Bava Metzia 104a

בבא מציעא ק״ד ע״א

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Topic

Tenant-farming deals and the 'just a name' argument, and sages who drew laws from the everyday wording of documents (לשון הדיוט).

Overview

The amud opens with the last line of a discussion from the previous daf: the owner tells the tenant he should have brought water in a bucket. רב פפא then gives a rule for reading the chapter. The first two משניות fit both a חוכר (fixed rent) and a מקבל (share of the crop). From the third משנה on, each case fits only one of them. The גמרא asks why a tenant who asked for 'this irrigated field' gets a rent reduction when the water dries up. A ברייתא shows that a seller can say 'I only told you the field's name.' שמואל answers that it depends on who described the field. רבינא answers that the word 'this' makes 'irrigated' a real promise. A new משנה rules that a tenant who leaves the field unworked must pay what it could have grown, because his contract says so. The גמרא explains that this follows sages who drew laws from the everyday wording of documents (לשון הדיוט): רבי מאיר, רבי יהודה, הלל הזקן and רבי יהושע בן קרחה, each with an example. Finally, the גמרא challenges רבי יהושע בן קרחה's case with a ruling of רבי יוחנן about collateral, and the discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (20)

1. ResolutionYou should have brought water in a bucket
2. Statementרב פפא's map of the chapter
3. ChallengeWhy can't the owner say he only used the name?
4. ProofA 'בית כור' sold by name only
5. ProofVineyard without vines, orchard without pomegranates
6. ChallengeSo the owner should be able to say 'just a name' here too
7. ResolutionIt depends on who described the field
8. ResolutionThe word 'this' shows they stood in the field
9. StatementA tenant who leaves the field unworked must pay
10. Statementרבי מאיר learned laws from everyday wording
11. ProofA ברייתא shows רבי מאיר used the contract wording
12. Statementרבי יהודה also learned from everyday wording
13. ProofA husband pays for his wife's offerings because of the כתובה
14. Statementהלל הזקן also learned from everyday wording
15. ProofThe problem in Alexandria: brides snatched before the חופה
16. Proofהלל reads the כתובה and saves the children
17. Statementרבי יהושע בן קרחה also learned from everyday wording
18. ProofA lender may not take collateral worth more than the debt
19. StatementInference: the lender owns the collateral only because it was written
20. ChallengeChallenge from רבי יוחנן: the lender owns collateral even without wording