Talking Talmud
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Bava Metzia 9: Don't Push a Donkey
March 08, 2024 09:07 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBHow does one NOT acquire an animal, using formal acts of acquisition that are effective in other circumstances. With a focus on animals. Also, how the formal act of acquisition for some property can be combined with the one for other property (for example, acquiring utensils together with the acquisition of an animal). Plus, the acquisition by one's property of other property, like a courtyard or a boat.
Bava Metzia 8: Taking Ownership from Someone or No One
March 07, 2024 12:12 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MBUsing a formal act of acquisition to take possession of an object on behalf of someone else - works! (Pending discussion whether it really does, and how that connects to the 2 who have taken hold of the talit in the first mishnah of Bava Metzia. Also, the formal kinyan of taking hold of an animal's bridle - which is complicated when that animal had been the property of a convert who didn't have heirs. Thus, the real difference between taking possession of something that had a previous owner, ...
Bava Metzia 7: Hekdesh and Reshut
March 06, 2024 08:59 - 18 minutes - 16.8 MBThe daf continues to explore the question if one cab consecrate an item not in one’s reshut. A baraita has an opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel that explains how a document can be split.
Bava Metzia 6: The Burden of Proof
March 05, 2024 07:47 - 22 minutes - 20.8 MBWhat if one complainant grabbed more of the disputed object before the judges? It depends, to some degree, on the reaction of the other party. What if they are making other claims of ownership before the court? Can one be considered an owner if the item is not in that party's possession? The answer is no, the burden of proof falls on the one who can't lay physical claim. But what happens if one party consecrates the item? As it happens, one party consecrated a bathhouse, which led the sages t...
Bava Metzia 5: Why We Don't Trust Shepherds
March 04, 2024 06:46 - 25 minutes - 24.1 MBMore on Rabbi Hiya and the kal va-chomer of agreeing to part of a claim - with an actual case! (including a partial agreement to a claim as established by testimony, which would require him to swear... unless he's a thief, and therefore exempt from swearing). Plus, "shevuat heseit." Also, the potential of shepherds to steal, tacitly, while the flocks graze elsewhere (but that's a private shepherd, not a public shepherd). Also, the fact that one who is suspected of thievery is trusted to take ...
Bava Metzia 4: Determining Facts on the Ground
March 03, 2024 06:58 - 28 minutes - 26.7 MBDeriving the kal va-chomer reasoning got the stringent and lenient cases in testimony - and the strength of 2 witnesses (against the statement of the main person in question, eg, a defendant), in establishing the need for the party in question to take an oath regarding his claim. Also, different ways that one can confirm a partial claim and deny the rest - what happens then? When must an oath be taken? When must one may back what they've said they've paid (or the rest of it)? Plus, what happe...
Bava Metzia 3: Oaths vs. Testimony
March 02, 2024 22:45 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBWhen two people claim ownership of an object, the "solution" is for both parties to swear an oath that each has nothing of the other's. Complicated by possible witnesses, and also the logic of a kal va-chomer. How much can testimony bring about - with regard to punishment and/or offerings on the part of the subject of the testimony.
Bava Metzia 2: It's Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine!
March 01, 2024 06:47 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBAn introduction to Bava Metzia, and to the first chapter. Plus, the famous first mishnah - with 2 people laying apparently equal claim to a found object. Or two are riding on an animal and both claim ownership of the animal. They both swear and divide the item - to the extent possible, when there's no other way to ascertain the accuracy of each's claim.
Bava Kamma 119: Holding on to What Is Yours (Or Not)
February 29, 2024 11:21 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBStealing from another is like taking a part of the soul of the owner of the item stolen. With proof texts, of course - including the biblical term, "hamas," which is not the meaning we know nowadays. More, extortion. In the context of the story of King Saul, the city of Nov, and the killing of kohanim. [Where's Where: Mehoza] Also, a new mishnah, on who owns the remnants of things when handled by specialists (the launderer, the carder of wool, a carpenter or chiseler, for example). With possi...
Bava Kamma 118: Count Your Sheep!
February 28, 2024 10:49 - 17 minutes - 16 MB4 mishnayot: Paying back an original owner should not take place in a deserted area. And: does one have to pay when one can claim ignorance of a need to pay back (certainty vs. unsure bring relevant). And: Stealing a lamb from a flock and returning it before anything happens to it - what happens if the owners knew? What happens if they didn't know? Rav, Shmuel, R. Yochanan, and R. Hisda has answers. And: The assumption that a wife isn't lying to her husband when selling animals in the marketp...
Bava Kamma 117: Comeuppance for R. Yochanan and the Resurrection of R. Kahana
February 27, 2024 06:13 - 30 minutes - 28 MBCase reports and the rabbis' rulings: what happens when one Jew turns in another Jew to the authorities (specifically, objects). [Who's Who: Rav Kahana] A story: one who wants to show another's straw to the authorities, against better advice, and pays for that intent with his life. Which leads to a discussion of why the harsh response, including a window into the ways of the rabbinic academy. Plus, the drama between R. Yochanan and R. Kahana. Also, more cases of informants and thieves and the...
Bava Kamma 116: The Laws of Caravans
February 26, 2024 07:56 - 21 minutes - 19.6 MBThe daf discussed what are the obligations when traveling with a caravan. Bonus: the daf instructs us on what to do if your caravan is being trailed by a lion.
Bava Kamma 115: The Law of the Marketplace
February 25, 2024 10:09 - 30 minutes - 28 MBThe decree of the marketplace - takanat ha-shuk. Where something stolen in the marketplace leads to ye'ush (despair) and new ownership, and difficulty in requiring payback by the new owner to the original owner. Also, a new mishnah - when one has a barrel of wine and another has a barrel of honey, and the wine owner pours out the wine to offer the barrel to the slavage the honey. That wine owner can't claim the honey owner owes him for the wine, unless there was a stipulation and agreement in...
Bava Kamma 114: Go Tell the Bees That They Are Home
February 24, 2024 21:49 - 27 minutes - 25.9 MBA case of a Jew who is excommunicated because he's caused harm to another Jew, but via a non-Jew: selling a field that borders the property of Jew to a non-Jew. Plus, bees! And what happens when an aviary is on the border of one's property. Also, the Gemara's read of the mishnah's case of the bees. And to what extent casual conversation may count as testimony. And a second mishnah: When you see your stuff in someone else's possession. To what extent is robbery an issue in the place? That will...
Bava Kamma 113: Excommunication
February 23, 2024 07:51 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBThe daf describes when and how people are excommunicated if they do not listen to the beit din. A new mishnah discussed using funds we assume are stolen. The daf discusses if one may steal from a non-Jew.
Bava Kamma 112: Merciful Halakhah
February 22, 2024 13:37 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBWhen a thief steals food and feeds it to his children... they don't have to pay back. If he leaves it to the children, and they haven't eaten it yet, the question of how much they have to pay, or return, is subject to a dispute. Also, the case with an urgency to be resolved, which provides exceptions for who pays what back to whom, with apparent compassion for the one(s) who has to pay back.
Bava Kamma 111: Never Ever Ever Getting (It Back)
February 21, 2024 08:16 - 16 minutes - 14.9 MBMore on the priestly watch families - Yehoyariv and Yedaya - and why each gains or loses, in the event of a robber who swore falsely giving the guilt-offering via one family and the monetary payback via the other. Also, a new mishnah to start the final chapter, chapter 10: When one steals an object, and that object ends up with a third party - that third party doesn't owe the original owner. Plus, the relevance of ye'ush, despair, with regard to lost (or stolen) objects.
Bava Kamma 110: A Robbed Convert Without Heirs
February 20, 2024 09:08 - 21 minutes - 20.3 MBA new mishnah which discusses the case on a previous daf of a robbed convert and the asham, principal, and chomesh that mist be brought. The Gemara lists the 24 gifts that are given to the Kohanim.
Bava Kamma 109: Principal and Chomesh
February 19, 2024 07:12 - 16 minutes - 15 MBA new mishnah reviews cases where the principal and chomesh are paid. The daf later discusses the unique case of a thief who steals from a convert with no heirs.
Bava Kamma 108: Who Asks a Negligent Guardian to Watch Their Stuff Again?
February 18, 2024 10:22 - 18 minutes - 16.9 MBMore cases of false oaths, paying double, paying a fifth... yet not paying both double and a fifth (only one kind of fine per instance). Also, a case of an unpaid guardian, where the object he's guarding is stolen, and he can take an oath that he wasn't negligent or he can go to court, toe to toe with the thief.
Bava Kamma 107: How Can the Torah's Words Be Out of Order?!
February 17, 2024 20:18 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBOne who falsely claims that a thief stole collateral - the obligation to pay fines for that false claim only once the false claim is proven. Which leads into a discussion of "agreeing to part" of a claim. The discussion is based on the biblical words, "ki hu zeh," which the Gemara explains needs rephrasing. Which is a dramatic statement for us to learn. Also, a review/introduction of the 4 shomerim (guardians, custodians).
Bava Kamma 106: Hekeish
February 16, 2024 12:13 - 23 minutes - 21.7 MBRav Huna teaches a statement of Rav about payment after one takes an oath and which cases this Rav’s statement applies. Rabbi Yochanon explains the verses in Exodus 22:6-8 and the importance of having certain verses next to each other.
Bava Kamma 105: Rava’s teaching
February 15, 2024 11:05 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBThe daf contains an assorted collection of Rava’s teachings. Ben Azzai discusses the case of a witness who could have helped a litigant but swears falsely that he has no information to help him.
Bava Kamma 104: Paying the Fifth
February 14, 2024 15:39 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBWhat it means when one appoints an agent to receive payment via a repentant thief, for example. Especially if there are witnesses to the appointment. Of course, it's a machloket. Also, delving into the fifth extra that the robber pays his victim. Why does he owe extra? And to whom does he owe extra? Plus, fathers and sons who owe and swear, perhaps falsely.
Bava Kamma 103: Much Ado about a Bunch of Flax
February 13, 2024 06:37 - 21 minutes - 20.2 MBA story used to assess halakhic stance: flax that is purchased, but not acquired, and then appreciates in value, and the shopkeeper sold it, with the intent to give the money to the original owner (Rav Kahana, in this case). What are the implications for ownership, interest, and the rights to the flax? Plus, how this can come to smack of robbery... Also, a new mishnah, where a thief swears falsely about what he's taken, and therefore has to pay a fifth above the principle he must pay back any...
Bava Kamma 102: Studying vs. Writing the Mishnah
February 12, 2024 06:08 - 29 minutes - 27.6 MBA discussion between two Amoriam (Rav Yosef and Rav Huna) reveals that the order of how mishnayot were studied is different than how they were written down. Can a father consecrate his family’s possession? Can tefillin consecrated?
Bava Kama 101: Defining the Art of a Craft
February 11, 2024 09:51 - 17 minutes - 15.9 MBMoving on from dying wool to carpentry: a chair vs. a bench. Also, what is the status of dye once it has been applied to wool - when it's coloring the wool. With cases from shemitah, the jubilee year, orlah, and more. Plus, the limitations on a dead body rendering a home impure - including whether the person bled in the home before he died.
Bava Kamma 100: Red and Black
February 10, 2024 17:11 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBThe daf continues its discussion about moneychangers and coins. Finally the daf has the mishnah that has been quoted many times about wool that was dyed the wrong color and other errors made by an expert craftsman.
Bava Kamma 99: The Expert Slaughterer
February 09, 2024 09:14 - 16 minutes - 15 MBThe Gemara continues to discuss if a craftsman acquires a kli he makes an improvement on and relate this to a disagreement between R. Meir and the Rabbis. The daf also explores the category of shochet as a expert. What knowledge did Shmuel expect from his student?
Bava Kamma 98: Indirect Damages: Who Is Liable?
February 08, 2024 07:44 - 22 minutes - 20.9 MBIf one throws another's coin into the Mediterranean Sea, when is that exempt from paying back and when must you? Also, what if one burns a promissory note? Doesn't that cancel the debt, because there's no proof of the loan. Also, the indirect causation of damages - when is one liable for it, and when not (dina de-garmi). Also, the case of bread (chametz) that is stolen and returned after Pesach, so the item no longer has value - what is the thief obligated to pay, if at all? Plus, how this ca...
Bava Kamma 97: Worthless Coins
February 07, 2024 06:51 - 21 minutes - 20 MBComparing slaves to land and to movable objects - unpleasant comparisons, but useful in trying to understand whether one can steal another's slave. Plus, what happens if one squats in a courtyard of a friend from whom he has borrowed money? It smacks of ribit/interest. Also, more cases about changing money with regime change. Will paying back a loan be based on the coinage or the value of it at the time of the loan? Plus, you can't desacralize ma'aser sheni money
Bava Kamma 96: When Is a Palm Tree No Longer a Palm Tree?
February 06, 2024 06:56 - 20 minutes - 19.4 MBWhen a thief improves what he's stolen and sells it or leaves the object to his heirs... the buyer acquires the right to that improvement. But what about if the thief is an idolator? Plus, what counts as an improvement? (With a palm tree as a case study) Also, a new mishnah, where the change to the animal is that it ages... or is reduced in value because of external reasons. Plus, the Gemara's discussion of aging leading to an increase in value.
Bava Kamma 95: Rebbi’s Meir and shinui koneh
February 05, 2024 07:26 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MBThe daf explores Rebbe Meir’s approach to the question of whether change to an object effects acquisition. A question to consider: does the robber gain from among an enhancement?
Bava Kamma 94: Rebbe’s Takana for Teshuva
February 04, 2024 06:29 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBThe Daf continues its discussion on shinuy koneh and why the Halacha follow R. Shimon Ben Elazar. R. Yehudah HaNasi constructs a takana to encourage more people who steal to repent.
Bava Kamma 93: Making Something Your Own
February 03, 2024 20:41 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBIf one person invites another to injure himself (or herself), both the physical injury and the damage to a family's reputation. Plus, when one invites another to cause damage to that first person's property. Also, a purse of charity funds that was stolen, and the guardian was not liable - but why not? Also, the beginning of chapter 9: with a focus on stealing an object and making changes to it.
Bava Kamma 92: Pray for Mercy on Others' Behalf
February 02, 2024 05:50 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBLast mishnah of the chapter: When one injures another, and pays compensation, he still isn't forgiven until the victim offers it -- as learned from the interaction between Avraham and Avimelech. At the same time, however, the victim is not allowed to hold a grudge. Also, 17 (18?) teachings or adages that were clearly known in the world that Rabbah bar Mari provides the sources for them in the Torah. Including poverty follows the poor, and if a friend calls you a donkey, prepare a saddle for y...
Bava Kamma 91: When an Object Becomes a Weapon
February 01, 2024 06:56 - 25 minutes - 24.1 MBIs there an assessment by the court to establish damages? Certainly, if the injured party is killed, the item is assessed to be a potential tool to kill, but what about if it's just an injury? Recall the "pit" that has a measure at which it's considered potentially killing (10 tefachim), but where less than that, the owner is only responsible for damages, not death. Also, is it permitted for a person to injure himself? What about cutting down his own trees? Under what circumstances are these ...
Bava Kamma 90: What Judge Recreates the Cases He Judges?!
January 31, 2024 17:20 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MBA bit more on Takanat Usha. Plus, a man who strikes his slave and the slave dies, the owner is punished with capital punishment. Also, a very long mishnah, with a price list, as it were, for various injuries and the appropriate compensation. Plus, more on Rabbi Akiva (starring in the mishnah), as to whether a witness can be a judge.
Bava Kamma 89: Back in Ketuvot
January 30, 2024 06:23 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBThe daf entertains the idea that a woman may sell her ketubah to pay damages to someone she injured or to her husband she injured. The daf finally explains why this discussion about ketuvot appears in Bava Kamma.
Bava Kamma 88: A=B=C
January 29, 2024 06:08 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBThe daf tried to determine why slaves are disqualified from being witnesses by comparing slaves to other categories of people. In the middle of the daf is an incident with the mother of Rav Shmuel bar Ava if Hegronya and what happened to her melug property after her death.
Bava Kamma 87: Personal Injuries
January 28, 2024 07:27 - 20 minutes - 19 MBA new mishnah! It spells out a good number of cases that entail paying the 5 compensations, and when one would be exempt, including what happens when one strikes a parent and does or does not cause a bruise. Also, the Gemara here - beginning with one who injures a minor daughter (vs. an adult son), and carrying through to a trust for a son... and other monetary support.
Bava Kamma 86: Boshet (Humiliation)
January 28, 2024 02:14 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBOn Boshet - humiliation. And how this compensation is assessed. Plus, which sage's opinion is represented in the mishnah. Also, a new mishnah- when one humiliates people on specific categories - a naked person, a blind person, and more - depending on when there is intent. The question of the degree of objectivity regarding what is considered humiliating is key. Plus, the Gemara narrows the apparent cases from the mishnah.
Bava Kamma 85: Repui and Boshet
January 26, 2024 08:51 - 18 minutes - 16.7 MBThe daf continues the discussion in different types of payments when a person injures another person specifically repui and boshet and how each is calculated.
Bava Kamma 84: An Eye for an Eye
January 25, 2024 06:51 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MBWhen the Torah says, "an eye for an eye," how is that the Gemara concludes that the perpetrator compensates for the damage with money, rather than coming after him physically? Also, the deep topic of how to assess damages - to compare the injured party to a slave, which was, perhaps, logical, but nonetheless off-putting. Also, this particular assessment was only done in Israel, and not to be used in Babylonia.
Bava Kamma 83: If You Learn Greek, Must You Think Greek Thoughts?
January 24, 2024 09:14 - 17 minutes - 16.6 MBFinishing up chapter 7... With more on the prohibition against Greek wisdom, and the language, as well as other "foreign" languages. Also, starting chapter 8, with the 5 categories of payment for personal injury.
Bava Kamma 82: Ezra’s Ten
January 23, 2024 05:43 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBThe daf lists the 10 rules set up by Ezra HaSofer when he resettled the land. Plus there is mention of 10 rules only for Jerusalem. The daf returns to the discussion of what animals may not be raised in Eretz Yisroel by sharing an event that may explain why pig is the biggest non-kosher taboo.
Bava Kamma 81: The Ten
January 22, 2024 07:16 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBA barita describes ten rules established by Yehoshua when Bnei Yisroel settled the land. Another barita discusses how all of the tribes’ portions shared equal topography.
Bava Kamma 80: The Curative Properties of Goat Milk
January 21, 2024 07:20 - 20 minutes - 19.6 MBMore on the prohibition against raising certain small animals. Plus, the story of a pious person who had pain in his heart, and the doctors had no cure except for fresh goat milk from the source. Also, the respect paid to rabbis by each other, and the prohibition against owning a cat (especially white cats; black cats might be okay). Plus, signing on the dotted line to purchase a home in the land of Israel, even on Shabbat.
Bava Kamma 79: How Much Chutzpah? Ignoring God vs. Ignoring People
January 20, 2024 22:27 - 22 minutes - 20.8 MBHow a thief can take formal possession of an animal even while on the owner's property, depending on when the thief leaves that property, for example. Plus, a discussion of why the ganav is treated more stringently than a gazlan is. Also, a new mishnah: specific animals that were not allowed to be raised in the land of Israel. Including specific details of sheep, goats, chickens, and dogs, among other small(ish) animals, including what may be the original leash law.
Bava Kamma 78: Kilayim animals
January 19, 2024 05:55 - 19 minutes - 17.8 MBHow does the prohibition against mating diverse kinds of animals impact the fourfold or fivefold payments. Plus our favorite halakhic animal the Koy appears on the daf. A new Mishnah discussed what happens when only part of the animal is sold after it is stolen.