Bava Metzia 103a

בבא מציעא ק״ג ע״א

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Topic

Rental disputes, the limits of borrowed items, and replacing a rented house that fell

Overview

The amud opens by asking whether a landlord owed rent can swear and collect like a hired worker (שכיר). The גמרא says no: the worker's oath exists only because an employer is busy with many workers, so in a rent dispute the renter is believed with an oath. Next, רב נחמן rules that a landlord who rented out a house for ten years with a document is believed when he says five years are already used up. רבינא explains why this differs from a loan document: a rental document only protects the owner from a false ownership claim, while a loan document exists for collecting. Then come rules about borrowing items. Someone who borrows an item 'בטובו' may keep re-borrowing it while it works, but only with a קנין, and when it breaks he returns the handle. The borrower's exact wording ('this orchard', 'an orchard', 'orchards'; 'this well', 'a well', 'a place for a well') sets the limits of the loan. A new משנה rules that a landlord whose rented house fell must replace it with a matching house. After two attempts, the גמרא explains, following רבין's report of ריש לקיש, that the landlord said 'a house like this' about a riverbank house. The chapter השואל then closes, and the next chapter opens with a משנה about farming another person's field according to local custom, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (19)

1. ChallengeComparing the landlord to a hired worker
2. RejectionThe worker's oath is a special case
3. StatementThe landlord is believed that five years were used
4. ChallengeChallenge from a loan document
5. ResolutionA loan document and a rental document have different purposes
6. StatementBorrowing an item for as long as it is in good condition
7. StatementThis only works if the borrower made a formal acquisition
8. StatementWhen the item breaks, the handle goes back to the owner
9. StatementThe borrower's exact words set the limits of the loan
10. StatementBorrowing 'this well', 'a well', or 'a place for a well'
11. StatementA rented house that fell must be replaced with the same kind of house
12. ChallengeWhat kind of rental does the משנה mean?
13. ResolutionThe landlord promised a house of stated measurements
14. ChallengeIf the size was stated, why teach it?
15. Resolutionרבין's version: 'A house like this'
16. ChallengeStill obvious
17. ResolutionThe house was on a riverbank
18. Conclusionהדרן — Closing פרק השואל
19. StatementFarming another's field follows local custom