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Bava Basra 80a

בבא בתרא פ׳ ע״א

Bava Batra 80a

Learn Bava Basra 80a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

What a buyer of a dovecote's, beehive's or tree's yearly produce must leave for the seller, and whether honey in a hive counts as food

Overview

The משנה lists four sales where the buyer gets only the yearly output and must leave something for the seller: the first brood of a dovecote, bees beyond three swarms, two honeycombs, and two olive shoots. The גמרא asks why a ברייתא says two broods are left. רב כהנא answers that one pair keeps the mother dove and one keeps the daughter, because a mother clings to her daughter but a daughter does not cling to her mother. Next, the גמרא asks how the bees are made sterile. שמואל says it is done with mustard, and the scholars of ארץ ישראל explain that the mustard makes the bees eat their own honey, and that is what stops them from swarming. רבי יוחנן reads the משנה's word differently: the buyer takes three swarms by skipping every other one. A ברייתא gives a third way: three swarms in a row, and then one for the buyer and one for the seller. Finally, רב כהנא rules that honey in a hive is always food for טומאה. A ברייתא seems to say the opposite. אביי limits that ברייתא to the two combs left for the bees, and רבא says it follows רבי אליעזר; his explanation continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

מַתְנִי׳

MISHNA

הַלּוֹקֵחַ פֵּירוֹת שׁוֹבָךְ מֵחֲבֵירוֹ –

One who buys the produce of a dovecote from his fellow

מַפְרִיחַ בְּרִיכָה רִאשׁוֹנָה.

lets the first brood go free.

פֵּירוֹת כַּוֶּורֶת –

The produce of a beehive:

The steps (15)

  1. StatementThe משנה: what a buyer must leave for the seller
  2. ChallengeA ברייתא says two broods are left, not one
  3. ResolutionOne pair for the daughter, one for the mother
  4. ChallengeWhy can't the daughter stay because of her mother?
  5. ResolutionA mother is attached to her daughter, but not the other way
  6. QuestionHow are the bees made sterile?
  7. Responseשמואל: with mustard
  8. ResponseIn ארץ ישראל: the mustard works indirectly, through the honey
  9. Responseרבי יוחנן: 'מסרס' means skipping every other swarm
  10. ResponseA ברייתא: three swarms in a row, then alternate
  11. Statementרב כהנא: Honey in a hive is always food
  12. ConclusionInference: Honey needs no intention to count as food
  13. ChallengeChallenge: A ברייתא says hive honey is neither food nor liquid
  14. Resolutionאביי: The ברייתא means only the two combs left for the bees
  15. Resolutionרבא: The ברייתא follows רבי אליעזר