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Talking Talmud

Talking Talmud

By Yardaena Osband & Anne Gordon


Learning the daf? We have something for you to think about. Not learning the daf? We have something for you to think about! (Along with a taste of the daf...)
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Ketubot 92: Buyers and Creditors

Talking TalmudOct 06, 2022

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Bava Metzia 29: Lost Tefillin and More

Bava Metzia 29: Lost Tefillin and More

A 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?
Mar 28, 202420:26
Bava Metzia 28: Lost & Found

Bava Metzia 28: Lost & Found

More 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) changed that process.
Mar 27, 202423:53
Bava Metzia 27: Returning Lost Objects Is a Mitzvah (But Not Quite Always)

Bava Metzia 27: Returning Lost Objects Is a Mitzvah (But Not Quite Always)

The 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).
Mar 26, 202419:35
Bava Metzia 26: A Few Considerations

Bava Metzia 26: A Few Considerations

The 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.
Mar 25, 202416:52
Bava Metzia 25: Dropped Coins

Bava Metzia 25: Dropped Coins

A 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 conditions and configurations of the coins to be required to proclaim the find in case the original owner comes forward. Plus, one more mishnah and a question about the halakhic expertise of regular people.
Mar 24, 202426:23
Bava Metzia 24: Be Nice and Give It Back

Bava Metzia 24: Be Nice and Give It Back

A 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 asked to determine whether to publicize the find or not. Plus several cases of application and apparent contradiction as to whether the finder keeps the found item or has to publicize that it's been found - notably, in the marketplace and in the Biran River.
Mar 23, 202422:05
Bava Metzia 23: Incidental Simanim

Bava Metzia 23: Incidental Simanim

The daf discusses objects found that may or may not have a purposeful siman.
Mar 22, 202422:11
Bava Metzia 22: Hospitality

Bava Metzia 22: Hospitality

Several 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?
Mar 21, 202412:56
Bava Metzia 21: Ye'ush and Siman

Bava Metzia 21: Ye'ush and Siman

The 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.
Mar 20, 202418:17
Bava Metzia 20: Lost & Found: The Documents Edition

Bava Metzia 20: Lost & Found: The Documents Edition

A 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?
Mar 19, 202422:10
Bava Metiza 19: What is the Norm?

Bava Metiza 19: What is the Norm?

The daf describes a variety of scenarios where documents are found and the different types of fraud that can be committed with a found document
Mar 18, 202424:22
Bava Metzia 18: Lost (and Found) Documents

Bava Metzia 18: Lost (and Found) Documents

A 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? That may well depend on what the husband has to say - and maybe the time factor in how long since the get has been lost. Note that the dispute here is between texts, where the mishnah outranks a beraita.
Mar 17, 202415:17
Bava Metiza 17: Can a Ketubah Be a Get?

Bava Metiza 17: Can a Ketubah Be a Get?

Bringing 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 transactions.
Mar 16, 202421:44
Bava Metzia 16: People Share the World... And Stuff Happens

Bava Metzia 16: People Share the World... And Stuff Happens

A 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.
Mar 15, 202429:04
Bava Metzia 15: So Much Unfairness of a Robber's Payback

Bava Metzia 15: So Much Unfairness of a Robber's Payback

The 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).
Mar 14, 202415:31
Bava Metzia 14: Protecting Your Property Purchases

Bava Metzia 14: Protecting Your Property Purchases

The 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
Mar 13, 202423:23
Bava Metzia 13: When Promissory Notes Don't Clarify Matters

Bava Metzia 13: When Promissory Notes Don't Clarify Matters

Found 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.
Mar 12, 202420:48
Bava Metzia 12: Household Acquisition

Bava Metzia 12: Household Acquisition

Two 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.
Mar 11, 202415:40
Bava Metiza 11: The Will to Acquire

Bava Metiza 11: The Will to Acquire

A 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.
Mar 10, 202417:04
Bava Metzia 10: Falling On What You Want to Acquire

Bava Metzia 10: Falling On What You Want to Acquire

One 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, acquiring the produce from the corners of a field - where the acquisition might be accomplished by proximity, but it's private property, so that won't work. Plus, how the 4 amot (proximity) acquisition takes effect.
Mar 09, 202421:18
Bava Metzia 9: Don't Push a Donkey

Bava Metzia 9: Don't Push a Donkey

How 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.
Mar 08, 202421:19
Bava Metzia 8: Taking Ownership from Someone or No One

Bava Metzia 8: Taking Ownership from Someone or No One

Using 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, as compared to found property.
Mar 07, 202414:07
Bava Metzia 7: Hekdesh and Reshut

Bava Metzia 7: Hekdesh and Reshut

The 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.
Mar 06, 202418:10
Bava Metzia 6: The Burden of Proof

Bava Metzia 6: The Burden of Proof

What 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 to bathe elsewhere, lest they violate consecrated property. But that's a difficult conclusion, practically speaking, so they tried to get a better answer, exploring the question of a possible bekhor - first born.
Mar 05, 202422:15
Bava Metzia 5: Why We Don't Trust Shepherds

Bava Metzia 5: Why We Don't Trust Shepherds

More 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 an oath (or maybe not).
Mar 04, 202425:51
Bava Metzia 4: Determining Facts on the Ground
Mar 03, 202428:51
Bava Metzia 3: Oaths vs. Testimony

Bava Metzia 3: Oaths vs. Testimony

When 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.
Mar 02, 202422:09
Bava Metzia 2: It's Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine!

Bava Metzia 2: It's Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine!

An 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.
Mar 01, 202427:25
Bava Kamma 119: Holding on to What Is Yours (Or Not)

Bava Kamma 119: Holding on to What Is Yours (Or Not)

Stealing 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 possible implications for where the crafting was done. Plus, the growing of certain plants and using them or not. And there the tractate ends, in medias res, so to speak.
Feb 29, 202426:05
Bava Kamma 118: Count Your Sheep!

Bava Kamma 118: Count Your Sheep!

4 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 marketplace - but let the buyer beware!
Feb 28, 202417:19
Bava Kamma 117: Comeuppance for R. Yochanan and the Resurrection of R. Kahana

Bava Kamma 117: Comeuppance for R. Yochanan and the Resurrection of R. Kahana

Case 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 need (or not) to pay back. Plus, a new mishnah with an overflowing river.
Feb 27, 202430:03
Bava Kamma 116: The Laws of Caravans

Bava Kamma 116: The Laws of Caravans

The 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.
Feb 26, 202421:13
Bava Kamma 115: The Law of the Marketplace

Bava Kamma 115: The Law of the Marketplace

The 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 advance. Also, donkeys crossing a river, where one leaves his own donkey to help save the other more expensive donkey....
Feb 25, 202430:18
Bava Kamma 114: Go Tell the Bees That They Are Home

Bava Kamma 114: Go Tell the Bees That They Are Home

A 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 determine whether the current owner needs to swear that he didn't steal them.
Feb 24, 202427:58
Bava Kamma 113: Excommunication

Bava Kamma 113: Excommunication

The 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.
Feb 23, 202423:19
Bava Kamma 112: Merciful Halakhah

Bava Kamma 112: Merciful Halakhah

When 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.
Feb 22, 202419:22
Bava Kamma 111: Never Ever Ever Getting (It Back)

Bava Kamma 111: Never Ever Ever Getting (It Back)

More 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.
Feb 21, 202416:07
Bava Kamma 110: A Robbed Convert Without Heirs

Bava Kamma 110: A Robbed Convert Without Heirs

A 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.
Feb 20, 202421:57
Bava Kamma 109: Principal and Chomesh

Bava Kamma 109: Principal and Chomesh

A 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.
Feb 19, 202416:13
Bava Kamma 108: Who Asks a Negligent Guardian to Watch Their Stuff Again?

Bava Kamma 108: Who Asks a Negligent Guardian to Watch Their Stuff Again?

More 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.
Feb 18, 202418:13
Bava Kamma 107: How Can the Torah's Words Be Out of Order?!

Bava Kamma 107: How Can the Torah's Words Be Out of Order?!

One 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).
Feb 17, 202420:28
Bava Kamma 106: Hekeish

Bava Kamma 106: Hekeish

Rav 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.
Feb 16, 202423:24
Bava Kamma 105: Rava’s teaching

Bava Kamma 105: Rava’s teaching

The 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.
Feb 15, 202420:38
Bava Kamma 104: Paying the Fifth

Bava Kamma 104: Paying the Fifth

What 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.
Feb 14, 202419:36
Bava Kamma 103: Much Ado about a Bunch of Flax

Bava Kamma 103: Much Ado about a Bunch of Flax

A 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 anyway.
Feb 13, 202421:38
Bava Kamma 102: Studying vs. Writing the Mishnah

Bava Kamma 102: Studying vs. Writing the Mishnah

A 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?
Feb 12, 202429:49
Bava Kama 101: Defining the Art of a Craft

Bava Kama 101: Defining the Art of a Craft

Moving 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.
Feb 11, 202417:12
Bava Kamma 100: Red and Black

Bava Kamma 100: Red and Black

The 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.
Feb 10, 202411:31
Bava Kamma 99: The Expert Slaughterer

Bava Kamma 99: The Expert Slaughterer

The 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?
Feb 09, 202416:09
Bava Kamma 98: Indirect Damages: Who Is Liable?

Bava Kamma 98: Indirect Damages: Who Is Liable?

If 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 case leads into a discussion of shor ha-niskal, the ox that is to be judged for death because it killed a person - and is also prohibited from benefit. Plus, a new mishnah about when a craftsperson damaged the item one left for repair.
Feb 08, 202422:38