Bava Basra 162a

בבא בתרא קס״ב ע״א

Bava Batra 162a

Learn Bava Basra 162a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Why the last line of a שטר is not trusted: רב עמרם's rule that we do not learn new details from the final line (אין למדין משיטה אחרונה), and his proof from a ברייתא about blank lines between the text and the witnesses.

Overview

The גמרא had just taught that the last line of a שטר should only repeat what is already written above it. רב עמרם explains why: we never take new information from the last line, because the holder of the document might have added it dishonestly. רב נחמן asks him for a source. רב עמרם brings a ברייתא. If the witnesses signed two lines below the text, the document is פסול. If they signed only one line below, it is כשר. He points out that a forger could write in one blank line just as easily as in two. So the difference only makes sense if the last line is ignored anyway. With one blank line, any forgery would land in the last line, which nobody relies on. With two blank lines, a forger could write a fake line and then a last line repeating it, so the fake detail would be trusted. The גמרא agrees: שמע מינה.

Opening lines

The steps (5)

1. Statementרב עמרם: we do not learn from the last line
2. Questionרב נחמן asks for the source
3. ProofThe ברייתא about blank lines before the witnesses
4. ChallengeWhy should one line be different from two?
5. ConclusionSo we do not learn from the last line: proven