Bava Basra 77a

בבא בתרא ע״ז ע״א

Bava Batra 77a

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Topic

How the debt written in a שטר (אותיות) is acquired: אמימר rules it passes by מסירה alone, like רבי. רב אשי adds a logical reason, and the גמרא starts a challenge from the teachings of רב and רב הונא about types of documents.

Overview

אמימר rules that the 'letters' of a loan document, meaning the debt written in it, are acquired just by handing the document to the buyer, like רבי. רב אשי asks whether this is a tradition from his teachers or his own reasoning. אמימר answers that it is a tradition. רב אשי adds that it is also logical: the debt is only 'words', and words cannot be acquired through other words, so a written deed could not transfer it. The גמרא challenges this ('And they can't?!') by quoting רב's teaching about two kinds of documents that go with selling a field. In one case the owner can cancel only the document. In the other he can cancel both the document and the field. Then it adds רב הונא's third kind, where the seller wrote the document ahead of time. That third case is the basis of the challenge, which the גמרא spells out on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (6)

1. Statementאמימר rules that a loan document is acquired by handing it over
2. Questionרב אשי asks where the ruling comes from
3. Responseאמימר answers that it is a tradition
4. Proofרב אשי gives a logical reason: words cannot be acquired through words
5. ChallengeChallenge from רב's teaching about two kinds of documents
6. Statementרב הונא adds a third kind of document