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Bava Basra 52a

בבא בתרא נ״ב ע״א

Bava Batra 52a

Learn Bava Basra 52a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

A minor's deposit and deathbed claims, חזקה between father and son, and the brother who ran the family business

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a ברייתא about deposits from people who are not fully independent. A deposit from a קטן is put into a safe investment for him and goes to his heirs if he dies. If any of these depositors says before dying that the item belongs to someone else, we follow it only if it is believable. רב applies this to the rings of רבה בר בר חנה's wife, and the גמרא gives two versions of his test. The גמרא then explains that a 'סגולה' is either a ספר תורה or a fruit-bearing date palm. Next, רב יוסף and רבא argue whether a father and son who split their finances can make a חזקה on each other's property, and the הלכה follows רבא that they can. Finally, רב and שמואל argue about a brother who ran the family business and claims the assets came from his mother's father. רב פפא challenges שמואל's claim that רב agrees once that brother has died, and the challenge continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

קִבֵּל מִן הַקָּטָן –

If he accepted a deposit from a minor –

יַעֲשֶׂה לוֹ סְגוּלָּה,

he should make a safe investment for him,

וְאִם מֵת – יַחֲזִיר לְיוֹרְשָׁיו.

and if the minor dies, he must return it to his heirs.

וְכוּלָּן שֶׁאָמְרוּ בִּשְׁעַת מִיתָתָן:

And all of them who said at the time of their death:

The steps (17)

  1. StatementA deposit from a minor is invested safely for him
  2. StatementA dying person's claim that an item belongs to someone else
  3. Statementרב's ruling about the rings of רבה בר בר חנה's wife
  4. StatementAnother version: it depends on an estimate of her means
  5. QuestionWhat is a 'safe investment' for a minor?
  6. ResponseA Torah scroll or a date palm
  7. StatementFather and son: even after splitting, no חזקה
  8. Statementרבא: after splitting, the rule no longer applies
  9. ProofA real court case followed רבא
  10. ProofA chain of tradition also says like רבא
  11. ConclusionThe הלכה follows רבא
  12. ProofA ברייתא agrees
  13. StatementThe brother who ran the business: רב says he must prove it
  14. Statementשמואל: the brothers must prove it
  15. Statementשמואל: רב agrees if the brother died
  16. Challengeרב פפא: Orphans get no stronger claim than their father
  17. Proofרבא took lent-type items from orphans without proof