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Bava Metzia 80a

בבא מציעא פ׳ ע״א

Learn Bava Metzia 80a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Liability of a renter who changes how a rented animal is used, hidden defects in a sale, and loading a rented donkey

Overview

The משנה teaches that a renter who uses a rented cow differently from the agreement pays for damage only if his change made the damage more likely. The גמרא asks who pays for a broken plow when nothing was changed. The הלכה is that the one holding the plow pays, and on rocky ground both people pay. רבי יוחנן then teaches that a seller who hides a real defect among made-up ones has made a מקח טעות, and a ברייתא about a שפחה supports him. In the name of רבא, the גמרא adds that if every listed defect is real, the sale stands. A second משנה deals with loading a rented donkey with a different crop or with extra weight, and סומכוס gives the amount of extra load that makes the renter liable. אביי and רבא disagree on the wording of that משנה: does bulk count like weight? A proof for אביי from the משנה is rejected, and a new proof from a ברייתא begins that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

מַתְנִי׳ הַשּׂוֹכֵר אֶת הַפָּרָה

MISHNA: One who rents the cow

לַחֲרוֹשׁ בָּהָר וְחָרַשׁ בַּבִּקְעָה,

to plow on the mountain, but he plowed in the valley,

אִם נִשְׁבַּר הַקַּנְקַן – פָּטוּר.

if the plowshare broke, he is exempt.

בַּבִּקְעָה וְחָרַשׁ בָּהָר,

If he rented it to plow in the valley, but he plowed on the mountain,

The steps (19)

  1. StatementPlowing on a different kind of land than agreed
  2. StatementThreshing a different crop than agreed
  3. QuestionWho pays when nobody changed the agreement?
  4. Responseרב פפא: the one holding the goad pays
  5. Responseרב שישא: the one holding the plow pays
  6. ConclusionThe ruling, and the exception for rocky ground
  7. StatementHiding a real defect among fake ones
  8. ProofA ברייתא about a maidservant supports רבי יוחנן
  9. QuestionWhat if every listed defect is real?
  10. Responseרבא: the sale stands
  11. Statementמשנה: loading a rented donkey with a different crop
  12. Statementמשנה: how much extra makes him liable
  13. Statementאביי and רבא argue over the משנה's wording
  14. StatementWhat each reading means in practice
  15. ProofTrying to prove אביי from the משנה
  16. RejectionNo, the addition is a סאה
  17. ChallengeBut the משנה itself says three קבין for a donkey
  18. ResolutionThe three קבין rule is only for the same kind of grain
  19. ProofA new proof begins from a case of a לתך of wheat