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Bava Basra 54b

בבא בתרא נ״ד ע״ב

Bava Batra 54b

Learn Bava Basra 54b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

How far one hoe strike acquires an unmarked field, and שמואל's ruling that land bought from a גוי is ownerless (like a מדבר) until the Jewish buyer gets the deed, challenged from דינא דמלכותא דינא

Overview

The גמרא first finishes an earlier topic: if someone acquires an unmarked ownerless field with one hoe strike, רב פפא says he gets about one furrow's length. Then רב יהודה quotes שמואל: when a גוי sells land to a Jew for money, the land is like an ownerless desert until the Jew receives the deed, so anyone who takes possession first acquires it. The reason is that the גוי lets go once he is paid, but the Jew owns it only when the שטר reaches him. אביי challenges this from שמואל's own rule, דינא דמלכותא דינא, since the king's law says land is acquired only with a document. רב יוסף admits he cannot answer, but cites a case in דורא דרעוותא where רב יהודה gave the land to the second Jew who plowed it. אביי rejects the proof: in that village the owners did not pay the land tax, and the king had said whoever pays the tax gets the land. The גמרא then tells how רב הונא bought land from a גוי, another Jew plowed it, and רב נחמן gave it to the plower. רב הונא asks רב נחמן whether he relied on שמואל's "desert" rule, and their exchange continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ מְסוּיֶּימֶת בִּמְצָרֶיהָ,

And a field that is not defined by its boundaries,

עַד כַּמָּה?

up to how much does he acquire?

אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא:

Rav Pappa said:

כִּדְאָזֵיל תַּיָּירָא דְשׁוֹרֵי וְהָדַר.

As far as an ox driver goes and returns.

The steps (10)

  1. QuestionHow much of an unmarked field does one hoe strike acquire?
  2. Responseרב פפא: the length of one furrow
  3. Statementשמואל: land bought from a gentile is like an ownerless desert
  4. QuestionWhy is it ownerless?
  5. ResponseThe gap between the gentile letting go and the Jew acquiring
  6. Challengeאביי's challenge: the law of the kingdom requires a document
  7. Proofרב יוסף: a real case where רב יהודה followed this rule
  8. Rejectionאביי: that village was a special case because of unpaid taxes
  9. Statementרב הונא's land is given to the Jew who plowed it
  10. Challengeרב הונא asks רב נחמן what his ruling is based on