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Bava Kamma 54b

בבא קמא נ״ד ע״ב

Learn Bava Kamma 54b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Which oxen make a pit owner liable, and how the תורה's 'ox and donkey' laws extend to all animals

Overview

The amud opens by asking whether the משנה implies that a smart, normal ox falling into a pit leaves the owner exempt. רבי ירמיה says no: the משנה only lists the weak oxen because they are the surprising case. רב אחא challenges this with ברייתות about a 'בר דעת' falling in, and in the end רבא sets רבי ירמיה's reading aside. He rules that only a deaf, foolish, young, blind or night-walking ox makes the owner liable, because a normal ox should watch where it goes. A new משנה then teaches that many laws written about an 'ox' or 'donkey' apply to every animal, wild animal and bird. The גמרא finds a source for each law, and many of them are linked to שבת through a גזירה שוה. It proves from the extra words 'וכל בהמתך' in the second עשרת הדברות that שבת covers all creatures, working through כלל ופרט and ריבוי along the way. It also explains why people, who appear in the same שבת verse, may still plow alongside an animal. The amud ends as רבי חנינא בן עגיל begins asking why the word 'good' appears only in the second version of the עשרת הדברות, and his question continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

הָא שׁוֹר שֶׁהוּא פִּקֵּחַ – פָּטוּר?

But then, an ox that is smart, would he be exempt?

אָמַר רַבִּי יִרְמְיָה:

Rabbi Yirmeya said:

לָא מִיבַּעְיָא קָאָמַר;

It is speaking in a 'there is no need to say' style;

לָא מִבַּעְיָא שׁוֹר שֶׁהוּא פִּקֵּחַ – דְּחַיָּיב;

there is no need to say that for a smart ox he is liable;

The steps (37)

  1. ChallengeWould a smart ox be exempt?
  2. ResolutionRabbi Yirmeya: 'It goes without saying'
  3. Challengeרב אחא quotes a ברייתא exempting a 'בר דעת'
  4. Resolutionרבינא: it means a person
  5. ChallengeThen would a person who is not competent make the owner liable?
  6. ResolutionIt means a species that is בן דעת
  7. ChallengeA ברייתא that says 'an ox that is בן דעת'
  8. Resolutionרבא: Only a weak-minded ox makes the pit owner liable
  9. ProofA ברייתא supports רבא
  10. StatementNew משנה: Many 'ox' laws apply to every animal
  11. StatementWild animals and birds too; the תורה spoke of the usual case
  12. ProofSource for any animal in a pit
  13. ProofSource for all creatures keeping away from הר סיני
  14. ProofDouble payment applies to any animal
  15. ProofReturning a lost item applies to any animal
  16. ProofUnloading is learned from שבת through the word 'donkey'
  17. ProofMuzzling is learned from שבת through the word 'ox'
  18. ProofBoth kinds of mixing are learned from שבת
  19. QuestionHow do we know this about שבת itself?
  20. ResponseThe two versions of the עשרת הדברות
  21. ChallengeMaybe it is a general term followed by a detail
  22. ResolutionA second general term widens it to all living creatures
  23. ChallengeMaybe the shared trait is a carcass that makes things טמא
  24. ResolutionTwo details show the trait is wider
  25. RejectionEach detail is needed for its own reason
  26. Resolution'And all your animals' is an including word
  27. ChallengeIs every 'כל' really a ריבוי?
  28. ProofThe ברייתא on spending מעשר money
  29. ProofThe ברייתא finishes: only things like the detail are included
  30. Resolution'בכל' is a general statement, but 'כל' is an inclusion
  31. ResolutionEven if 'כל' is usually a general statement, here the extra word makes it an inclusion
  32. ChallengeIf 'כל' includes everything, why name specific animals?
  33. Resolution'Ox' is needed to link שבת with the law of muzzling
  34. ResolutionDonkey teaches unloading, your animal teaches mixed species
  35. ChallengeThen a person should be forbidden to plow with an animal
  36. ResolutionPeople are compared to animals only for resting
  37. QuestionWhy is 'good' missing from the first version of the עשרת הדברות?