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Bava Basra 46b

בבא בתרא מ״ו ע״ב

Bava Batra 46b

Learn Bava Basra 46b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

When an אומן or אריס gains a חזקה, and when someone with a stake in land may testify

Overview

The amud opens by finishing the discussion of a craftsman (אומן) holding a garment. The word 'ראה' (he saw) in the ברייתא supports the craftsmen of פומבדיתא. רב אשי shows how a clever owner can turn his case into a 'saw' case. רב אחא בריה דרב אויא shows how the craftsman can block that trick. Next the גמרא asks why an אריס (sharecropper) cannot gain a חזקה, and רבי יוחנן answers that the rule is about family sharecroppers. רב נחמן rules that an אריס who installs other sharecroppers in his place does gain a חזקה. רבי יוחנן rules that one who divides the field among sharecroppers does not, since he may just be a manager. The גמרא then asks whether an אריס may testify, and it settles that this depends on whether there is produce in the field. Finally, a ברייתא marked by the memory word עמלק lists people who may testify about land only when the person they help has other land: a guarantor, a lender, and a first buyer. The list continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

״רָאָה״ תַּנְיָא.

'He saw' is what was taught.

אָמַר רַב אָשֵׁי: וְאִי חַכִּים,

Rav Ashi said: And if he is clever,

מְשַׁוֵּי לֵיהּ ״רָאָה״ –

he can make it a case of 'he saw,'

דְּאָמַר לֵיהּ: אַמַּאי תְּפִיסַתְּ לֵיהּ,

by saying to him: Why are you holding it?

The steps (15)

  1. ProofThe ברייתא says 'he saw'
  2. Statementרב אשי: a clever owner can turn it into a 'saw' case
  3. RejectionThe craftsman can refuse: it was already appraised
  4. ChallengeWhy can't an אריס gain a חזקה?
  5. Resolutionרבי יוחנן: family sharecroppers
  6. Statementרב נחמן: a sharecropper who brings in other sharecroppers
  7. StatementA sharecropper who divides the field among other sharecroppers gains no חזקה
  8. QuestionCan a sharecropper testify about the field's ownership?
  9. Responseרב יוסף quotes שמואל: a sharecropper may testify
  10. ChallengeA ברייתא says a sharecropper cannot testify
  11. ResolutionIt depends on whether there is produce in the field
  12. StatementA memory sign for the cases coming next
  13. StatementA guarantor may testify for the borrower if the borrower has other land
  14. StatementA lender may testify for the borrower if the borrower has other land
  15. StatementThe first buyer may testify for the second buyer if the second buyer has other land