Bava Basra 20b

בבא בתרא כ׳ ע״ב

Bava Batra 20b

Learn Bava Basra 20b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Windows and מחיצות, then neighbors' damages: mills, ovens, storerooms and noise in a courtyard

Overview

The גמרא finishes a ברייתא about items placed in a window. Such an item makes the opening smaller only if the owner will leave it there, so a shard, a כלי חרס and a ספר תורה each count only when they are useless or set aside for good. Because salt is mentioned, the גמרא brings רב and שמואל on building a מחיצה from salt. It settles their dispute two ways: by the type of salt, or by whether a beam presses the salt down. Next it explains the משנה's distances: a mill is kept from the wall because of its noise, not its shaking, and אביי learns the shape of an oven from its measurements. A new משנה sets rules for ovens near ceilings and floors. The תנא קמא and רבי שמעון disagree on whether keeping the distances frees you from paying for damage. It also forbids putting a bakery, dye shop or cattle barn under a neighbor's storeroom, with an exception for wine. The גמרא discusses all of these, leaving several questions as תיקו. Finally, a משנה about noise in a shared courtyard begins, and אביי and רבא start explaining why a store may be blocked but noisy crafts may not. רבא's answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (38)

1. ResolutionThe shard is too small to matter
2. ProofSource for the minimum size of a shard
3. ChallengeBut an earthenware vessel is useful
4. ResolutionThe vessel is dirty
5. ChallengeBut a bloodletter can still use it
6. ResolutionThe vessel has a hole
7. ChallengeBut a ספר תורה is for reading
8. ResolutionThe scroll is worn out
9. ChallengeBut a worn-out scroll needs burial
10. ResolutionThe window itself is its גניזה
11. Statementרב: any material works for a מחיצה except salt and fat
12. Statementשמואל: even salt works
13. Resolutionרב פפא: two different kinds of salt
14. ResolutionA second way to settle רב and שמואל: salt with a beam on top
15. QuestionWhy must a mill be kept away from the wall?
16. ResponseFirst answer: because of shaking
17. ChallengeA ברייתא about a mill on a wooden stand, where there is no shaking
18. ResolutionThe real reason: because of the noise
19. Statementאביי: an oven's base is one handbreadth wider than its rim
20. StatementNew משנה: an oven in a house needs four אמות of space above it
21. StatementAn oven in an upper story needs a thick plaster floor beneath it
22. StatementEven after keeping the distance, he pays for damage
23. Statementרבי שמעון: the distances free you from paying
24. StatementNo bakery, dye shop or barn under a neighbor's storeroom
25. StatementWine storeroom: bakery allowed, barn not
26. ChallengeA ברייתא gives thicker plaster measurements
27. Resolutionאביי: the ברייתא is about bakers' ovens
28. StatementA barn that came first may stay
29. QuestionDoes a prepared but empty storeroom count?
30. QuestionMore signs of a storeroom: windows, a veranda, an upper room
31. Questionרב הונא asks about dates and pomegranates
32. StatementWhy wine is allowed but a cattle barn is not
33. Statementרב יוסף: our wine is too delicate
34. Statementרב ששת: alfalfa is like a cattle barn
35. StatementNew משנה: a store in the courtyard versus noisy work at home
36. ChallengeWhy is the first case different from the second?
37. Resolutionאביי: the second case is in a different courtyard
38. Challengeרבא rejects אביי and starts his own answer