Bava Basra 167a

בבא בתרא קס״ז ע״א

Bava Batra 167a

Learn Bava Basra 167a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Guarding documents against forgery, and writing a גט or שובר for one side alone

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an earlier discussion about a שטר whose amount can be read two ways. The rule is יד בעל השטר על התחתונה: the holder of the document gets the lower amount. Then אביי gives practical advice against forgery. Never leave your signature at the bottom of a blank page, because a debt could be written above it, and a handwritten IOU can collect. A story shows אביי signing at the top of the page when a sneaky tax collector tried to trick him. אביי also warns not to write the numbers three to ten at the end of a line, where a forger could stretch them into bigger numbers. Three stories follow about forgers who were caught. One turned a ב into a ו, one squeezed in an extra ו, and one faked רבא's signature together with the shaky signature of רב אחא בר אדא. Finally a new משנה teaches that a scribe may write a גט for a husband, or a שובר for a wife, when the other side is not present. He may do this only if he recognizes them, and the husband pays the fee.

Opening lines

The steps (12)

1. ConclusionUnclear amount: the document holder gets the lower sum
2. StatementDon't sign at the bottom of a blank page
3. ProofWhy the forged note would work: a handwritten IOU collects
4. Statementאביי and the sneaky tax collector
5. StatementDon't write the numbers three to ten at the end of a line
6. StatementWhat to do if the number lands at the end of a line
7. StatementThe forger who turned a ב into a ו
8. StatementThe forger who squeezed in an extra ו
9. Statementרבא recognizes a forged pairing of signatures
10. Questionרבא asks how the forger copied a shaky signature
11. ResponseThe forger explains his trick
12. Statementמשנה: Writing a גט or a receipt when only one side is present