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Bava Basra 153a

בבא בתרא קנ״ג ע״א

Bava Batra 153a

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Topic

Taking back a deathbed gift: a קנין, the wording 'in life and in death,' and who must prove the giver was sick

Overview

This amud first settles how far an earlier rule reaches: a שכיב מרע who gave a gift with a formal קנין cannot take it back. רב חסדא, quoting רב הונא, says this holds both for keeping the gift himself and for giving it to someone else, and a story with רב הונא shows the rule in action. Next, רב and שמואל argue about a gift document that says 'in life and in death.' רב calls it a deathbed gift, and שמואל calls it a healthy person's gift. The scholars of נהרדעא rule like רב. רבא adds that the wording 'from life' makes the gift final, but אמימר rules that the הלכה is not like רבא. Two stories follow: רב נחמן will not rule against שמואל in שמואל's town, and a woman curses רבא after he tries to trick her. Then a new משנה asks who must prove whether the giver was sick or healthy. The גמרא begins with a deed that mentions the illness but not that the giver died from it.

Opening lines

סְבוּר מִינֵּיהּ,

They understood from this:

הָנֵי מִילֵּי לְאַחֵר,

this applies only to giving it to another,

אֲבָל לְעַצְמוֹ – לֹא;

but for himself, it does not apply.

אֲמַר לְהוּ רַב חִסְדָּא:

Rav Chisda said to them:

The steps (18)

  1. StatementA first understanding: the rule only blocks giving to someone else
  2. Rejectionרב חסדא: the rule covers both himself and others
  3. StatementA real case: רב הונא will not let him take back his gift
  4. StatementA gift document saying 'in life and in death': רב and שמואל disagree
  5. Statementרב's reasoning: 'in death' decides, and 'in life' is just a blessing
  6. Statementשמואל explains why it is a healthy person's gift
  7. ConclusionThe scholars of נהרדעא rule like רב
  8. Statementרבא: if it says 'from life,' the receiver acquires
  9. Statementאמימר: the הלכה is not like רבא
  10. Challengeרב אשי: isn't that obvious?
  11. ResolutionWe might have thought רב agrees with 'from life'
  12. Statementרב נחמן sends a case away from שמואל's town
  13. StatementA woman loses her case before רבא and keeps pestering him
  14. Statementרבא has his scribe write a ruling with a hidden signal
  15. StatementThe woman sees the trick and curses רבא, and the curse comes true
  16. StatementNew משנה: a deed that does not say the giver was dying, according to רבי מאיר
  17. StatementThe חכמים say the burden of proof is on the one trying to take
  18. StatementA deed that mentions the illness but not that he died from it