sa'ah more than a Beis-Kur - that he makes a reckoning, and then claims the balance, either in land or in cash, whichever he chooses.
(b) The reason for the latter ruling (despite the fact that he said 'Hein Chaser Hein Yeser') is - because, when all's said and done, he did stipulate 'Beis-Kur Afar'.

(c) This Halachah speaks - when Reuven did not also stipulate 'Midah be'Chevel' (because in a case where he did, we will later cite a Machlokes between ben Nannes and the Chachamim.

12)
(a) Reuven has a choice of whether to ask for the difference in cash or in Karka on the grounds - that a small piece of ground (less than nine Kabin [which is really what he ought to receive]) is not Chashuv, and there is nothing he can really do with it. So (based on the principle 'Zeh Neheneh ve'Zeh Lo Chaser, Kofin Oso al Midas S'dom') Chazal gave him the right to ask for money instead, seeing on the other hand Shimon loses nothing.

(b) Shimon would not have the same choice, if Reuven gave him more than a quarter of a Kav per Sa'ah less than a Beis-Kur - because it is inconceivable that we should force Reuven to give Shimon a piece of another field and not money (and besides, what would it help Shimon to have a small piece of land that is not adjoined to his existing field).

(c) The significance of the nine Kabin is - the fact that they constitute one day's plowing, which explains why less is not worth much to the owner.

13)
(a) Shimon will however, be entitled to force Reuven to take back land, in the case of ...
1. ... a field - should the discrepancy amount to nine Kabin.
2. ... a vegetable garden - should the discrepancy amount to half a Kav (which is Chashuv) according to the Chachamim, and a quarter of a Kav, according to Rebbi Akiva.
(b) If Reuven gave Shimon more than a quarter of a Kav per Sa'ah, the latter is obligated to return - the entire balance, even the quarter of a Kav per Sa'ah (which he would initially not have been obligated to give him).

(c) In the case where they appeared in Beis-Din only at the end of the month, we cannot give the benefit of the doubt to the Socher, in spite of the fact that he is Muchzak in the money that the owner is claiming from him - because, due to the fact that the owner is Muchzak in his bathhouse, the Safek really begins at the beginning of the month, when the question arises whether the Socher has the right to use it during the month that was about to begin.

Next daf

Index


For further information on
subscriptions, archives and sponsorships,
contact Kollel Iyun Hadaf,
daf@shemayisrael.co.il