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Bava Basra 104a

בבא בתרא ק״ד ע״א

Bava Batra 104a

Learn Bava Basra 104a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bava Basra 104a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Selling land by size: what a plain 'בית כור' means, how extra land is paid for, and when a nine-קבין surplus must be returned

Overview

The גמרא first asks what a plain sale of 'a בית כור' of land means when the seller adds no extra words. The two halves of the משנה point in opposite directions, so nothing can be learned from it. A ברייתא then seems to treat a plain sale like 'more or less,' and רב אשי's point about the repeated words 'I am selling you' proves that reading. Next the גמרא asks why the משנה protects only the seller, who may choose between taking money or land back for extra land. It answers that the buyer is protected through the price: he always pays the lower one, today's price if land got cheaper and the original price if it got more expensive. Finally, רב הונא and רב נחמן argue about the משנה's nine-קבין rule. רב הונא says a nine-קבין surplus always goes back as land, even in a huge valley. רב נחמן says the allowed extra is a ratio of seven and a half קבין per כור.

Opening lines

פָּחוֹת כׇּל שֶׁהוּא – יְנַכֶּה,

If it is even slightly less, he must deduct;

יָתֵר כׇּל שֶׁהוּא – יַחֲזִיר.

if it is even slightly more, he must return it.

הָא סְתָמָא –

This implies that a plain sale, without further words,

כְּ״הֵן חָסֵר הֵן יָתֵר״ דָּמֵי!

is like 'more or less'!

The steps (15)

  1. ProofProof from the first half of the משנה
  2. RejectionThe second half of the משנה implies the opposite
  3. ConclusionNothing can be learned from this משנה
  4. ProofProof from a ברייתא listing three phrasings
  5. RejectionThe ברייתא is one explanation, not three cases
  6. Challengeרב אשי: why repeat 'I am selling you'?
  7. ConclusionConclusion: a plain sale is like 'more or less'
  8. StatementQuoting the משנה: The buyer pays money
  9. ChallengeIs only the seller protected? A ברייתא protects the buyer too
  10. ResolutionThe ברייתא is about land that got cheaper
  11. ChallengeAnother ברייתא: pay the original price
  12. ResolutionThat ברייתא is about land that got more expensive
  13. StatementQuoting the nine-קבין line of the משנה
  14. Statementרב הונא: the nine-קבין rule applies even in a huge valley
  15. Statementרב נחמן: the allowed extra grows with the field's size