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Bava Metzia 41b

בבא מציעא מ״א ע״ב

Learn Bava Metzia 41b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Why the תורה writes שליחות יד for both the שומר חנם and the שומר שכר, and what each mention teaches

Overview

רבי יוחנן finishes his statement by saying that the שליחות יד written for a שומר שכר is not 'different.' The 'different' view says a קל וחומר from a שומר חנם already teaches the שומר שכר's liability, so his פסוק must teach something new: שליחות יד does not need a loss. רבי יוחנן follows רבי אלעזר, who says both cases are the same. The קל וחומר can be challenged because a שומר חנם pays double when he falsely claims a thief took the item. The other side answers that paying the principal without an oath is stricter than paying double after an oath. רבא offers a different קל וחומר, from a שואל, which would make both mentions of שליחות יד look extra. He explains that one mention teaches that no loss is needed, and the other blocks the rule of דיו, so a שומר is liable even when the owner is working with him. According to the view that a loss is required, one mention blocks דיו, and the other is used by a ברייתא to show that 'approaching the judges' means taking an oath.

Opening lines

וַאֲנִי אוֹמֵר אֵינָהּ מְשׁוּנָּה.

And I say: it is not different.

וּמַאי מְשׁוּנָּה?

And what is 'different'?

לֹא תֵּאָמֵר שְׁלִיחוּת יָד בְּשׁוֹמֵר שָׂכָר,

Let misappropriation not be stated about a paid guardian,

וְתֵיתֵי מִשּׁוֹמֵר חִנָּם:

and learn it from an unpaid guardian:

The steps (16)

  1. Statementרבי יוחנן: It Is Not Different
  2. QuestionWhat Does 'Different' Mean?
  3. ResponseA קל וחומר Would Have Been Enough
  4. ResponseThe Extra פסוק: No Loss Needed
  5. Statementרבי יוחנן Follows רבי אלעזר
  6. QuestionWhat Does 'This and That Are One' Mean?
  7. ResponseThe קל וחומר Can Be Challenged
  8. ResolutionWhy the Other Side Keeps the קל וחומר
  9. Statementרבא: The law could have come from a borrower
  10. QuestionSo why does the תורה mention it?
  11. ResponseOne mention: no loss needed. The other: blocks דיו
  12. QuestionWhat about the view that a loss is required?
  13. ResponseThe first mention still blocks דיו
  14. ResponseThe second mention is used by a ברייתא about an oath
  15. QuestionThe ברייתא asks: oath or judgment?
  16. ResponseProof: the same words appear by the oath