Bava Basra 37b

בבא בתרא ל״ז ע״ב

Bava Batra 37b

Learn Bava Basra 37b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Who owns the ground under sold trees: a seller who keeps the trees or the land, the dispute of רבי עקיבא and רבנן, trees planted too close together, and the buyer of a date palm.

Overview

This amud first finishes explaining why someone who sells land but keeps his trees surely kept the ground they stand on: otherwise the buyer could make him uproot them. It then turns to the reverse case, where someone sells trees and keeps the land. That case depends on the dispute between רבי עקיבא, who says a seller sells generously, and רבנן, who say he sells sparingly. The גמרא shows that each side still fits the earlier rulings of רב זביד and רב פפא, because those rulings were about two separate buyers. Next, the נהרדעי say that eating the fruit of crowded trees gives no חזקה. רבא challenges this from an alfalfa field and moves the rule to a sale: a buyer of crowded trees gets no land. רבי זירא ties this to a dispute of תנאים about a crowded vineyard. The amud closes with a new ruling of the נהרדעי: a buyer of a date palm owns from its base down to the depths.

Opening lines

The steps (9)

1. ConclusionA seller who keeps his trees surely kept the ground under them
2. StatementSelling trees but keeping the land depends on רבי עקיבא and רבנן
3. Resolutionרבי עקיבא's view still works even for רב זביד
4. Resolutionרבנן's view still works even for רב פפא
5. StatementEating fruit of crowded trees gives no חזקה
6. Challengeרבא asks: then how does anyone own an alfalfa field?
7. Resolutionרבא restates the rule: crowded trees sold, buyer gets no land
8. Statementרבי זירא: this matches a dispute about a crowded vineyard
9. StatementSelling a date palm: the buyer owns from its base down to the depths