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Bava Basra 84a

בבא בתרא פ״ד ע״א

Bava Batra 84a

Learn Bava Basra 84a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

רב חסדא on who may back out of an overcharged sale after prices change, רב פפא on the color of the sun, and the משנה's wine-turned-vinegar case.

Overview

This amud finishes רב חסדא's rulings about a sale made at the wrong price where the market price later changes. If the buyer was overcharged and the price then rose, only the buyer may back out. If the seller was underpaid and the price then fell, only the seller may back out. The reason is that the cheater cannot use his own cheating to cancel the sale. The משנה's wheat cases (good found bad, bad found good) support both rulings. The גמרא asks what רב חסדא adds. It answers that from the משנה alone we might have thought both sides can back out, and that the משנה's own point is that a buyer really counts as cheated, even though 'רע רע יאמר הקונה'. Next, רב פפא learns from the משנה's contrast between שחמתית and white wheat that the sun is red. The גמרא tests this against a ברייתא about צרעת, and then explains how the opposite view accounts for the red sky using גן עדן and גיהנם. Finally, the גמרא quotes the משנה about wine that turns out to be vinegar and asks whether it follows רבי and not the רבנן. The ברייתא that shows their dispute continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

דְּאָמַר לֵיהּ:

For he says to him:

אִילּוּ לָא אוֹנִיתַן –

If you had not overcharged me,

לָא הֲוָה מָצֵית הָדְרַתְּ בָּךְ;

you would not be able to back out;

הַשְׁתָּא דְּאוֹנִיתָן,

now that you have overcharged me,

The steps (15)

  1. StatementWhy only the overcharged buyer may back out
  2. ProofThe משנה supports the first ruling
  3. StatementThe mirror case: the seller was underpaid and the price dropped
  4. ProofThe משנה supports the second ruling
  5. ChallengeWhat does רב חסדא add beyond the משנה?
  6. ResolutionFrom the משנה alone we might have let both sides back out
  7. ResolutionWhy the משנה needed to say the buyer may retract
  8. Statementרב פפא learns from the משנה that the sun is red
  9. ProofProof: the sun looks red at sunrise and sunset
  10. ChallengeChallenge: a white mark is compared to the sun
  11. ResolutionAnswer: the comparison to the sun is only partial
  12. ChallengeIf the sun is white, why is it red at morning and evening?
  13. Resolutionגן עדן's roses and גיהנם's entrance redden the sun
  14. Statementמשנה: wine that turns out to be vinegar
  15. QuestionDoes this משנה follow רבי and not the רבנן?