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Bava Basra 83a

בבא בתרא פ״ג ע״א

Bava Batra 83a

Learn Bava Basra 83a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Buying three trees: how much land comes with them, the allowed spacing of four to sixteen cubits, and follow-up questions on measuring and on which trees count

Overview

This amud asks how much land a buyer gets when he buys trees, and how far apart the trees must be. רב יוסף finishes a story: רב יהודה ruled that a tree buyer gets land 'enough for an ox and its equipment,' and רב יוסף later worked out from a משנה and a ברייתא that this means four cubits. The גמרא explains that a real ruling (מעשה) is stronger proof than a משנה taught only in study. It then shows where each view gets its closest and farthest distances between the trees. רב יוסף follows רבי שמעון, with four to eight cubits. רב נחמן follows רבנן, with eight to sixteen cubits, and the closest distance is worked out by logic as half the farthest. רבא rules that anywhere from four to sixteen cubits counts, and a ברייתא agrees: with correct spacing and one purchase, the buyer owns the land and keeps it even if a tree dies. רבי ירמיה asks where on the tree we measure, and whether three branches of one buried tree count as three trees. רב גביהה answers both from vine laws in כלאים. רב פפא's question about a tree on the border or in a neighbor's field ends in תיקו.

Opening lines

בְּדוּרָא דְרָעֲוָתָא,

in a village of shepherds,

וַאֲתוֹ לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּרַב יְהוּדָה,

and they came before Rav Yehuda,

וַאֲמַר לֵיהּ:

and he said to him:

״זִיל הַב לֵיהּ

'Go, give him'

The steps (16)

  1. Statementרב יהודה's ruling in the shepherds' village
  2. ProofWorking out the measure as four cubits
  3. ChallengeWhy not cite the משנה in כלאים that fits רב יוסף?
  4. ResolutionA real-life ruling is better proof
  5. ProofFor רב יוסף, both the closest and farthest distances have sources
  6. ChallengeFor רב נחמן, where does the closest distance come from?
  7. ResolutionLogic: the closest distance is half the farthest
  8. Conclusionרבא's ruling: from four to sixteen cubits
  9. ProofA ברייתא supports רבא
  10. ConclusionWhat the buyer gets, and when he gets nothing
  11. QuestionWhere on the tree do we start measuring?
  12. ResponseProof from measuring a bent-down vine
  13. QuestionDo three branches of one tree count as three trees?
  14. ResponseProof from three layered vines
  15. QuestionTrees on the border or in two different fields
  16. ConclusionThe question is left unresolved