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Today's Mishnah Yomi

Bava Metzia 8:3 - 8:4

The Mishnah Yomi for Thursday, October 24, 2024 is Bava Metzia 8:3 - 8:4

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Mishnah 1

Mishnayos Bava Metzia Perek 8 Mishnah 3

בבא מציעא פרק ח׳ משנה ג׳

3
In the case of one who borrowed a cow, and the lender sent it to the borrower by the hand of his son, or by the hand of his slave, or by the hand of his agent, or by the hand of the borrower’s son, or by the hand of his slave, or by the hand of the agent of the borrower; and it died on the way, the borrower is exempt, because the period of borrowing begins only once the cow reaches his domain. The borrower said to the lender: Send it to me by the hand of my son, or by the hand of my slave, or by the hand of my agent, or by the hand of your son, or by the hand of your slave, or by the hand of your agent. Or, in a case where the lender said explicitly to the borrower: I am sending it to you by the hand of my son, or by the hand of my slave, or by the hand of my agent, or by the hand of your son, or by the hand of your slave, or by the hand of your agent; and the borrower said to him: Send it as you have said, and he then sent it, and it died on the way, then the borrower is liable to pay the lender the value of his cow. Since the borrower agreed to the cow’s being brought to him by the hand of another, he bears liability from the moment the cow was transferred into that person’s possession.
הַשּׁוֹאֵל אֶת הַפָּרָה, וְשִׁלְּחָהּ לוֹ בְּיַד בְּנוֹ, בְּיַד עַבְדּוֹ, בְּיַד שְׁלוּחוֹ, אוֹ בְיַד בְּנוֹ, בְּיַד עַבְדּוֹ, בְּיַד שְׁלוּחוֹ שֶׁל שׁוֹאֵל, וָמֵתָה, פָּטוּר. אָמַר לוֹ הַשּׁוֹאֵל, שַׁלְּחָהּ לִי בְּיַד בְּנִי, בְּיַד עַבְדִּי, בְּיַד שְׁלוּחִי, אוֹ בְּיַד בִּנְךָ, בְּיַד עַבְדְּךָ, בְּיַד שְׁלוּחֲךָ, אוֹ שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ הַמַּשְׁאִיל, הֲרֵינִי מְשַׁלְּחָהּ לְךָ בְּיַד בְּנִי, בְּיַד עַבְדִּי, בְּיַד שְׁלוּחִי, אוֹ בְּיַד בִּנְךָ, בְּיַד עַבְדְּךָ, בְּיַד שְׁלוּחֲךָ, וְאָמַר לוֹ הַשּׁוֹאֵל, שַׁלַּח, וְשִׁלְּחָהּ וָמֵתָה, חַיָּב. וְכֵן בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁמַּחֲזִירָהּ:
ג׳

ביד בנו – The lender sent it to the borrower by the hand of his son or his servant or the agent of the lender.

או ביד בנו ועבדו ושלוחו של שואל – he (i.e. the borrower) is exempt if it (i.e. the animal) died on the road [to him/her]. But that agent of the borrower, one can establish it (see Bava Kamma 104a – also Shevuot 46b) – regarding his hired laborer or his client who lives in his home (may they take the oath)? But he did not make this person an agent before witnesses, for if witnesses had made the person the agent, the borrower would be obligated for his (i.e., the agent’s) unavoidable accident when the lender transferred it (i.e., the animal) to him. But there are those who say that even if he (i.e., the borrower) made the person his agent before witnesses, he is not liable through his hand for unavoidable accidents. And this is what he says to him – that a person is [deemed] believable if he wishes to send it in his hands, he sends it.

אמר לו השואל שלחה לי וכו' – in the hand of your servant, he (i.e., the borrower) is liable. This “your servant’ is speaking about a Hebrew slave, for it were a Canaanite slave, the hand of the slave is like the hand of the master, and it would be like he didn’t depart from the domain of the lender, and it would be like the lender himself walked to him, and the borrower would be exempt, if he suffered an unavoidable accident on the way.

וכן בשעה שמחזירה – If the borrower sent it in the hand of his son, or his servant or his gent, or in the hand of the son, slave or agent of the lender, it did not leave the domain of the the borrower juntil it comes to the hand of the lender, and if he suffers an unavoidable accident on the way, he is liable. If the lender said to him (i.e., the borrower): “Send it to me,” or the borrower said, “Behold I am sending it, et.” And the lender said to him, “Send it,” and he sent it (i.e., the animal) and it suffered an unavoidable accident on the way, he is exempt [from having to make any payments). And our Mishnah specifically when he returns it amidst the days of his borrowing it (i.e., the animal) when he is liable for unavoidable accidents. But if he returned it after the days of his borrowing, the law of a paid bailee applies [since he derived benefit from it] and not the law of a borrower, and if he sent it by the hand of his son, or his servant ,or his agent, whether it was his or it belonged to the lender, and it suffered an unavoidable accident, he is exempt [from payment].

ביד בנו. המשאיל שלחה לשואל ביד בנו ועבדו ושלוחו של משאיל:

או ביד בנו ועבדו ושלוחו של שואל. פטור אם מתה בדרך. והאי שלוחו של שואל איכא דמוקי לה (בב״ק דף ק״ד) בשכירו ולקיטו שדר בביתו. אבל לא עשאו שליח בעדים. דאי איכא עדים דשליח שוייה, חייב השואל באונסיה משמסרה לו. ואיכא דאמרי אפילו עשאו שליח בעדים אינו מתחייב על ידו באונסים, דהכי קאמר ליה, אינש מהימנא הוא אי בעית לשדורי בידיה שדר:

אמר לו השואל שלחה לי וכו׳ ביד עבדך, חייב. האי עבדך בעבד עברי קאמר, דאילו עבד כנעני יד עבד כיד רבו והוי כאילו לא יצאת מרשות משאיל וכאילו המשאיל עצמו הוליכה לו ופטור השואל אם נאנסה בדרך:

וכן בשעה שמחזירה. אם שלח השואל ביד בנו ועבדו או שלוחו או ביד בנו ועבדו ושלוחו של משאיל, לא יצאת מרשותו של שואל עד שתבא ליד המשאיל, ואם נאנסה בדרך, חייב. אמר לו המשאיל שלחה לי, או שאמר השואל הריני משלחה וכו׳, ואמר לו המשאיל שלח, ושלחה ונאנסה בדרך, פטור. ומתניתין דוקא כשמחזירה בתוך ימי שאלתה שהוא חייב באונסיה. אבל אם החזירה לאחר ימי שאלתה, דין שומר שכר יש לו [הואיל ונהנה ממנה] ולא דין שואל, ואם שלחה ביד בנו ועבדו או שלוחו. בין שלו בין של משאיל, ונאנסה בדרך, פטור:

Mishnah 2

Mishnayos Bava Metzia Perek 8 Mishnah 4

בבא מציעא פרק ח׳ משנה ד׳

4
With regard to one who exchanges a cow for a donkey, such that by virtue of the cow owner’s act of acquisition on the donkey, the donkey’s erstwhile owner simultaneously acquires the cow, wherever it happens to be located, and afterward the cow is found to have calved; and similarly, with regard to one who sells his Canaanite maidservant, with the acquisition effected by the buyer giving him money, and afterward she is found to have given birth to a child, who will be a slave belonging to his mother’s master, at times it is uncertain whether the offspring was born before or after the transaction. If this seller says: The birth occurred before I sold the cow or maidservant, and so the offspring belongs to me, and that buyer says: The birth occurred after I purchased the cow or maidservant, and so the offspring belongs to me, they divide the value of the offspring between them. The mishna continues: There is a case of one who had two Canaanite slaves, one large, worth more on the slave market, and one small, worth less on the slave market, and similarly, one who had two fields, one large and one small. He sold one of them, and there was a dispute between the buyer and the seller concerning which one was sold. If the buyer says: I purchased the large one, and the other one, i.e., the seller, says: I do not know which I sold; the buyer is entitled to take the large one. If the seller says: I sold the small one, and the other one, i.e., the buyer, says: I do not know which one I purchased; the buyer is entitled to take only the small one. If this one says: The large one was sold, and that one says: The small one was sold, then the seller takes an oath that it was the small one that he sold, and then the buyer takes the small one. If this one says: I do not know which one was sold, and that one says: I do not know which one was sold, they divide the disputed amount between them.
הַמַּחֲלִיף פָּרָה בַּחֲמוֹר וְיָלְדָה, וְכֵן הַמּוֹכֵר שִׁפְחָתוֹ וְיָלְדָה, זֶה אוֹמֵר עַד שֶׁלֹּא מָכָרְתִּי, וְזֶה אוֹמֵר מִשֶּׁלָּקָחְתִּי, יַחֲלֹקוּ. הָיוּ לוֹ שְׁנֵי עֲבָדִים, אֶחָד גָּדוֹל וְאֶחָד קָטָן, וְכֵן שְׁתֵּי שָׂדוֹת, אַחַת גְּדוֹלָה וְאַחַת קְטַנָּה, הַלּוֹקֵחַ אוֹמֵר גָּדוֹל לָקַחְתִּי, וְהַלָּה אוֹמֵר אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ, זָכָה בַגָּדוֹל. הַמּוֹכֵר אוֹמֵר קָטָן מָכָרְתִּי, וְהַלָּה אוֹמֵר אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ, אֵין לוֹ אֶלָּא קָטָן. זֶה אוֹמֵר גָּדוֹל וְזֶה אוֹמֵר קָטָן, יִשָּׁבַע הַמּוֹכֵר שֶׁהַקָּטָן מָכָר. זֶה אוֹמֵר אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ וְזֶה אוֹמֵר אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ, יַחֲלֹקוּ:
ד׳

המוכר שפחתו וילדה – since a Canaanite slave is acquired by money, and when he gave the money, he acquired the female [Canaanite] slave in every place that she is. And if it is not known if until she gave birth he gave the money, and the fetus us his, or after she gave birth, and the child belongs to the owners. But a cow is not acquired by money, but by pulling/drawing the object to be acquired towards oneself, and since he pulled it, it would be known if she gave birth already or not given birth, and for this [reason], it was necessary for the Mishnah to teach, “he who exchanges,” for via “Halifin”/a form of possession by handing to the purchaser an object as a symbolical substitute, since when one draws the object to be acquired towards oneself, the other person acquires in whatever place he is in, therefore it is not known whether the animal gave birth or not.

יחלוקו – And our Mishnah is according to Sumachos, but the Halakha is not according to him.

זה אומר גדול וזה אומר קטן – The one says the monetary value of a large slave and the other one says the monetary value of a small slave. For it were an actual slave, we hold that we don’t take oaths on slaves. And furthermore, what he claimed against him, he did not admit to him and what he (i.e. the other) admitted to, he (i.e., the first) did not claim, and there was no place for an oath.

המוכר שפחתו וילדה. דעבד כנעני נקנה בכסף, וכשנתן המעות נקנית לו השפחה בכל מקום שהיא. ואין ידוע אם עד שלא ילדה נתן הכסף והעובר שלו, או לאחר שילדה והולד של בעלים. אבל פרה אינה נקנית בכסף אלא במשיכה, וכיון דמשך מידע ידע אי ילדה כבר אי לא ילדה, להכי איצטריך למתני המחליף, דעל ידי חליפין כיון שמשך האחד נקנה האחר בכל מקום שהוא, לפיכך אין ידוע אם ילדה אם לא ילדה:

יחלוקו. ומתניתין סומכוס היא, ולית הילכתא כוותיה:

זה אומר גדול וזה אומר קטן. זה אומר דמי עבד גדול וזה אומר דמי עבד קטן. דאילו עבד ממש. הא קיימא לן דאין נשבעין על העבדים. ועוד, מה שטענו לא הודה לו ומה שהודה לו לא טענו, ולא היה כאן מקום לשבועה:

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