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REVIEW QUESTIONS ON GEMARA AND RASHI

prepared by Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler
Kollel Iyun Hadaf, Jerusalem

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Bava Basra 115

1)

(a) Rebbi Yochanan asked Rebbi Yehudah b'Rebbi Shimon (who holds that a woman inherits her son) from the Seifa of our Mishnah 'ha'Ishah es B'nah ... Manchilin ve'Lo Nochlin'.
Why did he not ask from the Reisha 'ha'Ish es Imo ... Nochlin ve'Lo Manchilin'?

(b) What did Rebbi Yehudah b'Rebbi Shimon reply?

(c) On what grounds do we suggest that the author of our Mishnah is Rebbi Zecharyah ben ha'Katzav?

(d) We reject this however, on the basis of the Beraisa, which comments 'B'nei Achos' in our Mishnah 'B'nei Achos, ve'Lo B'nos Achos'.
What does the Beraisa mean? How does this clash with Rebbi Zecharyah ben ha'Katzav?

2)
(a) What is now the problem with our Mishnah?

(b) How do we resolve this problem? If the Tana Darshens "Matos", why does a woman not inherit her son?

(c) How do we extrapolate that from this Pasuk?

3)
(a) How does Rabeinu Chananel learn the previous Halachah from the extra 'Mem' in "*mi'Matos"?

(b) The Pasuk refers to the father and mother of a daughter.
What will be the equivalent Din with regard to the father and mother of a son?

4)
(a) It is clear that if Ya'akov dies, leaving a son Reuven and a daughter Dinah, that Reuven inherits his father's property. What does our Mishnah rule in a case where Reuven and his son Chanoch died before Ya'akov, leaving only Dinah and Serach, Chanoch's daughter, alive after Ya'akov's death? Who will now inherit Ya'akov's property?

(b) Will the offspring of any heir (e.g. a brother) take precedence over the next of kin, or is the current Halachah confined to the offspring of a son.

(c) A man's daughter takes precedence over his brothers or his father.
What is the order of precedence if a man dies leaving only a brother, a father and his daughter's granddaughter?

(d) Who takes precedence between a daughter and a son's daughter's son or daughter?

5)
(a) How do we learn that a son's offspring take precedence over the next of kin from "u'Vein *Ein* Lo"?

(b) What precedent do we have for 'Ein' without a 'Yud'?

(c) And from where do we know that the same applies to the offspring of the deceased's daughter, who will inherit before his brother?

6)
(a) What does the Tana mean when he says that a father precedes all his ofspring?

(b) To which of his offspring will this not apply?

Answers to questions

115b---------------------------------------115b

7)

(a) There where the deceased leaves behind no descendants, says the Beraisa, then 'Ayein Alav' goes upwards to his direct ancestors (or their offspring), going back as far as Reuven (or Shimon ...
Who takes precedence, the deceased's father's ...
  1. ... brother or his grandfather?
  2. ... brother or his great-grandfather?
  3. ... sister or his grandfather?
(b) Why does the Tana stop short of Ya'akov?
8)
(a) What did Rav Huna Amar Rav say about a Dayan who rules that the daughter of the deceased inherits together with his son's daughter?

(b) The Beraisa cites the source of this fallacy as being the Tzedokim. What caused the Talmidim of Tzadok and Baytus to reject Torah she'be'Al Peh?

(c) How did that Tzedoki elder learn his Din from a 'Kal va'Chomer'?

(d) Raban Yochanan ben Zakai cited him two Pesukim in Vayishlach.
What does he extrapolate from the fact that one Pasuk refers to Tziv'on and Anah as sons of Se'ir ha'Chori, and the other, which lists Anah (together with Ayah) as a son of Tziv'on?

9)
(a) What did Rabah (or Rava) and some say Rav Papa, Darshen from the Pasuk "Hu Anah Asher Matza es ha'Yeimim ba'Midbar"?

(b) This is something that even Shavur Malka (the King of Persia in reality) did not Darshen.
Who was Shavur Malka, assuming that the author of the statement was ...

  1. ... Rabah (or Rava)?
  2. ... Rav Papa?
(c) Why did they refer to them as Shavur Malka?
10)
(a) How does Raban Yochanan ben Zakai prove from here that 'B'nei Banim Harei Hein ke'Banim'?

(b) Then how do we know that Tziv'on had relations with his mother? Maybe the Pasuk only writes "Eileh B'nei Tziv'on ... " to teach us the principle 'B'nei Banim Harei Hein ke'Banim"?

(c) How does this disprove the Tzedokim?

11)
(a) On what grounds did the Tzedoki elder query Raban Yochanan ben Zakai's 'Pircha' on his 'Kal va'Chomer'?

(b) Raban Yochanan it seems, had been loathe to reveal to him his true reasoning.
Why is that?

(c) On what basis did he finally refute the 'Kal va'Chomer'? What advantage does a son's daughter have over a daughter?

(d) Where do we find in the Torah that ...

  1. ... a son's daughters inherited their father's portion in his father's property, despite his brothers?
  2. ... the daughters of the deceased did not inherit because she had brothers?
12)
(a) What did Raban Yochanan ben Zakai mean when he said 'she'Lo Tehei Torah Sheleimah she'Lanu ke'Sichah Beteilah she'Lachem"?

(b) What is the significance of the fact that this episode took place on the twenty-fourth of Teives?

(c) What was the justification of this Yom-Tov?

Answers to questions

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