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Bava Kamma 31b

בבא קמא ל״א ע״ב

Learn Bava Kamma 31b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Liability of people who fall one after another on a public road, and the start of the משנה about a barrel broken on a beam.

Overview

The גמרא explains רבא's ruling about people who trip one after another on a public road. The first person is a פושע and pays for everything. The second pays only for damage his body causes, not for damage his fallen property causes. A ברייתא seems to exempt everyone, even the first, for property damage, and the attempts to read 'כולן' as excluding the first do not hold up. So the גמרא tries a new reading of רבא: the fallen second person is like a בור, and a בור is exempt for כלים. That reading works for שמואל but not for רב, so the גמרא returns to the original reading. It explains the ברייתא as a case of כלים broken by כלים. Then רב פפא and רב זביד describe how everyone could fall because of the first person. A new משנה begins: when a barrel breaks on a beam, the beam carrier is פטור, whether the two walk toward each other or the beam carrier walks in front.

Opening lines

רִאשׁוֹן – וַדַּאי פּוֹשֵׁעַ הוּא.

The first one is certainly negligent.

שְׁנִי – אַגּוּפוֹ מִחַיַּיב,

The second one is liable for damage caused by his body,

דְּהָיָה לוֹ לַעֲמוֹד וְלֹא עָמַד.

because he should have stood up and he did not stand up.

אַמָּמוֹנוֹ פָּטוּר,

For damage caused by his property he is exempt,

The steps (14)

  1. StatementWhy the first is fully liable and the second only partly
  2. ChallengeA ברייתא seems to exempt even the first for property damage
  3. ResolutionThe ברייתא means everyone except the first
  4. ChallengeBut the ברייתא says 'all of them'
  5. Resolution'All of them' means all the damaged ones
  6. ChallengeThen why not just say 'the damaged ones'?
  7. ResolutionA new explanation of רבא: the fallen person is like a pit
  8. ChallengeThis works for שמואל but not for רב
  9. ResolutionBack to the first explanation: vessels damaged by vessels
  10. QuestionHow could everyone fall because of the first person?
  11. Responseרב פפא: he blocked the whole road
  12. Responseרב זביד: he lay slanted like a blind man's cane
  13. StatementBarrel and beam coming from opposite directions
  14. StatementBeam carrier in front, barrel carrier behind