Gemara Clarity

Bava Kamma 61a

בבא קמא ס״א ע״א

Learn Bava Kamma 61a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bava Kamma 61a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The end of דוד's question, and the משנה about a fire that crosses a fence, a public road, or a river

Overview

The amud opens by finishing the discussion of what דוד asked during the war with the פלשתים. The opinion that he asked about טמון באש is tested against the field verses, "he would not drink it," and "he poured it out to ה׳," and it answers each challenge. Then a new משנה teaches that if a fire crosses a fence four אמות high, a public road, or a river, the one who lit it is פטור. רב פפא settles a ברייתא that seems to disagree: the two sources count toward four אמות from opposite directions. רבא and רב פפא add that in a thorny field the four אמות are measured from the tops of the thorns. רב and שמואל argue about whether the public-road exemption is about a high flame or a low flame, and a ברייתא supports רב. The גמרא says the public-road rule follows רבי אליעזר. רב and שמואל also disagree whether "river" means a real river or a water channel, which matters when it is dry. Finally, a משנה about פאה leads to two definitions of שלולית, and that discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

אֶלָּא לְמַאן דְּאָמַר

But according to the one who says

טָמוּן בָּאֵשׁ קָמִיבַּעְיָא לֵיהּ,

that he was asking about a hidden item in a fire,

מַאי אִיבְּעִי לֵיהּ קְרָאֵי?

why does he need the verses?

אָמַר לָךְ:

He could say to you:

The steps (22)

  1. ChallengeWhy are the two verses about the fields needed?
  2. ResolutionHe asked about both
  3. ChallengeWhat does "he would not drink it" mean?
  4. ResolutionHe did not quote it in their names
  5. ChallengeWhat does "he poured it out to ה׳" mean?
  6. ResolutionHe said it in the name of the tradition
  7. StatementThe משנה: fire that crosses a tall fence, road, or river
  8. ChallengeA teaching that seems to say the opposite
  9. ResolutionBoth sources agree: they just count from opposite directions
  10. StatementThe four-אמות rule applies even in a field of thorns
  11. StatementMeasure the four אמות from the top of the thorns
  12. Statementרב limits the exemption to a high flame
  13. Statementשמואל says the משנה is about a low flame
  14. ProofA ברייתא supports רב
  15. QuestionWho holds the public road rule?
  16. Responseרבא: It is רבי אליעזר
  17. StatementWhat kind of river does the משנה mean?
  18. StatementThe practical difference between רב and שמואל: a dry river
  19. StatementA משנה in פאה: things that divide a field
  20. QuestionWhat is a שלולית?
  21. ResponseTwo definitions: gathered rainwater or a water channel
  22. StatementWhat each definition includes and leaves out