Bava Kamma 9b

בבא קמא ט׳ ע״ב

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Topic

Spending on הידור מצוה, and the new משנה on responsibility for damage, including handing an ox, pit, or fire to a חרש שוטה וקטן

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a discussion about spending 'up to a third' on a מצוה. The גמרא rejects the idea that this means a third of a person's estate, and רבי זירא explains that it means paying up to a third extra for a nicer item (הידור מצוה). רב אשי asks how that third is measured, and the question stays unresolved (תיקו). In ארץ ישראל they add, quoting רבי זירא, that anything spent beyond the third is repaid by הקדוש ברוך הוא. Then a new משנה begins: whatever a person must guard, its damage counts as his. It also lists which property and which places are covered, and says payment comes from the best land. The גמרא brings a ברייתא: handing an ox or pit to a חרש שוטה וקטן leaves the owner liable, but handing over fire does not. It works out what case this is, once according to ריש לקיש and once according to רבי יוחנן. Finally, a ברייתא lists the ways שור is stricter than בור and the ways בור is stricter than שור.

Opening lines

The steps (21)

1. ChallengeDoes 'a third' mean a third of a person's estate?
2. ResolutionIt means paying a third extra to beautify a מצוה
3. QuestionHow is the third measured? Left unresolved
4. StatementBeyond a third, הקדוש ברוך הוא repays
5. StatementIf I must guard it, its damage is on me
6. StatementCausing part of the damage means paying for all of it
7. StatementWhich property the damage laws cover
8. StatementWhere the damage laws apply
9. StatementPayment comes from the best quality land
10. StatementA ברייתא: handing an ox or pit to someone who cannot guard it
11. QuestionWhat case is the ברייתא talking about?
12. ChallengeA tied ox and covered pit cannot be the case
13. ResolutionSecond try: a loose ox and open pit
14. ChallengeBut ריש לקיש says handing over a flame makes you liable
15. ResolutionBack to the tied ox, covered pit, and ember
16. ResolutionAn ox breaks loose, a pit gets uncovered, an ember dies out
17. ChallengeHow רבי יוחנן reads the ברייתא
18. ResolutionWith fire, the חרש's own handling causes the damage
19. StatementA new teaching: Ox and Pit are each stricter in some ways
20. StatementWhere Ox is stricter than Pit
21. StatementWhere Pit is stricter than Ox