Gemara Clarity

Bava Metzia 50b

בבא מציעא נ׳ ע״ב

Learn Bava Metzia 50b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bava Metzia 50b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The time limits for overcharging (אונאה) claims, learned from the merchants of לוד and settled by רבא, with רב נחמן limiting the deadline to the buyer.

Overview

The משנה tells that רבי טרפון ruled in לוד that אונאה (overcharging) goes up to one-third, and the merchants were happy. When he added that the buyer can back out all day, they went back to the view of the חכמים. The גמרא first finishes a proof from this story: under the רבנן, a small overcharge is forgiven only after the time it takes to show the item to a merchant or relative. That proof is pushed back. The גמרא then uses the merchants' happiness to ask whether a sale cancelled for an overcharge of more than one-sixth can be undone forever, and that proof is pushed back too. רבא rules the final הלכה: less than one-sixth, the sale stands; exactly one-sixth, the extra money is returned; more than one-sixth, the sale is cancelled. Both claims must be made within the short checking time, and a ברייתא supports him. Finally, רב נחמן says this time limit applies only to the buyer, and the גמרא begins to bring support for him from the merchants of לוד.

Opening lines

וּלְרַבִּי טַרְפוֹן נָמֵי

And according to Rabbi Tarfon too

לְאַלְתַּר הָוְיָא מְחִילָה,

there is forgiveness immediately,

אַמַּאי חָזְרוּ?

why did they go back?

בִּדְרַבִּי טַרְפוֹן נִיחָא לְהוּ טְפֵי,

Rabbi Tarfon's view would suit them better,

The steps (16)

  1. ProofFinishing the proof that the רבנן do not forgive small overcharges right away
  2. RejectionThe ranges do not line up the way the proof assumed
  3. ChallengeThen why were the merchants happy at first?
  4. ProofProof that under the רבנן a cancelled sale can always be undone
  5. ProofWhy the proof works
  6. RejectionThey were happy about the exact one-sixth case
  7. QuestionHow long can a cancelled sale be undone under the רבנן
  8. ChallengeIf both have the same time limit, what is the difference?
  9. ResolutionWho can back out is the difference
  10. ProofProof from the merchants going back to the רבנן
  11. RejectionCancelled sales are rare
  12. Conclusionרבא's final הלכה on overcharging
  13. ProofA ברייתא matches רבא's three-level ruling
  14. StatementA cheated seller has the upper hand, and both claims share one time limit
  15. StatementThe time limit applies only to the buyer
  16. ProofTrying to prove רב נחמן from the merchants of לוד