Bava Metzia 78b

בבא מציעא ע״ח ע״ב

Learn Bava Metzia 78b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bava Metzia 78b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

רבי מאיר's rule that one who goes against the owner's wishes is a גזלן, and a rented donkey that gets sick or is seized for government service

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a line from the previous page: our משנה follows רבי מאיר, who holds that anyone who goes against the owner's wishes is called a גזלן. The גמרא asks where רבי מאיר says this. It tries his ruling about a dyer who used the wrong color, then a ברייתא about money collected for Purim. Each proof is pushed away, because each case has its own special reason. The third proof comes from a ברייתא about a poor person given a coin to buy a specific garment. Its stated reason, 'because he goes against the wishes of the owner,' proves רבי מאיר's rule. The גמרא then returns to the משנה about a rented donkey. It explains the word הבריקה as either an eye disease or worm rot, and tells a short story about worm rot on the king's clothing. Finally, רב and שמואל disagree about a donkey seized for government service. רב asks whether the donkey will come back, and שמואל asks which direction it was taken. A ברייתא challenges שמואל, and the גמרא answers for him in two ways using רבי שמעון בן אלעזר.

Opening lines

The steps (23)

1. StatementFinishing the line: he is called a robber
2. QuestionWhich statement of רבי מאיר is meant?
3. ProofSuggested source: the dyer who used the wrong color
4. Statementרבי יהודה's opposing view in the dyer case
5. RejectionMaybe the dyer case is different: he acquired the wool by changing it
6. ProofA new proof from the Purim collection
7. StatementThe strict opinion in the name of רבי מאיר
8. RejectionRejecting the Purim proof
9. ProofA third proof: a coin given for a robe
10. RejectionMaybe the poor person must obey only so the giver is not suspected
11. ConclusionThe wording proves the rule: changing from the owner's wishes makes one a robber
12. QuestionWhat does the word 'הבריקה' mean?
13. ResponseTwo meanings: an eye disease or worm rot
14. StatementThe man who claimed he saw worm rot on the king's clothing
15. StatementQuoting the משנה: a donkey seized for government service
16. Statementרב: this rule applies only to a temporary seizure
17. Statementשמואל: it depends on the direction the donkey was taken
18. ChallengeA ברייתא says a seized donkey must always be replaced
19. ChallengeNo problem for רב, but a problem for שמואל
20. ResolutionA suggested way for שמואל to answer the ברייתא
21. RejectionThe end of the ברייתא shows the direction test belongs only to רבי שמעון בן אלעזר
22. Resolutionשמואל follows רבי שמעון בן אלעזר
23. ResolutionThe whole ברייתא is רבי שמעון בן אלעזר's view, with missing words filled in