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Bava Metzia 40b

בבא מציעא מ׳ ע״ב

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Topic

Oil sales: profit limits, deductions for sediment and absorption, mixing sediment, residue, and a guard who moves a deposited barrel

Overview

The גמרא first works out the math of רב יהודה's oil sale. It then shows that his profit fits שמואל's rule that a seller may profit up to one-sixth: the barrel and the sediment he keeps add to his profit, and his labor and the cost of the tap balance it out. Next it returns to the משנה and explains why an old cask counts as absorbing no oil. רב נחמן says the משנה means casks coated with pitch, and אביי says a cask that is already soaked takes in no more. אביי then ties the argument between רבי יהודה and the חכמים about sediment to whether a seller may mix sediment into oil, and he defends רבי יהודה's view using the משנה about selling a צמד. רב פפא reverses אביי's reading of both sides. A ברייתא then compares a buyer and a depositor regarding residue, and the גמרא settles a contradiction by separating a buyer who paid in תשרי from one who paid in ניסן. Finally, a new משנה rules on a guard who moves a deposited barrel that then breaks. The גמרא says it follows רבי ישמעאל, who holds that an item can be returned without the owner knowing. רבי עקיבא's opposing view continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

דַּל תְּלָתִין וְשִׁיתָּא בְּשִׁיתָּא,

Subtract thirty-six sold for six each,

פָּשׁוּ לֵיהּ תְּרֵיסַר.

twelve remain for him.

דַּל תְּמָנְיָא שְׁתוּתֵי,

Subtract eight for the sixths,

פָּשׁוּ לְהוּ אַרְבְּעָה.

four remain for them.

The steps (32)

  1. StatementWorking out the math of רב יהודה's oil sale
  2. Challengeשמואל allows profit up to one-sixth, so why was his profit so small?
  3. ResolutionThe barrel and the sediment add to his profit
  4. ChallengeThen his profit is now more than one-sixth
  5. ResolutionHis labor and the tap cost balance it out
  6. StatementQuoting the משנה about refined oil
  7. ChallengeSurely every cask absorbs some oil
  8. Resolutionרב נחמן: the משנה is talking about casks coated with pitch
  9. Resolutionאביי: a soaked cask absorbs no more
  10. Statementרבי יהודה: even refined oil gets a sediment deduction
  11. Statementאביי: the dispute is about mixing sediment into oil
  12. StatementWhy the buyer must accept the deduction according to רבי יהודה
  13. ChallengeBut mixed sediment could be resold, and plain sediment cannot
  14. ResolutionThe buyer is a homeowner who wants clear oil
  15. ChallengeBy not mixing, didn't the seller give it up?
  16. Resolutionרבי יהודה does not assume a person gave something up
  17. ProofSource: selling the yoke versus selling the cattle
  18. ProofThe price tells us what was sold
  19. Statementאביי's reading of the חכמים' view
  20. Challengeרב פפא flips the חכמים' view
  21. Statementרב פפא: for רבי יהודה the buyer must accept
  22. StatementA buyer and a depositor are the same regarding residue
  23. QuestionWhat does 'regarding residue' mean?
  24. ChallengeChallenge: what would the guard do with the residue?
  25. ResponseNew reading: the buyer accepts residue just like the depositor
  26. ChallengeChallenge from רבי יהודה: the buyer does not accept residue
  27. ResolutionPaying in תשרי versus paying in ניסן
  28. Statementמשנה: a moved barrel breaks when the owner chose no spot
  29. Statementמשנה: a moved barrel breaks when the owner chose a spot
  30. QuestionWhose opinion is this משנה?
  31. ResponseIt follows רבי ישמעאל: the owner does not need to know
  32. ProofThe ברייתא about returning a stolen lamb or coin