Bava Metzia 60a

בבא מציעא ס׳ ע״א

Learn Bava Metzia 60a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bava Metzia 60a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Honest selling: mixing produce and wine, fair competition, and not dressing up merchandise

Overview

This amud is about honest selling. The משנה forbids mixing new produce with old, and the ברייתא adds that this holds even when the old produce is the cheaper one. Mixing strong wine into weak wine is allowed because it improves the wine. רבי אלעזר learns from this that every 'באמת אמרו' is settled הלכה, and רב נחמן limits the permission to the winepress stage. The גמרא then explains why people mix wine nowadays: either buyers know and forgive it, or the משנה follows רבי אחא, who allows mixing anything that is tasted before buying. רב יהודה explains that the ban on sediment means sediment from a different day's wine, and a ברייתא supports him. רבא sends obviously diluted wine back to a store, and he defends this against אביי. Where diluting wine is the custom, it is allowed in set amounts, and רב limits this to the winepress stage. A new משנה discusses fair competition and not making goods look better than they are, and the גמרא begins explaining the reasons of the חכמים.

Opening lines

The steps (31)

1. StatementCertainly not new produce with old
2. StatementStrong wine may be mixed with weak wine
3. StatementWine sediment: don't add it, but you may leave it
4. StatementWatered wine: tell the buyer, and never sell it to a merchant
5. StatementWhere watering wine is the custom, it is allowed
6. StatementA merchant may combine produce from several sources
7. StatementEven cheaper old produce may not be mixed into new
8. StatementEvery 'באמת אמרו' is settled הלכה
9. StatementThe wine exception applies only in the winepress
10. ChallengeWhy do people mix wine nowadays outside the winepress?
11. ResolutionBuyers know about it and forgive it
12. ResolutionThe משנה follows רבי אחא
13. StatementQuoting the משנה's rule on wine sediment
14. ChallengeThe two halves of the sediment rule seem to contradict
15. ResolutionA suggested answer: he tells the buyer
16. RejectionThe last part of the משנה rules out that answer
17. Resolutionרב יהודה: no mixing sediment from different days
18. ProofA ברייתא of רבי יהודה supports this reading
19. StatementWatered wine, and רבא sends diluted wine back to the store
20. Challengeאביי: the משנה forbids selling to a merchant
21. Resolutionרבא: my dilution is obvious
22. ResolutionWorrying about every trick would never end
23. StatementWhere diluting is the custom, and how much water
24. Statementרב: this was taught for the winepress stage
25. StatementHanding out treats to children
26. StatementLowering the market price
27. StatementSifting ground beans
28. StatementNo dressing up items for sale
29. QuestionWhy do the חכמים allow handing out treats?
30. ResponseEveryone can hand out treats
31. QuestionWhy do the חכמים praise lowering prices?