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Bava Metzia 35a

בבא מציעא ל״ה ע״א

Learn Bava Metzia 35a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

רב הונא's oath for a lost משכון, the jewels case of רב נחמן, and the rule that property taken by שומא can be bought back.

Overview

The amud opens with a problem. רב הונא says the creditor holding a משכון must swear it is no longer with him. But the משנה worries that the creditor might later produce the item. רבא, רב יוסף, אביי and רב אשי each answer in turn. In the end, רב אשי says both sides swear and the משנה only tells us that the מלוה swears first. Next, רבא refutes רב הונא from a later clause of the משנה. רב כהנא answers that the case is one where the borrower trusts the lender. The גמרא then explains, with a פסוק from משלי, why that trust runs only one way. Then comes the story of jewels a שומר could not find. רב נחמן made him pay with his house, but when the jewels turned up, everything went back to its owner. This leads to the rule that land taken by שומא can always be bought back by the debtor, because of 'וְעָשִׂיתָ הַיָּשָׁר וְהַטּוֹב'. The amud closes by showing who must give such land back and who need not, including a husband, who counts as a buyer according to the תקנת אושא.

Opening lines

אִיתָא לִדְרַב הוּנָא

If the statement of Rav Huna is so,

כֵּיוָן דְּמִשְׁתְּבַע מִלְוֶה

since the creditor swears

שֶׁאֵינָהּ בִּרְשׁוּתוֹ,

that it is not in his possession,

הֵיכִי מָצֵי מַפֵּיק לַהּ?

how can he produce it?

The steps (33)

  1. ChallengeIf the creditor already swore, how can he produce the collateral?
  2. Resolutionרבא: the case is where witnesses saw it burn
  3. ChallengeIf it burned, how could he ever bring it?
  4. Resolutionרב יוסף: the case is where witnesses saw it stolen
  5. ChallengeEven if stolen, how would he bring it?
  6. ResolutionHe might track down the thief and bring it
  7. ChallengeThen the borrower could also find it
  8. ResolutionOnly the creditor knows who visits his house
  9. Resolutionאביי: a decree in case he claims he found it after the oath
  10. Resolutionרב אשי: both sides swear
  11. ConclusionThe משנה only tells us who swears first
  12. Challengeרבא's refutation of רב הונא from the משנה
  13. Resolutionרב כהנא: the borrower trusts the lender
  14. ChallengeThen trust him about the value too
  15. ResolutionThe lender doesn't really know its value
  16. ChallengeThen let the lender trust the borrower
  17. ResolutionThe lender doesn't trust the borrower
  18. QuestionWhy does the trust go only one way?
  19. ResponseHow each one views the other, from משלי
  20. StatementThe story of the deposited jewels
  21. Statementרב נחמן: 'I don't know' is negligence
  22. ConclusionThe jewels are found and everything goes back
  23. Challengeרבא's question: shouldn't the bailee keep the jewels?
  24. ResolutionThe difference: this bailee dragged the owner to court
  25. QuestionDoes רב נחמן hold that a court appraisal can be reversed?
  26. RejectionNo: that appraisal was a mistake from the start
  27. Statementנהרדעא: an appraisal can be reversed for twelve months
  28. Statementאמימר: an appraisal can always be reversed
  29. ConclusionThe law: an appraisal can always be reversed, because it is right and good
  30. StatementA creditor's creditor must also give the land back
  31. StatementBuyers, heirs and gift receivers keep the land
  32. StatementA husband counts as a buyer of his wife's land
  33. ProofThe source: the תקנת אושא