Bava Basra 55b

בבא בתרא נ״ה ע״ב

Bava Batra 55b

Learn Bava Basra 55b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

What splits one field into separate fields: the פאה list, the טומאה case (רבי אליעזר's ספק ביאה rule), and the dispute over whether this applies to שבת

Overview

Earlier, the גמרא discussed whether a boundary (מצר) or a sea squill (חצב) splits a field into separate fields, and רבין quoted רבי יוחנן that it does for פאה and for טומאה. The amud opens by finishing the list of things that divide a field for פאה: roads and paths, public or private. It then asks what the טומאה case is and answers with a משנה in טהרות about a man who walked in a valley but does not know whether he entered the field with the טומאה. רבי אליעזר rules him טהור, because a doubt whether one entered (ספק ביאה) is טהור, while a doubt whether one touched (ספק מגע) is טמא. So whether the area counts as a separate field changes the ruling. The גמרא infers from רבין's wording that the divider does not count for שבת. רבא disagrees and says it counts even for שבת. He brings a ברייתא about carrying two halves of a dried fig in one or two periods of forgetting. רבי יוסי's opinion in that ברייתא begins here and continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (8)

1. StatementThe rest of the list of things that divide a field for פאה
2. QuestionWhat is the טומאה case?
3. ResponseThe man unsure whether he entered the impure field
4. Responseרבי אליעזר's rule: doubt about entering versus doubt about touching
5. StatementThe divider does not count for שבת
6. Statementרבא: The divider counts even for שבת
7. ProofThe ברייתא about carrying two halves of a fig
8. Proofרבי יוסי's opinion begins