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Bava Kamma 119b

בבא קמא קי״ט ע״ב

Learn Bava Kamma 119b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

What a craftsman or worker may keep from a customer's materials, and what may be bought from him, closing מסכת בבא קמא.

Overview

This amud finishes the last פרק of בבא קמא, which deals with what a craftsman may keep from a customer's materials. The גמרא first explains a ברייתא about a carder and a launderer. It settles apparent contradictions by splitting the cases: thick versus thin threads, an ordinary garment versus a fine cape, and a garment versus a belt. רבי ירמיה's question about how to count stitches ends in תיקו. Next come ברייתות about buying from a carder, a weaver, and a dyer. Raw leftovers may not be bought, but items the craftsman changed may be bought, because he acquired them through שינוי. The גמרא then works through the rest of the משנה: the launderer's short threads, the tailor's leftover thread (proved to mean two needle-lengths), and a carpenter's chips (where רבא explains that the word מעצד meant different tools in different places). It ends with workers' scraps and wild plants, where it all depends on whether the owner, or the local people, care. The מסכת closes with the הדרן.

Opening lines

וְלֹא יָטִיל בּוֹ

And he should not place in it

יוֹתֵר מִשְּׁלֹשָׁה חוּבִּין,

more than three stitches,

וְלֹא יִסְרוֹק הַבֶּגֶד לְשִׁתְיוֹ

and he should not card the garment along its warp

אֶלָּא לְעֶרְבּוֹ.

but rather along its weft.

The steps (35)

  1. StatementEnd of the ברייתא: stitches, carding direction, and trimming
  2. ChallengeTwo threads or three?
  3. ResolutionThick threads versus thin threads
  4. ChallengeAnother ברייתא says the opposite about carding
  5. ResolutionOrdinary garment versus elegant cape
  6. QuestionWhat counts as one stitch?
  7. ConclusionThe question is left open
  8. StatementEvening out the cloth along its length, not its width
  9. ChallengeAnother ברייתא says the opposite
  10. ResolutionA garment versus a belt
  11. StatementBuying strands from a carder
  12. QuestionWhy is a stuffed cushion allowed?
  13. ResponseHe acquired the strands through a change
  14. StatementLeftovers you may not buy from a weaver
  15. StatementFinished items you may buy from a weaver
  16. ChallengeWhy mention woven cloth if spun thread is already allowed?
  17. ResolutionWoven here means twisted cords
  18. StatementWhat may and may not be bought from a dyer
  19. ChallengeWhy mention clothes if spun thread is already allowed?
  20. ResolutionClothes here means felt
  21. StatementWhich leftovers from a tanner belong to whom
  22. StatementThe launderer's name hints at what he may keep
  23. StatementAll threads count toward the measure for תכלת
  24. QuestionHow much thread counts as enough to sew with?
  25. Responseרב אסי: a needle's length outside the needle
  26. QuestionWhat exactly did רב אסי mean?
  27. ProofA ברייתא about short thread and small patches
  28. ProofReasoning from the ברייתא: what is the shorter thread good for?
  29. ConclusionConclusion: two needle-lengths
  30. ChallengeA teaching contradicts the rule about the carpenter's adze chips
  31. ResolutionDifferent places used the word 'adze' for different tools
  32. StatementStone chiselers, pruners and weeders: who keeps the scraps
  33. StatementWild plants are free to take, unless local people care about them
  34. Statementמתא מחסיא is a place where people care
  35. ConclusionHadran — Closing הגוזל בתרא and finishing בבא קמא