Bava Metzia 25b

בבא מציעא כ״ה ע״ב

Learn Bava Metzia 25b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bava Metzia 25b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Coins and their סימנים, items that look deliberately placed (ספק הינוח), a vessel in a garbage heap, and items found in walls

Overview

The גמרא asks what the law is when found coins are stacked like the stones of בית קוליס, and a ברייתא rules that the finder must announce them. A second ברייתא teaches that a coin has no usable סימן. Even the claimant's name on it proves nothing, because he may have spent it and someone else dropped it. A new משנה then rules that tied young birds near a fence or on a field path must not be touched. The גמרא explains that they look deliberately placed and have no סימן. Neither the common wing-knot nor the place works as a סימן, since the birds hop. That makes the case a ספק הינוח, and רב rules that such an item should not be taken, but if it was taken it need not be returned. The משנה's rule that a covered vessel in a garbage heap is left alone seems to clash with a ברייתא. רב זביד resolves this by the size of the item, and רב פפא resolves it by the type of heap. The amud ends with a new משנה about items found in rubble or in walls, and a ברייתא saying the finder can claim they belonged to the אמוריים. The גמרא's answer to the challenge against that ברייתא continues on the next עמוד.

Opening lines

The steps (28)

1. QuestionWhat if coins are arranged like the stones of בית קוליס?
2. ResponseA ברייתא rules that such coins must be announced
3. StatementClaiming a found coin by describing it does not work
4. StatementEven his name on the coin does not help
5. StatementWhy a name on a coin proves nothing
6. Statementמשנה: tied young birds near a fence or on a field path
7. Statementמשנה: a vessel found in a garbage heap
8. QuestionWhy may the birds not be touched?
9. ResponseSomeone hid them, and they have no identifying mark
10. ChallengeWhy not let the knot be the identifying mark?
11. ResolutionThey are tied by the wings, like everyone ties them
12. ChallengeWhy not let the location be the identifying mark?
13. ResolutionThe birds hop around
14. ChallengeIf they hop, maybe they came from elsewhere and are permitted
15. ResolutionIt could go either way, so it is a doubtful placement
16. ConclusionThe rule for a doubtful placement
17. StatementThe משנה's rule about a vessel in a garbage heap
18. ChallengeA ברייתא says a hidden vessel is taken and announced
19. Resolutionרב זביד: big vessels versus small utensils
20. Resolutionרב פפא: two kinds of garbage heaps
21. ChallengeA heap that gets cleared means the owner knowingly risked losing it
22. ResolutionThe heap was not normally cleared, but the owner decided to clear it
23. ChallengeThe ברייתא's Reason Fits רב פפא, but What About רב זביד?
24. Resolutionרב זביד Reads the Phrase Differently
25. StatementNew משנה: Items Found in a Rubble Heap or a Wall
26. Statementברייתא: The Finder Can Say They Belonged to the אמוריים
27. ChallengeDon't Jews Hide Things Too?
28. ResolutionThe Answer Begins: It Is Needed Only in a Specific Case