Bava Basra 156b

בבא בתרא קנ״ו ע״ב

Bava Batra 156b

Learn Bava Basra 156b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Whether a שכיב מרע can give gifts by speech alone: the stories of the בני רוכל and the man from מרון, רבי לוי's ruling on a קנין on שבת, and the משנה's dispute about שבת versus weekdays.

Overview

The amud opens with the end of a משנה. The חכמים bring the case of the mother of the בני רוכל, a sick woman whose spoken gift of a brooch was upheld. רבי אליעזר brushes this off with a curse on her sons. In a ברייתא, רבי אליעזר tells his own story about a man from מרון who could give away his movables only along with land. The חכמים reply that this man was healthy, so his case proves nothing about a שכיב מרע. The גמרא explains that רבי אליעזר cursed the בני רוכל because they kept thorns in a vineyard, which he holds makes it forbidden as כלאים, since in ערביא thorns are grown for camels. רבי לוי rules that a קנין may be done for a dying man even on שבת, to keep him calm. A new משנה follows, with רבי אליעזר and רבי יהושע arguing about whether a dying man's words count on שבת and on weekdays, and about acquiring for a minor or an adult. The גמרא says the משנה follows רבי יהודה, and it begins quoting רבי מאיר's opposite report of רבי אליעזר. That report continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (16)

1. ProofThe חכמים' proof from the mother of the בני רוכל
2. Rejectionרבי אליעזר brushes off the proof with a curse
3. Proofרבי אליעזר's own story begins: the man from מרון
4. ProofThe man from מרון transfers his property with land
5. RejectionThe חכמים reject the proof: he was healthy
6. QuestionWhy did רבי אליעזר curse the sons of Rokhel?
7. ResponseThey kept thorns growing in a vineyard
8. ProofThis fits רבי אליעזר's view on thorns in a vineyard
9. ChallengeWhat are thorns good for?
10. ResolutionIn ערביא, thorns are grown for camels
11. StatementA קנין may be done for a dying man even on שבת
12. Statementמשנה: Do a dying person's spoken words count on שבת and on weekdays?
13. Statementמשנה: Acquiring on behalf of a minor or an adult
14. QuestionWhose opinion does the משנה follow?
15. ResponseThe משנה follows רבי יהודה
16. Proofרבי מאיר quotes רבי אליעזר the opposite way