Torah Community Connections

Week 107 - Monday - 10 December 2001

BAVA BATRA: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 7

One who sells a city, sold the houses, cisterns, ditches, and caves, bathhouses, and dovecotes, the olive press, and the irrigated fields, but not the portable objects. And when he said to him, it and all within it, even if there were cattle and slaves, all are sold. Rabban Shimon b. Gamliel says: If one sells a city, he has sold the city guard.

Kehati

This mishnah deals with the sale of a city, for in those days there were cities that belonged to individuals. The mishnah teaches us what is included in the sale of a city.

One who sells a city, sold the houses - and all the more so its courtyards, these being the most important part of a city (Rashbam, Bartenura), cisterns, ditches, and caves - by which water is supplied; as well as its bathhouses and dovecotes, the olive press, and the irrigated fields - The Gemara explains that though the mishnah states "irrigated fields," since in selling a city there is no halakhic difference between fields that require irrigation and those that do not (Tosafot), it rather refers to gardens and orchards within a city, and close to it which are included in the sale of the city. The use of the term bet hash’lahin in the present mishnah is explained in accordance with the verse (Cant. 4:13), "Your shoots (shelahayi’kh) are an orchard of pomegranates. Rashbam explains the use of this word from the idea of gardens that send forth (meshal’him) their fruits yearly; while Tosafot explains it in accordance with the verse (Ezek. 17:6), "It brought forth branches and shot forth (vat'shalah) sprigs" (see Tiferet Yisrael who interprets this differently); others in the Gemara explain that bet hash’lahin refers to the fields around the city, both those which require irrigation and those which do not; they are called bet hash’lahin since they all need rain, as it states (Job 5:10), "Who sends (veshole'ah) water upon the fields." but not the portable objects - The sale does not include portable objects, such as those items listed in mishnah 3 above as not being included in the sale of a house,

And when he said to him - the seller said to the buyer, It and all within it - that he is selling the entire city and its contents, even if there were cattle and slaves - which are walking movable objects, and certainly other portable objects, all are sold - as being part of the city.

Rabban Shimon b. Gamliel says, If one sells a city, he has sold the city guard - Even if he did not sell the slaves, the city guard is nevertheless sold, since he is needed specifically for the city.(Rabbeinu Hananel; Rambam, Bartenura) The halakhah does not follow Rabban Shimon b. Gamliel. There are those who, instead of "city guard," interpret the Hebrew to refer to open fields, so that the argument between the First Tanna and R. Shimon b. Gamliel is that the First Tanna includes only gardens and orchards within the city, and R. Shimon b. Gamliel disagrees, including open fields within the city as well. According to this interpretation, the halakhah follows R. Shimon b. Gamliel. According to those who interpret bet hash’lahin to mean fields, the First Tanna would include fields - and all the more so gardens and orchards - in the city. R. Shimon b. Gamliel, then, adds that in addition to these, the city guard is considered to be part of the city (Gemara; and see Tosefot Yom Tov).

BAVA BATRA: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 8

One who sells a field, has sold the stones which are necessary for it, and the reeds in the vineyard which are necessary for it, and the grain which is attached to the ground, and the reed partition which is less than a bet rova, and the guard hut which is not made with clay, and the carob which has not been grafted, and the young sycamore tree.

Kehati

This mishnah explains what is included when one buys a field.

One who sells a field - Without specifying anything, has sold the stones which are necessary for it - which have been arranged to form a fence around it; others interpret this to mean the stones placed on sheaves to prevent the wind from scattering them (Gemara), and the reeds in the vineyard which are necessary for it - upon which the grape vines are supported; and even though the reeds themselves are portable, since in the present case they have been driven into the ground and are never moved from their place, they are considered as permanent fixtures (Gemara); others interpret that incidentally the mishnah teaches that one who buys a field also acquires the vineyard growing in it (Rashbam; Nimukei Yosef); others interpret it to mean that one who sells a vineyard also includes in the sale the necessary reeds, but one who sells a field without specifying anything further does not include any vineyards growing in it in the sale (Hameiri; Levush; but see Tosefot Yom Tov who queries this interpretation); and the grain which is attached to the ground - The sale includes any unharvested grain, even if there is grain ready to be harvested, and we do not assume with respect to such a sale that whatever is ready to be harvested is considered to have been harvested already (Gemara; Rashbam); and the reed partition which - The mishnah text in the Gemara does not read mehitzat (i.e., a partition) as we have in our text, but rather hitzat, meaning a thicket or bush. In any event, the reed partition or thicket is included in the sale of a field, provided that the area occupied by it is less than a bet rova - an area smaller than that needed to plant a quarter (rova) of a kab of grain (approximately 10.2 amot by 10.2 amot), in which case such a small area is considered not to have an identity of its own but to be part of the field, and thus included in the sale, and the guard hut which is not made with clay - So too does the sale include a guard hut whose walls have not been coated with clay (Rashbam), this being an insignificant structure; others have a textual version which states ha'asuyah betit, a guard hut "made with clay" (Rabbeinu Hananel; Rif; Rambam), meaning that if the walls of the hut are plastered with clay, even though it is not permanently attached to the ground, it is still part of the sale (Tosefot Yom Tov; Tiferet Yisrael).

And the carob which has not been grafted - As long as a carob tree has not been grafted onto another tree, it is still considered an insignificant entity, and therefore is but a part of the field; and the young sycamore tree - A young sycamore tree whose branches have not yet been trimmed is considered to be insignificant and simply part of the field; once the tree has matured and its trunk becomes thicker and its branches are trimmed, the tree assumes significance in its own right and is not included as part of the field, and is then called sedan hashikmah and not betulat hashikmah as in our mishnah.

Return to Mishna Yomit Index

Visit the Mishna Yomit Archives