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Bava Basra 152b

בבא בתרא קנ״ב ע״ב

Bava Batra 152b

Learn Bava Basra 152b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

How a קנין affects a deathbed gift (מתנת שכיב מרע), and what happens when a שכיב מרע gives the same property to two people one after the other

Overview

The amud opens with the end of a ruling that רבא found difficult: when a שכיב מרע makes a קנין, it is clear he did it only because he expected to die. רב נחמן answers with a silent hand gesture, and רבא later explains it to רב נחמן בר יצחק. The case is one where the giver was strengthening the recipient's position (מיפה את כחו). רב חסדא defines that case by the wording of the document: 'and we acquired from him in addition to this gift.' The גמרא then turns to a שכיב מרע who gives the same property to two people. If he only wrote documents, the later one cancels the earlier, as רב דימי taught. If he also transferred possession each time, רב says the first recipient wins because it is like a healthy person's gift, and שמואל says the second wins because it is still a deathbed gift. The גמרא explains why this dispute is needed alongside their earlier dispute about a deathbed gift with a written קנין. Finally it brings the פומבדיתא version, where רב's study hall sends שמואל a question and he replies 'after a קנין there is nothing.' The next amud discusses what that reply means.

Opening lines

בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה קִנְיָן

It is known that the act of acquisition was not

אֶלָּא מֵחֲמַת הַמִּיתָה.

except because of the expected death.

וְאַחְוִי לֵיהּ בִּידֵיהּ,

And he showed him with his hand,

וְאִשְׁתִּיק.

and he (רבא) was silent.

The steps (13)

  1. ChallengeThe end of the ruling that raised the difficulty
  2. Resolutionרב נחמן answers with a hand gesture
  3. Questionרב נחמן בר יצחק asks what the gesture meant
  4. ResponseThe gesture meant: the giver was strengthening the recipient
  5. QuestionWhat counts as strengthening the recipient?
  6. Responseרב חסדא: the document says the קנין is in addition to the gift
  7. StatementTwo documents to two people: the later one cancels the earlier
  8. StatementWrote and transferred to two people: רב and שמואל disagree
  9. StatementThe reasons behind the views of רב and שמואל
  10. ChallengeHaven't רב and שמואל already argued about this?
  11. ResolutionBoth disputes are needed
  12. QuestionThe פומבדיתא version: a question sent to שמואל
  13. Responseשמואל: after a קנין, nothing can undo it