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Bava Basra 45a

בבא בתרא מ״ה ע״א

Bava Batra 45a

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Topic

A seller's bias when testifying about a field he sold שלא באחריות, a seller's responsibility when a גוי seizes a sold donkey, and רבה's limit on the rule that a craftsman has no חזקה.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an earlier ruling: a person who sold a field without a guarantee (שלא באחריות) may not testify that the field belongs to the buyer, because he wants it kept available for his own creditor. The גמרא asks what he gains either way. If he has other land, the creditor collects from that. If he has none, it makes no difference to him. The answer is that he does not want to be a לוה רשע ולא ישלם, a wicked borrower who never pays. He does not feel the same way toward the buyer, because he can say: that is why I sold it to you without a guarantee. Next, רבא (or רב פפא) publicly announced that if a Jew sells a donkey and a גוי seizes it, the seller must rescue it. This applies unless the buyer recognizes the animal as born to the seller's donkey, or the גוי took the saddle too. אמימר says the seller is never responsible, because an ordinary גוי is presumed to be a robber. Finally, the גמרא returns to the rule that an אומן has no חזקה. רבה limits it to a case where witnesses saw the item handed over, since without witnesses the craftsman could have denied ever receiving it. אביי objects that even with witnesses he could say 'I returned it,' and רבה's reply begins at the end of the amud and continues on the next.

Opening lines

אִי דְּאִית לֵיהּ אַרְעָא אַחֲרִיתִי,

If he has other land,

עֲלֵיהּ דִּידֵיהּ הָדַר!

the creditor will go after that land of his!

אִי דְּלֵית לֵיהּ אַרְעָא אַחֲרִיתִי,

If he does not have other land,

מַאי נָפְקָא לֵיהּ מִינָּה?

what difference does it make to him?

The steps (10)

  1. ChallengeWhat Does the Seller Gain Either Way?
  2. ResolutionHe Does Not Want to Be a Borrower Who Never Pays
  3. ChallengeHe Is Also Failing to Pay the Buyer
  4. ResolutionThe Buyer Accepted the Risk
  5. StatementPublic Announcement: The Seller Must Rescue a Seized Donkey
  6. StatementTwo limits on the seller's duty to rescue the donkey
  7. Statementאמימר: the seller is never responsible
  8. Statementרבה: a craftsman lacks חזקה only when witnesses saw the handover
  9. Challengeאביי: even with witnesses the craftsman should be believed
  10. Resolutionרבה begins answering אביי