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Bava Metzia 73a

בבא מציעא ע״ג ע״א

Learn Bava Metzia 73a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Advance payments, discounts and sharecropping: when a deal is fair business and when it looks like ריבית

Overview

This amud deals with deals that can look like ריבית, meaning payment for waiting for money. It first finishes a ברייתא: a deal is allowed if the seller carries the risk, repaying produce in another town is allowed only if the borrower owns produce there, and donkey drivers may charge the cheaper town's price. רב פפא and רב אחא בריה דרב איקא give two business reasons for the drivers' leniency, and the reasons give different results for a new merchant. רב bought wheat this way but took less than the full amount, because an important person is stricter with himself. רבי יוחנן tells stories showing that such deals were not allowed with linen garments or metal scraps. רב and שמואל argue about buying an orchard's produce in advance at a discount, though רב agrees it is allowed with oxen, since their risk of loss is high. שמואל and רבא give practical advice on how to set up such deals so they are permitted. Finally, רבא defends his own deal with his sharecroppers against the charge that he takes ריבית.

Opening lines

בִּרְשׁוּת מוֹכֵר – מוּתָּר,

In the seller's possession: permitted;

בִּרְשׁוּת לוֹקֵחַ – אָסוּר.

in the buyer's possession: forbidden.

הַמּוֹלִיךְ פֵּירוֹת מִמָּקוֹם לְמָקוֹם,

One who transports produce from place to place,

מְצָאוֹ חֲבֵירוֹ וְאָמַר לוֹ:

his fellow found him and said to him:

The steps (21)

  1. StatementWho carries the risk decides the deal
  2. StatementBorrowing produce to repay it in another town
  3. StatementDonkey drivers may charge the cheaper town's price
  4. QuestionWhy are the donkey drivers allowed?
  5. Responseרב פפא: it opens the market for them
  6. Responseרב אחא בריה דרב איקא: they buy cheaply too
  7. QuestionWhat is the difference between the two reasons?
  8. ResponseThe difference: a new merchant
  9. Statementרב buys wheat through donkey drivers at a price between the two towns
  10. ChallengeWhy didn't רב take six?
  11. ResolutionAn important person is different
  12. Questionרבי אסי asks about metal scraps
  13. Responseרבי did not allow it with linen garments
  14. ResponseAnother version: רבי wanted to do it with scraps
  15. StatementBuying an orchard's produce ahead of time: רב forbids, שמואל permits
  16. StatementThe reasons of רב and שמואל
  17. Statementרב agrees about young oxen
  18. Statementשמואל's advice to buyers of vine branches
  19. Statementרבא's advice to field guards
  20. ChallengeThe רבנן accuse רבא of taking interest
  21. Resolutionרבא defends his practice