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Bava Kamma 60a

בבא קמא ס׳ ע״א

Learn Bava Kamma 60a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Fire damage: who is responsible, what the Torah's fire פסוק covers, and an אגדה about disaster and the righteous

Overview

The עמוד opens by finishing רבי יוחנן's statement from the previous עמוד: someone who hands fire to a חרש, שוטה וקטן is liable only if the fire was already set up to spread. רב נחמן בר יצחק then says the משנה's word for fanning a fire may be read either ליבה or ניבה, and he backs up each reading with a פסוק. A ברייתא teaches that someone who fans a fire along with the wind is liable only if his own fanning was strong enough to spread it alone. The גמרא challenges this from winnowing on שבת and gets four answers, ending with רב אשי: שבת looks at planned work, but in damages this is only גרמא, which is exempt. A new משנה rules that one who sends a fire pays even for burned wood, stones or earth. רבא then explains why the פסוק names thorns, a grain stack, standing grain and a field. Along the way, רבי יהודה and the רבנן each learn different rules from the words קמה and או. The עמוד closes with an אגדה: disaster comes because of the wicked but strikes the righteous first, and אביי comforts רב יוסף by explaining that this is a kindness to the righteous.

Opening lines

סִלְתָּא, שְׁרָגָא,

thin wood chips, a candle,

דְּהָהוּא וַדַּאי מַעֲשֵׂה דִידֵיהּ גָּרְמוּ.

since in that case his own action definitely caused it.

שִׁלַּח בְּיַד פִּקֵּחַ –

If he sent it in the hand of a competent person –

הַפִּקֵּחַ חַיָּיב וְכוּ׳.

the competent person is liable, etc.

The steps (36)

  1. StatementWhen the sender's own act surely caused the fire
  2. StatementTwo valid ways to read the word in the משנה
  3. Proofפסוקים supporting both readings
  4. StatementThe משנה: when the wind fans, all are exempt
  5. Proofברייתא: a person fanning together with the wind
  6. ChallengeWhy not treat him like someone winnowing with the wind's help?
  7. Resolutionאביי: he fanned from one side and the wind from the other
  8. Resolutionרבא: an unusual wind came and spread the fire
  9. Resolutionרבי זירא: he only blew lightly on it
  10. Resolutionרב אשי: שבת and damages work differently
  11. StatementNew משנה: a fire that burns wood, stones or earth
  12. ProofThe פסוק behind the משנה's rule
  13. QuestionWhy does the Torah list four things the fire burns?
  14. ResponseThorns and a grain stack each teach something new
  15. QuestionWhat does the word 'standing grain' add?
  16. ResponseStanding grain teaches: only things out in the open
  17. QuestionWhat does 'standing grain' teach for רבי יהודה?
  18. ResponseFor רבי יהודה: it includes everything that stands tall
  19. QuestionWhere do the רבנן learn about things that stand tall?
  20. ResponseThe רבנן learn it from the word 'או'
  21. Responseרבי יהודה uses 'or' to make each item count separately
  22. QuestionWhere do the Rabbis learn that each item counts separately?
  23. ResponseThe Rabbis learn it from 'or the field'
  24. ResponseFor רבי יהודה, the second 'or' just matches the wording
  25. QuestionWhy does the verse need the word 'field'?
  26. Response'Field' includes scorching a plowed field
  27. ChallengeThen the Torah should have written only 'field'
  28. ResolutionWithout the other words, we would limit it to the field
  29. StatementDisaster comes because of the wicked but starts with the righteous
  30. ProofFire goes out only when there are thorns
  31. Proof'The stack was consumed': the righteous are hit first
  32. StatementThe destroyer does not tell righteous from wicked
  33. ProofIt even starts with the righteous
  34. Challengeרב יוסף cries over the fate of the righteous
  35. Resolutionאביי: being taken first is a kindness
  36. StatementOpening a new teaching from רב יהודה in the name of רב