Bava Kamma 76a

בבא קמא ע״ו ע״א

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Topic

Why making a stolen animal הקדש is not a 'sale', and רבי שמעון's rule on stealing קדשים

Overview

The גמרא looks at a line in the משנה: a thief who stole an animal, made it הקדש, and then slaughtered or sold it pays כפל but not ארבעה וחמשה. It agrees the later slaughter can't make him pay, since by then the animal belonged to הקדש. But it asks why making the animal הקדש isn't itself a 'sale'. Two answers, one based on רבי שמעון and one based on רבי יוסי הגלילי, are tried and rejected. The final answer is that making something הקדש never counts as a sale: after a sale ראובן's ox becomes שמעון's, but after making it הקדש it is still called ראובן's ox. Next the גמרא asks why רבי שמעון's rule in the משנה seems backwards. It answers that he is talking about a different case: stealing animals that were already קדשים, which the פסוק 'וגנב מבית האיש' covers only when the owner must replace them. Finally it asks how a slaughter of קדשים can count for רבי שמעון, who holds that an unfit slaughter is not a slaughter. רבי יוחנן's answer comes in two versions: רב דימי says the thief slaughtered properly inside for the owner and the blood spilled, while רבין says he slaughtered inside but not for the owner.

Opening lines

The steps (19)

1. ConclusionClosing words of the previous discussion: the extra part of the double payment
2. StatementQuoting the משנה: stole, made it holy, then slaughtered or sold
3. ChallengeThe slaughter makes sense, but why isn't making it holy like a sale?
4. ResolutionThe משנה follows רבי שמעון: such קדשים still belong to the owner
5. RejectionOnly the later part of the משנה follows רבי שמעון
6. ResolutionThe משנה is about lesser offerings, following רבי יוסי הגלילי
7. ChallengeThen the משנה should have taught the difference for most holy offerings
8. ResolutionMaking an animal holy is not a sale, whatever kind of offering it becomes
9. Challengeרבי שמעון's rule looks backwards
10. ChallengeSpelling out the reversed rule
11. Resolutionרבי שמעון is talking about a different case
12. StatementHow the משנה should be read
13. ProofThe verse says from the house of the man
14. Statementרבי שמעון: it depends on whether the owner must replace it
15. ChallengeAn unfit slaughter is not a slaughter
16. ResolutionThe thief slaughtered it properly inside for the owner
17. ChallengeBut the animal went back to its owner
18. ResolutionThe blood spilled
19. Resolutionרבין's version: slaughtered inside, not for the owner