Bava Basra 166a
בבא בתרא קס״ו ע״א
Bava Batra 166a
Learn Bava Basra 166a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.
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Topic
Reading unclear money amounts in a שטר: the holder gets the lower amount, and 'דינרי' (gold) differs from 'דינרין' (silver) (בבא בתרא קסו.)
Overview
The גמרא is working through a ברייתא about a שטר that names a metal (gold or silver) and 'dinars' without saying exactly how much. First it asks whether a gold amount could mean tiny coins, and answers that people don't make tiny gold coins. Then it asks why 'זהב בדינרין' isn't read as the bigger amount. אביי answers that when a שטר is unclear, the holder gets the lower amount. That causes a problem in the רישא, where the ברייתא gives the bigger amount. רב אשי solves it: the רישא is where the שטר wrote 'דינרי', meaning gold dinars, and the סיפא is where it wrote 'דינרין', meaning silver dinars. The גמרא proves this from a story: bird pairs in ירושלים cost gold דינרי, and רבן שמעון בן גמליאל swore to bring the price down to plain דינרין, meaning cheap silver coins.
Opening lines
וְאֵימָא פְּרִיטֵי!
But say it means small coins!
פְּרִיטֵי דְּדַהֲבָא לָא עָבְדִי אִינָשֵׁי.
Small coins of gold, people do not make.
״זָהָב בְּדִינָרִין״ –
If it says: 'Gold in dinars'
אֵין פָּחוֹת מִבִּשְׁנֵי דִינָרִין כֶּסֶף, זָהָב.
no less than two silver dinars' worth of gold.
The steps (10)
- ChallengeMaybe the document means small coins
- ResolutionNobody makes small gold coins
- StatementThe ברייתא on 'gold in dinars'
- ChallengeWhy not two gold dinars' worth?
- Resolutionאביי: the holder of the שטר gets the lower amount
- ChallengeThen why does the רישא give the bigger amount?
- Resolutionרב אשי: different spellings mean different dinars
- QuestionWhere do we see the two spellings mean different coins?
- ProofThe teaching about a woman who owes several bird offerings
- Proofרבן שמעון בן גמליאל brings the bird price down from gold to silver