Bava Kamma 101a

בבא קמא ק״א ע״א

Learn Bava Kamma 101a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bava Kamma 101a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

A craftsman who strays from the owner's order (the carpenter case), and whether dye counts as something separate from the wool

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an earlier definition: 'ugly dye' means leftover dye scraped from the pot. Then a ברייתא discusses a carpenter who made a bench when he was asked for a chair, or the reverse. רבי מאיר says the carpenter keeps the piece and pays for the wood. רבי יהודה says the owner keeps it and pays the carpenter the lower of his costs or the value he added. רבי מאיר agrees with that payment rule when the carpenter made the right item but made it badly. Next the גמרא asks whether dye on wool still counts as a real, separate thing. It tries several cases to find where this question would matter, and rejects some of them. It keeps a case where a thief returns dyed wool after the dye's price fell, and also רבינא's case of a monkey that dyed one person's wool with another person's dyes. Finally the גמרא tries to settle the question with proofs from garments dyed with ערלה and שביעית peels. Both proofs are rejected, because each of those laws has its own special rule from a verse.

Opening lines

The steps (19)

1. ResponseUgly dye means leftover dye from the pot
2. StatementCarpenter makes a bench instead of a chair
3. Statementרבי מאיר agrees when the right item is made badly
4. QuestionIs dye a separate thing from the wool?
5. QuestionWhat case is the question about?
6. RejectionIn that case the thief already owns the dye through change
7. ResponseThe case: dye that was already soaked
8. RejectionEven if the dye is gone, the thief still owes for it
9. ResponseFlipping the question: must he pay, or say 'take them'?
10. RejectionYou cannot get dye back out of wool
11. ResponseNew case: the thief stole both the wool and the dyes from one owner
12. ChallengeBut the thief made the wool worth more
13. ResolutionIt matters when dye prices fell, or when he dyed a basket
14. Responseרבינא: a monkey dyed one person's wool with another person's dyes
15. ProofProof from ערלה: color counts as something real
16. Rejectionרבא: The Torah forbids benefit you can see
17. ProofA ברייתא learns that all benefit from ערלה is forbidden, including dyeing
18. ProofA new proof: a garment dyed with שביעית peels must be burned
19. Rejectionשביעית is different: it keeps its status in every form