29B the Soncino Babylonian Talmud
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GITTIN – 48b-90b 29b The Soncino Babylonian Talmud GGIITTTTIINN BOOK II Folios 48b-90b CHAPTERS V- IX TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH WITH NOTES BY MAURICE SIMON, M.A. UNDER THE EDITORSHIP OF R A B B I D R . I. EPSTEIN B.A ., Ph.D., D. Lit. Reformatted by Reuven Brauner, Raanana 5772 www.613etc.com 1 GITTIN – 48b-90b this only an ordinance to prevent abuses? 9 It Gittin 48b derives from the Scripture, as it is written, The best of his field and the best of his where it says, According to the number of vineyard he shall pay! 10 — Abaye replied: years of the crops he shall sell unto thee. 1 A This statement holds good only if we take the Baraitha, as it has been taught: A firstborn view of R. Ishmael who said that according to son receives a double portion of a field which the Torah the assessment is made on the [was due to] be restored to his father at the property of the claimant of damage; 11 we are 12 Jubilee. 2 then told here that to prevent abuses we make the assessment on the property of the Abaye said: We have it on tradition that a defendant. What statement of R. Ishmael is husband [before going to law] about property referred to? — As it has been taught: 'The belonging to his wife requires authorization best of his field and the best of his vineyard from her. 3 This, however, is the case only if he shall pay': [that is to say,] the best of the the suit does not concern the produce. But if field of the claimant and the best of the the suit concerns the produce, while he is vineyard of the claimant. 13 So R. Ishmael. R. putting forward claims to the produce he can Akiba said: The whole purpose of the text is put forward claims to the land itself as well. to allow compensation for damage to be recovered from the best property [of the CHAPTER V defendant]: and all the more so in the case of the Sanctuary. 14 MISHNAH . COMPENSATION FOR DAMAGE 4 15 IS PAID OUT 5 OF [PROPERTY OF] THE BEST Now according to R. Ishmael, if [a man's QUALITY, A CREDITOR OUT OF LAND OF beast] ate the vegetables from a rich bed, he MEDIUM QUALITY, AND A WOMAN'S [naturally] repays the value of a rich bed, but KETHUBAH OUT OF LAND OF THE if it ate from a poor bed is he to repay the POOREST QUALITY. R. MEIR, HOWEVER, value of a rich one? — R. Idi b. Abin said: SAYS THAT A WOMAN'S KETHUBAH IS We are dealing here with a case where it ate ALSO PAID OUT OF MEDIUM [QUALITY one bed out of a number and we do not know LAND]. PAYMENT CANNOT BE RECOVERED whether it was a rich one or a poor one; in FROM MORTGAGED PROPERTY WHERE this case he repays the value of the best. Said THERE ARE FREE ASSETS AVAILABLE, Raba. Seeing that if where we know that it EVEN IF THEY ARE ONLY LOWEST GRADE ate a poor one he repays only the value of a LAND. PAYMENT FROM ORPHANS CAN BE poor one, here, where we do not know, is he RECOVERED ONLY FROM LOWEST GRADE to pay the value of a rich one? Does not the LAND. INDEMNIFICATION FOR PRODUCE onus probandi fall on the claimant? — R. CONSUMED 6 AND FOR THE BETTERMENT Aha b. Jacob therefore suggested OF PROPERTY [DURING WRONGFUL TENURE] [AND PAYMENT] FOR THE 1. Lev. XXV, 15. This indicates that, at the time of the Jubilee, the crops were sold, not the MAINTENANCE [BY A MAN'S HEIRS] OF HIS land. WIDOW AND DAUGHTERS 7 IS NOT 2. A firstborn takes a double portion only of ENFORCED FROM MORTGAGED property which was actually in possession of PROPERTY, TO PREVENT ABUSES. 8 THE the father at the time of death, not of that FINDER OF A LOST ARTICLE CANNOT BE which is to accrue subsequently. If, therefore, he takes a double portion of this field, it shows REQUIRED TO TAKE AN OATH, TO that his father, in spite of having sold it, was PREVENT ABUSES. 8 still reckoned as owner. 3. Because although he owns the produce (v. GEMARA . [COMPENSATION … Glos. s.v. Mulug ), this is not equivalent to PROPERTY OF THE BEST QUALITY.] Is owning the land itself. 4. Cf. Ex. XXII, 4. 2 GITTIN – 48b-90b 5. Lit., 'they value'. has high grade and low grade land and his 6. [If A wrongfully acquires a field from B and low grade land is not equal to the best of the sells it to C who was unaware that it was 7 stolen and C spends money on improving it claimant, he pays him from the best. and a crop is produced, B may come and seize the field, crop and improvements, after 'R. Akiba says: The whole purpose of the text paying C his costs in connection with the is to allow compensation for damage to be improvements. B is then entitled to recover recovered from the best property of the from A the price he paid him for the field even from A's mortgaged property, but the defendant; and all the more so in the case of value of the crop and increased value of the the Sanctuary.' What is the meaning of 'all field due to the improvements only from A's the more so in the case of the Sanctuary'? unmortgaged property.] Are we to say that [this rule applies] where 7. V. Keth. 52b. our ox has gored the ox of the Sanctuary? 8. Lit., 'for the good order of the world'. [This refers to all the rulings given in this Mishnah [This cannot be, because] the Divine Law and supplies the connecting link between this says, [if one man's ox hurt] the ox of one's chapter and the preceding one, as well as the neighbor,8 but not an ox of the Sanctuary. 9 reason for its inclusion in this tractate (v. Shall we say then that what is meant is that if Tosaf).] a man says, 'I take upon myself to give a 9. I.e., is its sanction only Rabbinic? 10. Ex. XXII, 4. Maneh for the repair of the Temple,' the 11. I.e., he can claim only property of the same treasurer can come and collect it from the quality as the best of his own, even if this is best [of his land]? Surely he is in no better not equal to the best of the defendant's. position than a creditor, and a creditor has a 12. The abuse to be prevented is explained lower right to collect only from the medium down. 10 13. The meaning of this is discussed presently. property! 14. B.K. 6b. This is explained lower down. 15. Who apparently says that according to And should you contend that R. Akiba holds Scripture damage is to be estimated in all that a creditor can collect from the best like a cases as if done to the best of the claimant's [claimant for] damages, we may still object, land. how can you draw an analogy from a Gittin 49a [private] creditor, who is at an advantage in that he can claim compensation for damages, to the Sanctuary, which has no right [ever] to that the case here considered is one where the claim compensation for damages? 11 — I may best of the claimant is equal [in quality] to still say that [these words refer to the case the worst of the defendant, in which case R. where] our ox gored the ox of the Sanctuary, Ishmael held that we assess on the land of the for R. Akiba held the same view as R. Simeon 1 claimant, whereas R. Akiba held that we b. Menasya, as it has been taught: R. Simeon 2 assess on the land of the defendant. What is b. Menasya says: If an ox of the Sanctuary R. Ishmael's reason? — The word 'field' gores an ox of a layman, there is no liability, 3 4 occurs both in the earlier and the later but if the ox of a layman gores an ox of the clause; just as in the earlier clause it refers to sanctuary, whether it was Tam 12 or Mu'ad ,12 the field of the claimant, so in the later it the owner has to pay compensation in full. 13 refers to the field of the claimant. R. Akiba, on the other hand, held that the words, from If that is the case, why should you say that R. the best of his field he shall make restitution Akiba and R. Ishmael differ [as to what is to mean, from the best of him who makes be done] when the best of the claimant is restitution. What does R. Ishmael say to this? equal to the worst of the defendant? Perhaps 5 — [He says that] the Gezerah Shawah has its in that case both agree that we assess on the lesson and the text has its lesson. The lesson land of the claimant, 14 and their dispute Gezerah Shawah 6 of the is what we have said. here 15 is the same as that between R. Simeon The lesson of the text is that if the defendant 3 GITTIN – 48b-90b b. Menasya and the Rabbis, R. Akiba field of the defendant and the best of the adopting the same view as R.