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Bava Basra 4b

בבא בתרא ד׳ ע״ב

Bava Batra 4b

Learn Bava Basra 4b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bava Basra 4b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Marking who owns a dividing wall or palm-branch fence, and who pays when a field is fenced in on all four sides

Overview

The גמרא finishes explaining how a person who builds a wall alone marks it as his. He smears clay on the top אמה on the outside, because peeled clay would be noticed. For a fence of palm branches (הוצא), רב נחמן says the builder points the tips outward and covers them with clay. אביי says only a written שטר protects such a fence. Next, רבא מפרזיקא asks רב אשי why a jointly built wall needs marks on both sides. Their exchange ends with רבינא explaining that the משנה is talking about palm branches, and that, against אביי, a simple mark is enough. Then a new משנה deals with a field surrounded on three sides. The תנא קמא says the inner owner pays nothing, and רבי יוסי says that once the fourth side is fenced he shares the cost of everything; the הלכה follows רבי יוסי. רב הונא and חייא בר רב disagree about how much he pays, and the גמרא offers several ways to explain how the תנא קמא and רבי יוסי differ according to חייא בר רב.

Opening lines

נִשְׁעֲיֵיהּ בְּאַמְּתָא מִלְּבַר.

He should smear it with clay, a cubit's worth, on the outside.

וְנֶיעֱבַד מִלְּגָיו!

Let him do it on the inside!

עָבֵיד חַבְרֵיהּ מִלְּבַר,

His neighbor would make one on the outside,

וְאָמַר: דִּידִי וְדִידֵיהּ הוּא.

and say: it is mine and his.

The steps (31)

  1. StatementThe builder smears clay on the outside of the wall
  2. ChallengeWhy not smear the inside instead?
  3. ResolutionAn inside mark lets the neighbor fake a shared wall
  4. ChallengeThe neighbor could peel off the outside clay
  5. ResolutionPeeling leaves visible traces
  6. StatementA palm-branch fence: point the tips outward
  7. ChallengeWhy not point the tips inward?
  8. ResolutionThe neighbor would add tips on his side
  9. ChallengeThe neighbor could cut off the tips
  10. ResolutionSmear the tips with clay
  11. ChallengeThe neighbor could peel off that clay too
  12. ResolutionPeeling is noticeable here too
  13. Statementאביי: only a document protects a palm-branch fence
  14. StatementQuoting the משנה: when both neighbors agree
  15. ChallengeWhy mark at all if the wall is shared?
  16. ResolutionNeeded when one neighbor marks first
  17. ChallengeWould the משנה really teach a trick against cheaters?
  18. ResolutionThe first part of the משנה is also a remedy against cheaters
  19. ChallengeThe first part teaches law, but the last part does not
  20. ResolutionThe last part is about palm-branch fences, and a mark is enough
  21. StatementNew משנה: a neighbor surrounded on three sides
  22. StatementThe halacha follows רבי יוסי
  23. StatementIt does not matter who built the fourth fence
  24. StatementHow much does the inner neighbor pay?
  25. ChallengeQuoting the משנה to test the two views
  26. Proofרב הונא's view explains the argument in the משנה
  27. Challengeחייא בר רב leaves no difference in the משנה
  28. ResolutionFirst answer: the difference is a watchman's wage
  29. ResolutionSecond answer: the difference is the first three fences
  30. ResolutionThird answer: does it matter who built the fourth fence?
  31. ResolutionAnother version: who built the fourth fence, with the opinions reversed