Bava Kamma 27a

בבא קמא כ״ז ע״א

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Topic

Indirect killing and accidental harm: the end of the dispute about killing a person who is already doomed, the ox that gores a falling child (כופר), and רבה's rule about a man who falls from a roof onto a woman

Overview

This amud finishes רבה's cases about a child thrown off a roof. The חכמים exempt ten people who each hit one victim, while רבי יהודה בן בתירא makes the last one liable. An ox that catches the falling child depends on whether כופר is the victim's value or the owner's value. רבה then teaches that a man who falls from a roof pays four payments but not בושת, because בושת needs intent. How much a falling man pays depends on whether the wind was usual or unusual, and on whether he twisted to land on the person. רבה also rules that a coal placed on someone's heart brings no liability, but a coal on his garment must be paid for. A slave counts like a person and an ox like property. The פרק כיצד הרגל ends, and the new פרק opens with a משנה about a jug left in רשות הרבים. The גמרא notices that משניות switch between כד and חבית, and רב פפא says the words mean the same thing for buying and selling. The case of a town where most people keep the words apart continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (23)

1. ProofThe ten-attackers ברייתא is completed
2. StatementAn ox catches the falling child on its horns
3. ProofThe ברייתא: whose value is the ransom?
4. StatementA man falls from a roof onto a woman
5. StatementWhich four payments he owes
6. ProofNo payment for humiliation without intent
7. StatementFalling from a roof in different kinds of wind
8. ProofA verse shows that intent to harm is enough for shame payment
9. StatementA coal placed on a person's heart or on his garment
10. Proofרבא shows the coal-on-the-heart ruling comes from a משנה
11. ProofThe garment ruling is already in a משנה
12. Questionרבה asks about a coal on a slave and on an ox
13. Responseרבה answers: a slave is like a body, an ox is like property
14. Conclusionהדרן: Closing כיצד הרגל
15. StatementThe jug left in the public street
16. ChallengeThe משנה starts with one word and ends with another
17. ProofA second משנה with the same switch: the barrel and the beam
18. ProofA third משנה with the same switch: wine and honey
19. Resolutionרב פפא: The two words mean the same vessel
20. QuestionWhat difference does it make?
21. ResponseIt matters for buying and selling
22. ChallengeIn a place where the words are kept apart, the rule is obviously wrong
23. ResolutionA town where most people keep the words apart but some mix them