Talking Talmud
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Bava Metzia 59: Tanur Shel Akhnai
April 27, 2024 17:44 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBThe daf tells one of the most famous stories in the Gemara - Tanur Shel Akhnai. But why this story appears and the lessons to be learned from the disagreement between Rabbi Eliezer and the sages are often misunderstood. So why does this story appear in Bava Metzia and what does it teach us?
Bava Metzia 58: God Owns the Consecrated Animals
April 26, 2024 15:34 - 17 minutes - 16.7 MBConsecrated items for which one bears responsibility are subject to price fraud, but when one is not responsible, price fraud is irrelevant. But what does it mean for the consecrated property to belong to God? What about the human dimension? Plus, taking advantage of market demands, for better and worse. Also, a new mishnah - on "ona'at devarim" -- oppression or exploitation or just plain obnoxious speech.
Bava Metzia 57: The Temple Won't Take Advantage (Because It's Allowed)
April 25, 2024 12:29 - 14 minutes - 13.8 MBWhen is the capacity to take advantage of another not relevant? And if there's no risk of exploitation, is there any recourse to cancel the transaction for other reasons? Note the exceptions of consecrated property (hekdesh) and land... Also, what if transactions or loans are made in conjunction with consecrated property? The Temple has some flexibility with fluctuations in the costs of things - without it being exploitative.
Bava Metzia 56: When Onaah Does Not Apply
April 24, 2024 07:30 - 16 minutes - 15.6 MBA Mishnah lists cases where onaah does not apply and the Gemara discusses the scriptural sources for these categories.
Bava Metzia 55: Worth a Perutah, Need a Fifth
April 23, 2024 21:33 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MB2 mishnayot - Mishnah 1: Determining the differential to be considered exploitative, the amount to swear, and the amount to admit to owing money. Plus, 5 cases that depend on the equivalent of one perutah. Also, Mishnah 2: 5 halakhic categories for which "one-fifth" is relavant as an element of the halakhah.
Bava Metzia 54: The Fifth
April 22, 2024 04:56 - 15 minutes - 14.6 MBThe daf discusses a variety if different aspects about the chomesh.
Bava Metzia 53: Deconsecrating Maaser Sheini
April 21, 2024 07:21 - 13 minutes - 12.9 MBThe daf discusses what to do if one’s maaser sheini produce is worth less thana perutah and need to deconsecrate it onto coins.
Bava Metzia 52: Eroded Coins
April 20, 2024 20:36 - 18 minutes - 17 MBA new mishnah! The erosion of minted coins, and its diminished value, with the potential for fraud in using it, as the metal is worn away. Subject to a dispute between our mishnah and a beraita. Also, the Gemara in the second part of the mishnah - garments vs. coins, and how they're handled in the village vs. cities, where the moneylenders were available to check the coins. Plus, the application of a "generosity of spirit."
Bava Metzia 51: Who Can Claim Fraud
April 19, 2024 07:11 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBA mishnah discusses if there is a time limit to claim price fraud. Also discussed if fraud can be committed by a person irrespective of a business or both? Rav and Shmuel debate if a seller can make a stipulation about price fraud in a sale.
Bava Metzia 50: Fraud at a Sixth
April 18, 2024 10:03 - 16 minutes - 15.6 MBEstablishing ona'ah at pricing that is a sixth over the value - with that time frame to consult and complain as temporary recourse. When is the sale considered final? Is that time limit really necessary? Also, once there's fraud, does it matter how extreme the fraud is? (Yes) Or how long the deadline really is? A close reading of the mishnah helps explain the overcharge.
Bava Metzia 49: A Halakhic Better Business Bureau
April 17, 2024 08:29 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBReneging on a verbal commitment toward a sale - illustrative stories. Also, a new mishnah! On "ona'ah" - cases of taking advantage of another in a measurable way that is already determined to be problematic. Plus, terms whereby a customer can walk back terms that smack of ona'ah.
Bava Metzia 48: Divine Retribution
April 16, 2024 05:14 - 24 minutes - 23 MBThe daf explores the idea of Mi Sh’Para and what happens of someone reneges on a sale and the beit din cannot enforce the sale.
Bava Metzia 47: The Significance of a Handkerchief
April 15, 2024 09:03 - 22 minutes - 20.9 MBDefining "kinyan sudar" - a handkerchief version of halipin. Plus, "kinyan agav," where the act of acquisition is secondary and along the way of the acquisition of something else, usually movable items along with a purchase of land. Also, using exchange when you have no money or anything else of value to use for purchase.
Bava Metzia 46: The Exchange Without the Stock
April 14, 2024 15:45 - 18 minutes - 17.4 MBMore on exchange - including the question of using a coin as an indication of a formal act of acquisition. For it to work, he has to already have the coins in hand. Otherwise, it's too close to a sale. Also, Rav Nachman's opinion, the idea that money does effect the purchase by Torah law, and the exchange of money bags.
Bava Metzia 45: The Power of Exchange
April 13, 2024 20:06 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBOne who redeems ma'aser sheni on coins, and the desacralizes the coins to use them to buy the food in Jerusalem - how those coins can be exchanged, a dispute between Beit Shammai vs. Beit Hillel. Plus, the sourcing of the word "money" twice in the biblical verse. Also, when money is an exchange instead of a sale or a purchase payment.
Bava Metzia 44: Commodity vs. Currency
April 12, 2024 07:53 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MBThe third perek finished with a discussion about whether intent to misappropriate a deposit is misappropriation. The fourth perek begins with a mishnah discussing how objects are acquired.
Bava Metzia 43: Drinking the Stash
April 11, 2024 12:10 - 15 minutes - 14.7 MB2 mishnayot! Additional cases of an object left with a guardian, and how various variables change the guardian's liability. Note the differences between a store keeper, a money changer, and a guardian. Plus, the complications of a change in value and the obligation to replace an unprotected item. Also, when one has to pay the increased value, for wine, for example. Plus, Rabbi Akiva's opinion upheld.
Bava Metzia 42: To Be a Proper Guardian
April 10, 2024 10:37 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBA new mishnah! When a guardian doesn't take good care to protect coins... when is he liable? With a focus on the verses that insist on proper supervision. Also, the blessing that only appears in that which is not obviously visible. Plus, storing money in a place that is protected from one potential threat, but subject to another one. Likewise, the question of whether negligence is relevant when a guardian puts the thing he's protecting under the protection of another. With a slew of cases to ...
Bava Metzia 41: Moving the Barrel
April 09, 2024 07:03 - 22 minutes - 20.8 MBThe daf discusses the last mishnah on 40 about whether a barrel being watched may be moved. A disagreement is presented between Rav and Levi if an act is considered misappropriation only if there is actual depletion of the object’s value
Bava Metzia 40: Shrinking Produce
April 08, 2024 05:30 - 19 minutes - 18.4 MBTwo mishnahs detail how a shomer may deduct from the quantity of produce or liquids left with the shomer when it is returned to the owner.
Bava Metzia 39: Apotropos - Guardian and Custodian
April 07, 2024 05:24 - 17 minutes - 15.9 MBMore on the property of captives. When it's time to harvest from a captives crops, the court appoints a supervisor to take care of that, and then a relative takes care of future planting, and so on. But that kind of administrator would rarely be appointed for an adult. Also, the story of an old woman who has 3 daughters, and she and one of the daughters are taken into captivity. One of the other daughters has died, and left a minor heir. How does the old woman's property get handled? How does...
Bava Metzia 38: The Property of Captives
April 06, 2024 21:49 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MBA new mishnah! One who gives produce to another to watch - if it's lost or off, etc., the guardian can't touch the produce because he doesn't own it. But if he can sell it beforehand, he can preserve the value. But why can't he touch it? Plus, one small discussion about the tzedakah collectors when they don't have any poor people in need. Also, what are the responsibilities with regard to the property of those who have been taken captive.
Bava Metzia 37: The Thief Who Admits He Stole
April 05, 2024 11:52 - 21 minutes - 20 MBA new mishnah! When a thief acknowledges the theft, but he's not sure from whom. Likewise, a deposit. Plus, a discussion of how far can one take the deceit? Also, what how can a thief pay back when he doesn't know from whom he stole?
Bava Metzia 36: When a Guardian Hands Off to Another Guardian
April 04, 2024 11:53 - 18 minutes - 17.5 MBWhen a guardian transfers the item he's watching to another guardian, without the knowledge or permission of the owner. Plus, a story about an elderly woman who watches the gardener's hose - how long does it take to establish trust for a second shomer? Also, a guardian who loses an animal, which then dies of natural causes. Is the guardian responsible for paying? It's a clear and clean dispute between Abaye and Rava.
Bava Metzia 35: Of Jewels and Cows and Land Transactions
April 03, 2024 12:33 - 21 minutes - 19.5 MBThe guardian who has lost something left in his protection can take an oath or pay back the value of the item that's been lost. Or in this case, when there are witnesses that the watched item was stolen. The burden of oath switches parties - and sometimes, they both swear. And then the question is, which swears first. Plus, the case of giving jewels to another person for safekeeping. Which carries its own drama. Also, a series of interesting cases once the property is seized. For example, cre...
Bava Metzia 34: HaMafkid
April 02, 2024 05:25 - 17 minutes - 16.2 MBThe third perek of Bava Metzia is a classic yeshiva perek of HaMafkid. The perek deals laws of watching or borrowing someone’s object and what happens if that object is lost, stolen, or broken. The halachot of this perek are based on verses in Exodus chapter 22:6-14.
Bava Metzia 33: Your Father, Your Teacher
April 01, 2024 07:57 - 19 minutes - 18.4 MBA mishnah asks whose lost item is more important for one to return - your father or your teacher. The Gemara discussed the merits of studying mikra, mishnah, and talmud and where one should concentrate one’s learning.
Bava Kamma 32: The Ban on Animals' Suffering
March 31, 2024 06:22 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBIf one finds an animal's in a barn... when is one obligated to return it to the owner of the barn. Plus, a kohen doesn't have to become impure for returning a lost object. Plus, nobody needs to listen to parents who are instructing their children not to follow through on a Torah commandment. Also, take the burden off the overloaded animal. Also, "tza'ar ba'alei chayim" - the prohibition against causing harm to animals. But if the animal's well-being is the issue, what happens when there's als...
Bava Metzia 31: You Can Say That Again
March 30, 2024 21:04 - 16 minutes - 15.7 MBWhen you've returned a lost animal, and the animal runs away again, and you find it again, you have to return it multiple times - as understood from the biblical verse. Plus, the fact that the person who finds answers returns the lost item or animals doesn't have to make his identity known. Plus, the doubling of verbs in many cases in the Torah, and how the sages relate to that compound verb.
Bava Metzia 30: Taking Care with Others' Stuff
March 29, 2024 08:27 - 19 minutes - 18.4 MBFound items of different materials - silver, copper, wood, and so on - can be used by the finder in different ways, depending on the substance. Plus, when can a finder disregard the lost item? Also, the sages' discussion of acting beyond the letter of the law, and why people should do so. Plus, relevance for agunot. Also, a new mishnah - with animals who have moved out of their usual spaces.
Bava Metzia 29: Lost Tefillin and More
March 28, 2024 08:06 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBA dispute between Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva, about whether one can use the funds from the sale of a found animal that isn't monetarily helpful. Also, one who finds scrolls... read them! Or roll them, if need be. Plus, what to do with things made from different materials. Plus, what to do with found tefillin? And what is one's responsibility to a Torah scroll?
Bava Metzia 28: Lost & Found
March 27, 2024 18:19 - 23 minutes - 22.1 MBMore on distinguishing marks - and whether they are a Torah requirement or a rabbinic one. Also, how long must one hold on to a lost object? Also, pilgrims to Jerusalem could reclaim their lost items from a particular place. Plus, the formal lost and found location and process for the 3 pilgrimage festival - and why Jerusalem is special in this regard. Also, the process of declaring and proclaiming that you've found a lost object, and how Jewish history (and the rule of Persia and Rome) chang...
Bava Metzia 27: Returning Lost Objects Is a Mitzvah (But Not Quite Always)
March 26, 2024 07:30 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBThe biblical text for the requirements of returning lost objects, including which objects require returning. How, then, does the question of distinguishing marks come into play? The discussion begins with the documents of divorce, which may or may not be bound by the rabbinic enactment of distinguishing marks (when the divorce is a Torah command).
Bava Metzia 26: A Few Considerations
March 25, 2024 12:34 - 16 minutes - 15.6 MBThe daf has a few mishnahs dealing with a few halachot around lost objects? Does the location where a lost object is found determine ownership or if it lost? Does a lost object need a minimum value for it to be considered worthy of returning? Rava finally explains which mitzvot in the Torah are involved with a lost object.
Bava Metzia 25: Dropped Coins
March 24, 2024 15:10 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBA new mishnah - with a list of when a finder has to proclaim and declare the found item(s), so that the original owner can come forward. With debates over whether an item has a siman (demarcating the item) is near an item that doesn't have the mark. How did they settle these relatively ordinary cases? One example being a basket with or without a rim. Also, when one drops coins, and they are in a small (very small) organized pile of coins - vs. a scattered pile of kinds. Plus, a whole lot of c...
Bava Metzia 24: Be Nice and Give It Back
March 23, 2024 22:03 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBA story about Mar Zutra the Pious, when a silver cup was stolen, and Mar Zutra finds the guilty party. Unidentifiable items go to the finder - if the finder found isolated objects, but several together require declaring the find in the hopes of the original owner coming forward. Someone who saves an object from wild animals - keeps it, because it would have been lost anyway. Likewise, finding an item in a public thoroughfare where hopes of recovery are immediately dashed. 5 questions are aske...
Bava Metzia 23: Incidental Simanim
March 22, 2024 06:08 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBThe daf discusses objects found that may or may not have a purposeful siman.
Bava Metzia 22: Hospitality
March 21, 2024 13:59 - 12 minutes - 12 MBSeveral sages were in an orchard, and a worker there gave them samples of fruit, but Mar Zutra did not eat. And then it seems that the orchard owner (Mar bar Isak, for a mini-Who's Who) may not really have wanted to provide fruit for his guests after all. Also, if one finds small sheaves in the public domain, the finder can keep them - even if they have an identifying mark. But when does the ye'ush - that despair of ever getting your lost object back - kick in?
Bava Metzia 21: Ye'ush and Siman
March 20, 2024 05:55 - 18 minutes - 16.9 MBThe daf begins the second perek of the masechet which starts with a mishnah discussing lost objects and when the finder does or does not have to find the owner. Two key concepts are involved: ye'ush and siman. The Gemara presents a fundamental machloket between Abaye and Rava.
Bava Metzia 20: Lost & Found: The Documents Edition
March 19, 2024 06:18 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBA new mishnah, still on returning lost documents. Beginning with letters that attest to a commitment of obligation or a repossession of property by the court, and more. Plus, when the matters are not clear and they will be set aside until Elijah the Prophet returns. Also, two towns of the same name - which is intended on a document?! Also, what happens when you find more than one document, whether in a bundle or a cluster? Whom do you return it to, and why?
Bava Metiza 19: What is the Norm?
March 18, 2024 10:04 - 24 minutes - 22.6 MBThe daf describes a variety of scenarios where documents are found and the different types of fraud that can be committed with a found document
Bava Metzia 18: Lost (and Found) Documents
March 17, 2024 10:43 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBA new mishnah! One who finds documents - bills of divorce, papers that free slaves, receipts, etc. - don't return them to the apparent recipient, in case they weren't actually given. Also, when the documents include names belonging to more than one couple - especially in a place where the caravans pass frequently vs. a place with few travelers, and less likely to find two couples of the same name. Plus, the question of whether she has received the ketubah... did she already receive her get? T...
Bava Metiza 17: Can a Ketubah Be a Get?
March 16, 2024 20:37 - 21 minutes - 20.1 MBBringing property disputes to court, especially when one part denies part of the terms or what is owed. Plus, the role of witnesses. But we do people trust that the disputant/denier isn't lying? Plus, a concrete case. Also, if one claimed that there were no witnesses, then the claim is fundamentally (likely to be) meaningless. Plus, the role of the ketubah, in an era when it wasn't yet universal. Plus, how the ketubah functions in the discussion of debts, denials, and other economic transacti...
Bava Metzia 16: People Share the World... And Stuff Happens
March 15, 2024 10:44 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBA robber who wants to go back and uphold the sale - so that he'll no longer be called a robber. Or so he'll be known as reliable and trustworthy). The question is what is the practical difference between these expressions of his goal? Also, if one finds a document of acquisition, one should return it to the owner, not the debtor. Plus, a payment plan as required in Neharde'a.
Bava Metzia 15: So Much Unfairness of a Robber's Payback
March 14, 2024 07:26 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MBThe case of one who buys land from a robber - what happens when the land has been improved? Who pays for that? Note that the robber may be able to pay back his theft with his land. Also, what if the buyer knows that the land itself does not belong to the seller (and then the owner comes to reclaim his or her land).
Bava Metzia 14: Protecting Your Property Purchases
March 13, 2024 13:55 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBThe case of repossessing property that has been sold, with or without a guarantee to the buyer. Plus, two accounts of each case, each of which turns the case around. Also, to what extent does the seller have the responsibility to ensure that the funds reach the right people, but don't look like interest. Plus, making sure that the buyer can legitimately buy the property without having to give it back to the seller's creditor.⁰
Bava Metzia 13: When Promissory Notes Don't Clarify Matters
March 12, 2024 08:18 - 20 minutes - 19.4 MBFound documents (eg, promissory notes) that show a lien on property - in the Gemara's commentary on the mishnah, trying to determine the specifics of the case of the mishnah. Plus, the impact of the case of the loan - where the document calls it into question. Plus, R. Eleazar and R. Yochanan dispute how to understand the dispute between R. Meir and the sages, about the promissory note.
Bava Metzia 12: Household Acquisition
March 11, 2024 11:01 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBTwo mishnahs on this daf. The first deals with children, slaves, and one’s wife finding an ownerless object and to whom does it belong. The second deals with the case of a found document with a loan and to whom is it returned.
Bava Metiza 11: The Will to Acquire
March 10, 2024 07:53 - 17 minutes - 15.9 MBA new mishnah - on the acquisition effected by a courtyard. How does the transfer of ownership take effect? What if the "courtyard" is an open field? What if the owner isn't present to demonstrate intent and/or to guard it? Plus, the case of a divorce, where the husband's intent acquires the bill of divorce to the woman - unless her courtyard is sufficient.
Bava Metzia 10: Falling On What You Want to Acquire
March 09, 2024 21:52 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBOne who does a formal act of acquisition to acquire something for someone else - the Gemara now says that won't work, in contrast to the previous Gemara. The comparison to a debtor and creditor explains why. Plus, a rider asking for the reins of the animal he's riding - where the language used makes the difference. Also, a new mishnah: one finds an item and another party seizes it - who has acquired it? Plus, proximity isn't enough to acquire an object. The illustration case is pe'ah, acquiri...