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Bava Kamma 63b

בבא קמא ס״ג ע״ב

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Topic

When does a שומר who lies about a פקדון pay תשלומי כפל (double payment)? The גמרא finishes a teaching about a found אבידה, then quotes a משנה from later in the מסכת and draws two lessons from it: only a טענת גנב, and only with a שבועה, brings כפל.

Overview

The amud opens with the end of a teaching: someone guarding a lost object he found pays כפל, from the פסוק ״על כל אבדה״. Then the גמרא quotes a משנה about a שומר who swears falsely about a פקדון. If he claimed ״it got lost,″ he pays only the קרן. If he claimed ״it was stolen,″ he pays כפל. From this the גמרא learns that only a טענת גנב, and only one made with a שבועה, brings כפל. Two ברייתות argue over whether ״אם ימצא הגנב״ is about the real thief or the lying שומר. Both agree that ״אם לא ימצא הגנב״ is about the lying שומר, and רבא explains how the words show this. A גזירה שוה on ״שליחות יד″ shows that the שומר must have sworn. The גמרא then works out how each ברייתא gets its sources: excluding a claim of loss, the four-or-five payment of רבי חייא בר אבא, and a real thief's own כפל. The answer to that last question, a teaching of תנא דבי חזקיה, begins at the end of the amud and continues on the next one.

Opening lines

בַּאֲבֵידָה, מְשַׁלֵּם תַּשְׁלוּמֵי כֶפֶל;

With a lost object, he pays double payment;

שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״עַל כׇּל אֲבֵדָה אֲשֶׁר יֹאמַר״.

as it is stated: "For any lost thing about which one shall say."

תְּנַן הָתָם: ״הֵיכָן פִּקְדוֹנִי?״

We learned there: "Where is my deposit?"

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: ״אָבַד״,

He said to him: "It got lost."

The steps (28)

  1. StatementA found lost object also brings double payment
  2. StatementThe משנה's first case: the guard claims the deposit was lost
  3. StatementThe משנה's second case: the guard claims the deposit was stolen
  4. ProofTwo lessons from the משנה: only a theft claim, and only with an oath
  5. QuestionWhat is the source?
  6. ResponseFirst ברייתא: the פסוק is about the false claimer
  7. ProofFirst ברייתא proves its reading from the next פסוק
  8. StatementSecond ברייתא: the פסוק is about the real thief
  9. ProofSecond ברייתא: the next פסוק already covers the false claimer
  10. ConclusionBoth agree about the second פסוק
  11. QuestionHow do the words show this?
  12. Responseרבא: it was not found as he said
  13. QuestionHow do we know the lying שומר must have sworn?
  14. ResponseA ברייתא reads 'approaching the judges' as coming to swear
  15. QuestionMaybe he only comes to court for judgment
  16. ProofA גזירה שוה from 'laying a hand' proves it means an oath
  17. ChallengeWhy are two פסוקים needed if both speak of the lying שומר?
  18. ResolutionOne פסוק excludes a false claim that the item was lost
  19. QuestionWhere does the second ברייתא (one פסוק for the thief) learn that a false claim of loss is excluded?
  20. ResponseHe learns it from the extra ה in ״הַגַּנָּב״
  21. QuestionWhat does the first ברייתא (both about the שומר) learn from ״הַגַּנָּב״?
  22. ResponseIt is needed for the rule of רבי חייא בר אבא
  23. QuestionWhere does the second ברייתא learn רבי חייא בר אבא's rule?
  24. ResponseThe four-or-five payment comes from a juxtaposition
  25. ChallengeWhere does the second opinion learn a real thief's double payment
  26. RejectionA קל וחומר from the lying שומר does not work
  27. ResponseThe thief's double payment comes from תנא דבי חזקיה
  28. ResponseThe narrow reading: only things brought on the altar