Bava Metzia 19b

בבא מציעא י״ט ע״ב

Learn Bava Metzia 19b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Found deeds of gift (בריא versus שכיב מרע, giver versus son) and a found שובר for a כתובה

Overview

Our משנה implies that a found שטר מתנה (deed of gift) is handed over if the giver says 'Give it.' A ברייתא says not to hand it over even when both sides agree. The גמרא first answers that the משנה is about a שכיב מרע and the ברייתא is about a בריא. A שכיב מרע can always take back his gift, so if he made a later gift, the later deed wins (בתרא זכי) and returning the old deed hurts no one. A בריא cannot take back his gift, so the earlier delivered deed wins (קמא זכי). He might falsely claim that an old, never-delivered deed was handed over, just to undo a real later gift, so he is told to write a new deed instead. רב זביד objects that both sources speak of wills, which only a שכיב מרע makes. He answers that the משנה is when the dying giver himself asks, and the ברייתא is when his son asks after the father's death, since the son might be scheming to cancel his own binding gift. The גמרא then quotes a ברייתא about a found שובר (receipt) for a כתובה. It asks whether an early-dated receipt could let the husband cheat people who bought the wife's כתובה. רבא begins to answer, and his answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (21)

1. ResolutionSplitting the two sources: healthy giver versus deathbed giver
2. StatementThe משנה is about a deathbed giver, who can take his gift back
3. QuestionThe worry: maybe he is secretly undoing a later gift
4. ResponseNo harm done: when two deeds appear, the later one wins
5. ResponseEven a later deathbed gift loses nothing
6. StatementThe ברייתא is talking about a healthy giver
7. StatementThe danger: a healthy giver using an old deed to undo a real gift
8. StatementThe court refuses to hand over the old deed
9. ConclusionThe fix: write a brand-new deed
10. Challengeרב זביד: Both Sources Talk About Wills
11. Resolutionרב זביד's New Answer: The Giver Versus His Son
12. StatementWhy We Return the Deed When the Giver Himself Asks
13. StatementThe ברייתא's Case Is the Son
14. StatementThe Worry: The Father Changed His Mind and the Son Gave It Away
15. StatementThe Son's Scheme to Undo His Own Gift
16. ConclusionSo we do not return the father's deed
17. ConclusionThe fix: the son should write a new deed
18. StatementA ברייתא: finding a receipt for a כתובה payment
19. ChallengeBut maybe she sold her כתובה before handing over the receipt
20. ChallengeThe husband could use the early-dated receipt to cheat the buyers
21. Resolutionרבא begins his answer