Bava Kamma 61b

בבא קמא ס״א ע״ב

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Topic

How far a spreading fire creates liability, and whether one pays for hidden items burned in a grain stack.

Overview

The amud opens with the last words of the previous discussion, which say that pools of water in the ground do not split a field. Then a new משנה asks how far a fire lit on one's own land can spread and still make him liable. רבי אלעזר בן עזריה, רבי אליעזר and רבי עקיבא each give a fixed distance. רבי שמעון says everything depends on the fire. The גמרא challenges him from a משנה about oven distances, where he does seem to use fixed measurements. רבה בר אבוה answers that the limit depends on the size of the fire, and שמואל rules like רבי שמעון. A second משנה deals with vessels hidden in a burning grain stack: רבי יהודה makes him pay for them and the חכמים do not, though they agree about a burned house. רב כהנא and רבא explain where the two sides argue, and a ברייתא adds that the vessels' space is valued as if it were full of grain.

Opening lines

The steps (18)

1. ConclusionPools of water do not divide the field
2. QuestionHow far can a fire travel and still create liability?
3. ResponseThree opinions giving a fixed distance
4. Statementרבי שמעון: it all depends on the fire
5. ChallengeDoes רבי שמעון really have no fire measurement?
6. ProofThe source: fixed distances for an oven and stove
7. Proofרבי שמעון says the oven distances exempt you
8. ResolutionIt all depends on the size of the fire
9. ConclusionThe halacha follows רבי שמעון
10. StatementNew משנה: vessels hidden inside a burning grain stack
11. StatementA goat and a slave burned with the stack
12. StatementThe חכמים agree when a building is burned
13. Statementרב כהנא limits where the argument applies
14. Challengeרבא: the משנה should have split the stack case itself
15. Resolutionרבא's new approach, first case: fire that spread from the burner's own property
16. Statementרבא's second case: fire lit directly on the friend's property
17. StatementA ברייתא repeats the argument over vessels burned in a stack
18. StatementHow the payment is measured: treat the vessels' space as full of grain