Bava Metzia 27a

בבא מציעא כ״ז ע״א

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Topic

Coins in bought produce, the garment as the model for announcing lost items, why the Torah names each item, the פרוטה minimum, and whether סימנים are from the Torah.

Overview

This עמוד opens by finishing a rule from the previous עמוד. Someone who finds coins in produce he bought may keep them only if he bought from a merchant, not from a private owner. רב נחמן questions a ברייתא that says this, and it is kept by reading it as a case where the owner's כנעני slaves did the threshing. A new משנה then teaches that the Torah singled out the שמלה (garment) to show that any lost item with סימנים and with owners who would claim it must be announced. רבא asks why the Torah lists an ox, a donkey, a sheep and a garment. He explains the donkey (signs on its saddle are enough) but admits that the word שה has no explanation. Next, a ברייתא teaches that an item worth less than a שוה פרוטה need not be returned. The תנא קמא and רבי יהודה learn this from different words in the פסוק. אביי says they differ only about the source. רבא finds a practical difference: an item whose value went up, down and up again. Finally the גמרא asks whether returning items based on סימנים is from the Torah or from the Rabbis, and what difference that makes. The answer continues on the next עמוד.

Opening lines

The steps (37)

1. StatementMerchant versus private owner
2. ProofA ברייתא says the same thing
3. ChallengeDoes the owner thresh by himself?
4. QuestionShould I erase the ברייתא?
5. ResolutionThreshed by his כנעני slaves
6. StatementThe garment as the model for announcing
7. QuestionWhich general phrase?
8. Responseרבא: 'every lost item of your brother'
9. QuestionWhy does the Torah list four lost items?
10. ResponseThe donkey teaches that saddle signs are enough
11. QuestionWhy are ox and sheep written?
12. ResponseOx and sheep teach returning sheared wool
13. ChallengeOx alone would teach the sheep's wool too
14. ConclusionTwo extra words remain unexplained
15. ChallengeMaybe the word 'sheep' teaches about returning dung
16. ResolutionDung is ownerless, so it is not a lost item
17. ProofMaybe 'sheep' teaches that סימנין work by Torah law
18. RejectionThe משנה already learns סימנין from 'garment'
19. StatementAn item worth less than a פרוטה is not an אבידה
20. QuestionWhat is the difference between the two opinions?
21. ResponseThey only disagree about which words of the פסוק teach the rule
22. QuestionWhat does the תנא קמא learn from 'ומצאתה'?
23. ResponseThe תנא קמא uses 'ומצאתה' for רבנאי's teaching
24. QuestionWhat does רבי יהודה learn from 'אשר תאבד'?
25. Responseרבי יהודה uses 'אשר תאבד' for the item swept away by a river
26. QuestionWhere does רבי יהודה learn רבנאי's rule?
27. Responseרבי יהודה learns it from 'ומצאתה' too
28. QuestionWhere does the תנא קמא learn רבי יוחנן's rule?
29. ResponseThe תנא קמא learns it from 'ממנו'
30. Responseרבי יהודה does not learn from 'ממנו'
31. Statementרבא: they differ about a פרוטה that dropped in value
32. ChallengeChallenge: 'ומצאתה' still requires value when found
33. ResolutionA new case: the item went up in value
34. ChallengeThe 'ומצאתה' view still needs the item to be worth something when lost
35. ResolutionThe real difference: the item went up, down, and up again
36. QuestionAre identifying marks from the Torah or from the Rabbis?
37. QuestionWhat practical difference does it make?