Bava Kamma 16b

בבא קמא ט״ז ע״ב

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Topic

The snake and the lion as damagers, the difference between תם and מועד, and related אגדה

Overview

The amud opens by fixing the wording of a ברייתא so that רבי אלעזר says 'the snake', not 'also the snake'. That way he treats the snake as always מועד, just as he does in the משנה. Next, שמואל rules that if a lion in רשות הרבים clawed its prey and ate it, the owner is פטור, because that is normal eating (שן). If it tore the prey apart and then ate, the owner is חייב. The גמרא defends this from a פסוק about lions tearing prey: they tear only to feed their family. It then faces a ברייתא where a lion tore and ate and the owner pays full damage. רב נחמן בר יצחק reads that ברייתא as two separate cases. רבינא reads it as a tame lion according to רבי אלעזר, but that reading ends with an unanswered קשיא. A new משנה teaches that a תם pays half damage from its own body, while a מועד pays full damage from the owner's best property (עלייה). The גמרא proves this meaning from the burial of חזקיהו, which leads into a series of אגדה passages about royal burials and ירמיהו's enemies.

Opening lines

The steps (34)

1. Statementרבי אלעזר adds the snake
2. ChallengeThe משנה shows the snake is different from the others
3. ResolutionRead it as 'the snake,' not 'also the snake'
4. Statementשמואל's ruling on a lion that kills in public
5. StatementWhy pouncing is exempt and tearing is not
6. ChallengeA verse shows lions do tear their prey
7. ResolutionThe lion tears only to feed its family
8. ChallengeA ברייתא makes the owner pay full damage for tearing and eating
9. ResolutionThe animal tore the prey to save it for later
10. ChallengeBut the ברייתא says it ate
11. ResolutionIt changed its mind and ate
12. RejectionWe cannot know what the animal intended
13. ResolutionThe ברייתא is listing two separate cases
14. Resolutionרבינא: שמואל was talking about a tame lion
15. ChallengeThen clawing should also make the owner liable
16. Resolutionרבינא's statement was really about the ברייתא
17. ChallengeA tame lion's attack should pay only half
18. ResolutionThe lion was already a מועד
19. ChallengeThen why is it listed under שן?
20. ConclusionThe difficulty stays unanswered
21. StatementThe משנה: the difference between a תם and a מועד
22. QuestionWhat does 'עלייה' mean?
23. ResponseIt means the best-quality property
24. ProofSupport from the burial of חזקיהו
25. QuestionWhat were the 'spices and זנים' at אסא's burial?
26. ResponseMany kinds of spices, or spices that lead to immorality
27. StatementWhat 'pit' was dug to trap ירמיהו?
28. ChallengeWhy would an accusation about a married woman be called a pit
29. ResolutionA married woman who sins is also called a זונה
30. ChallengeWhy would an accusation about a זונה be called a plot to kill
31. ResolutionTo kill refers to throwing him into a muddy pit
32. Statementירמיהו asks that his enemies' charity go to unworthy people
33. StatementA ישיבה was set up at חזקיהו's grave
34. StatementHow long did the ישיבה at חזקיהו's grave last?