Bava Metzia 77b

בבא מציעא ע״ז ע״ב

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Topic

Backing out of a deal: workers who quit, partly paid sales, and when a partial payment acquires

Overview

The amud opens by trying to prove that רבי דוסא treats a day-worker and a contractor the same. The proof comes from a ברייתא about a worker forced to stop. רב נחמן בר יצחק rejects it: the ברייתא may be about a דבר האבוד, where everyone agrees. A line in the משנה, 'whoever backs out is at a disadvantage,' then seems to follow רבי דוסא against רב. The גמרא answers two ways. First, רב follows רבי דוסא on only one of his two rules. Second, the line is about a ברייתא on a partly paid field sale. That ברייתא sets out who chooses between money and land when one side backs out, and from what quality of land. רבן שמעון בן גמליאל's advice is to write the rest of the price as a loan. A contradiction between his two rulings is settled by רבא's rule: if the seller keeps chasing his money, the buyer does not acquire. The amud ends with a donkey sold with one זוּז still owed, and two clashing traditions from רבא that רב אשי starts to reconcile. That answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (25)

1. ProofEnd of the ברייתא: a worker who had to stop still gets paid
2. ChallengeThe ברייתא cannot follow the רבנן
3. ProofSo it is רבי דוסא, who treats both workers alike
4. RejectionThe ברייתא is about work that will be ruined, so everyone agrees
5. ChallengeA new proof from the משנה: 'whoever backs out loses'
6. Resolutionרב agrees with רבי דוסא on one rule and disagrees on the other
7. ResolutionA second reading: the phrase is about a land sale
8. StatementWho chooses, and which land is used
9. Statementרבן שמעון בן גמליאל: turn the balance into a loan
10. StatementRe-quoting the rule that the seller pays from his best land
11. ChallengeWhy should the buyer get better land than a creditor?
12. Resolutionרב נחמן בר יצחק: the best or worst part of that same field
13. Resolutionרב אחא בריה דרב איקא: the buyer is like an injured party
14. StatementRe-quoting רבן שמעון בן גמליאל's contract wording
15. ChallengeDoes the buyer acquire only because of the contract?
16. ChallengeA ברייתא about a down payment with conditions
17. Statementרבי יוסי holds that an אסמכתא works
18. Challengeרבן שמעון בן גמליאל: half payment acquires the whole field
19. ResolutionIt depends on whether the seller is visibly looking for money
20. Proofרבא's source for the distinction
21. StatementPaying back a loan one coin at a time
22. QuestionThe donkey sale with one זוּז still owed
23. ResponseOne זוּז counts like many
24. ChallengeA different tradition from רבא
25. ResolutionThe other version is about selling a field