Bava Basra 173a

בבא בתרא קע״ג ע״א

Bava Batra 173a

Learn Bava Basra 173a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Two men with the same name and their loan notes, unclear receipts and statements about repaid notes, and the start of the משנה about a ערב.

Overview

This amud continues the case of two men in one town who are both named יוסף בן שמעון. First the גמרא explains why a ברייתא says they cannot collect a שטר חוב even from other people. One answer is that they disagree whether a note's rights pass by handing it over (אותיות נקנות במסירה). The other answer is that everyone agrees it passes, and they disagree whether the holder must prove it was given to him. That second answer leads to the dispute between אביי and רבא, each reading a ברייתא about brothers in his own way. Next, a second ברייתא lets the two men collect from each other, and the גמרא ties this to whether a note may be written for a borrower without the lender present. The גמרא then works through the משנה's case of a receipt that just says 'יוסף בן שמעון' and the advice to write more generations of names. A new משנה follows about a father who does not know which of his notes was repaid. רבא and רבינא then establish that unclear wording goes against the holder of the document. The amud ends by opening a new משנה about a loan made through a ערב.

Opening lines

The steps (24)

1. ChallengeA ברייתא says they cannot collect from others either
2. ResolutionThey disagree about transferring a debt by handing over the note
3. ResolutionOr: everyone agrees, and they disagree about needing proof
4. StatementThe known dispute: must the new holder prove he received the note?
5. Proofאביי's proof from a brother holding the father's note
6. Rejectionרבא: brothers are a special case
7. ProofAnother version: רבא proves his view from the same ברייתא
8. Rejectionאביי explains why the ברייתא mentions brothers
9. QuestionA ברייתא lets the two יוסף בן שמעון collect from each other
10. ResponseThey argue about writing a note without the lender present
11. ResponseHow the trick works under our משנה's view
12. ResponseThe other ברייתא holds a note needs the lender present
13. StatementQuoting the משנה about a found receipt
14. ChallengeContradiction with the משנה's earlier line
15. Resolutionרבי ירמיה: the notes have the grandfather's name
16. ChallengeWhy not check whose name is on the receipt?
17. Resolutionרב הושעיא: full names on the notes, not on the receipt
18. Resolutionאביי: The receipt was found among the borrower's papers
19. StatementIf both men are priests, they write more generations
20. StatementNew משנה: A father says one of his notes is repaid
21. Statementרבא: Saying 'a note' versus saying 'a debt'
22. ChallengeWould the same rule apply to selling a field?
23. ResolutionThe person holding the document is at the disadvantage
24. StatementNew משנה: a loan made with a guarantor