Gemara Clarity

Bava Kamma 4a

בבא קמא ד׳ ע״א

Learn Bava Kamma 4a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bava Kamma 4a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

How רב and שמואל explain the משנה's comparison of שור and מבעה, and how each reading fits the משנה's wording

Overview

This amud continues explaining the משנה's line 'לא הרי השור כראי המבעה' and the dispute between רב, who reads מבעה as אדם, and שמואל, who reads it as שן. First, in a reading where שור means קרן, the גמרא tries to show why קרן and שן must both be listed. A קל וחומר based on intent seems to make קרן unnecessary. רב אשי rejects the slave comparison offered to defend it, then shows that each category has its own stricter feature: קרן has intent, and שן has pleasure. That reading falls because it leaves out רגל. So רבא explains instead that שור means רגל and מבעה means שן. He says קרן is not named because the opening list covers only damagers that are מועד from the start. The גמרא then asks why שמואל rejects רב's reading, and both sides explain why אדם is named again later in the משנה. Finally, the גמרא defends רב against the משנה's wording: 'not like' points to כופר and ארבעה דברים, 'their normal way to damage' means a מועד ox and a sleeping person, and 'their guarding is upon you' is answered with רבי אבהו's reading, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וְלֹא רְאִי הַשֵּׁן –

And the characteristic of Tooth (Eating) is not

שֶׁאֵין כַּוּוֹנָתוֹ לְהַזִּיק,

where it does not intend to cause damage,

כִּרְאִי הַקֶּרֶן –

like the characteristic of Horn (Goring),

שֶׁכַּוּוֹנָתוֹ לְהַזִּיק.

where it does intend to cause damage.

The steps (33)

  1. StatementEating has no intent to harm, unlike Goring
  2. ChallengeGoring could be learned from Eating by a קל וחומר
  3. ResolutionGoring was needed because of the slave comparison
  4. Rejectionרב אשי: the slave exemption has its own special reason
  5. ResolutionNew reading: each category has its own stricter feature
  6. ChallengeWhere is Trampling in this reading?
  7. ResolutionThe closing line includes Trampling
  8. ChallengeThen it should have said so openly
  9. Resolutionרבא: שור means רגל, מבעה means שן
  10. ResolutionHow Foot and Tooth differ
  11. ChallengeNow where is Goring?
  12. ResolutionThe closing line includes Goring
  13. ChallengeWhy not mention Goring outright?
  14. ResolutionThe opening only lists damagers that are forewarned from the start
  15. QuestionWhy doesn't שמואל agree with רב?
  16. ResponseMan is listed separately later in the משנה
  17. ChallengeThen why not list Man at the start?
  18. ResolutionThe opening covers only damage done by one's property
  19. ChallengeThe same problem for רב
  20. ResolutionThe later mention of Man counts it among the forewarned
  21. QuestionWhat does 'not like' mean according to רב?
  22. ResponseOx pays ransom; a person pays four extra payments
  23. ChallengeIs it normal for an ox to cause damage?
  24. ResolutionThe משנה means a מועד ox
  25. ChallengeIs goring normal even for a מועד?
  26. ResolutionOnce warned, goring has become its way
  27. ChallengeIs it normal for a person to cause damage?
  28. ResolutionThe משנה means a sleeping person
  29. ChallengeIs a sleeper's damage normal?
  30. ResolutionA sleeper curls and stretches, so damage is normal
  31. ChallengeA person is not guarded by someone else
  32. RejectionThe same question would hit קרנא's ברייתא
  33. Resolutionרבי אבהו's reading: a person guards himself