Bava Metzia 28b

בבא מציעא כ״ח ע״ב

Learn Bava Metzia 28b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Announcing and returning lost items: how the announcement developed over time, proving ownership with סימנים and witnesses against swindlers, and caring for or selling found animals.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a question about festival announcements: what if someone mixes up the festivals? The answer is that the third festival is still coming. A ברייתא then tells the history of announcing lost items. First it was three festivals in ירושלים plus seven days. After the חורבן it moved to בתי כנסיות and בתי מדרשות. When harsh rulers who took lost items for the king spread, the finder only had to tell his neighbors. A new משנה rules that a claimant needs סימנים, and a known רמאי gets nothing even with סימנים. רב יהודה and רב נחמן argue about whether the finder may name the item in his announcement. A ברייתא and a story about רב פפא's father show the later rule that a claimant must bring witnesses that he is not a רמאי. A further משנה teaches that a found animal that pays for its own food is kept, and one that only eats is sold. The גמרא sets time limits for different animals and settles two ברייתות that seem to contradict each other. The amud ends as the גמרא begins to pin down the dispute between רבי טרפון and רבי עקיבא about the sale money, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (33)

1. ChallengeWorry about mixing up the second festival with the first
2. ResolutionThe third festival is still coming
3. StatementThe original system: three festivals plus seven days
4. StatementAfter the חורבן: announcing in shuls and study halls
5. StatementWhen oppressors spread: telling neighbors is enough
6. QuestionWho were the oppressors?
7. ResponseRulers who claimed lost items for the king
8. Proofרבי אמי and the Roman
9. StatementThe אבן הטוען in ירושלים
10. ProofThe same stone mentioned in a משנה
11. StatementThe משנה: no סימנים means no return, and a swindler is never trusted
12. StatementHow specific should the finder's announcement be?
13. Statementרב יהודה's reason: naming the item helps a swindler
14. Statementרב נחמן's reason: worrying about swindlers would never end
15. ChallengeThe משנה seems to fit רב יהודה and not רב נחמן
16. Resolutionרב ספרא: the claimant gave marks, but not clear-cut ones
17. StatementOnce swindlers multiplied, claimants had to bring witnesses
18. ProofThe story of רב פפא's father and his lost donkey
19. ConclusionA person doesn't bring witnesses against himself
20. StatementA working animal is kept and a non-working animal is sold
21. StatementMay the finder use the sale money, and is he responsible for it
22. QuestionMust the finder care for a working animal forever
23. Responseשמואל sets the limit at twelve months
24. ProofA ברייתא supports the twelve-month limit for cows and donkeys
25. StatementShorter limits for calves, foals, geese and roosters
26. StatementA hen is treated like a large animal
27. ProofA second teaching supports the hen ruling and gives other time limits
28. ChallengeThe two teachings clash on calves and on geese
29. ResolutionGrazing calves versus fattened calves
30. ResolutionLarge geese versus small geese
31. StatementDo not let the food eat up the animal's value
32. StatementWhat happens to the money from the sale
33. StatementNarrowing down what the dispute is about