BAVA BASRA 163 (10 Tamuz) - Dedicated by Rabbi and Mrs. Mordecai Kornfeld in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Yosef Kornfeld

[163a - 27 lines; 163b - 19 lines]

1)[line 1]הן ואוירןHEN VA'AVIRAN- they and their spaces (that is, when the Beraisa teaches that if two lines are left blank between the text of the Shtar and the signatures, then the Shtar is invalid, does this mean that the height necessary to write the actual letters of two lines was left blank, or is the Shtar invalidated only when the height of two lines, plus the space that is usually included between them, is left blank?)

2)[line 4]למאי חזיא?L'MAI CHAZYA- for what is it fit? (Text cannot be written on successive lines if no space is left between the script, unless one writes exceedingly small.)

3)[line 6]בכתב ידי עדיםBI'CHESAV YEDEI EDIM- [the two blank lines that invalidate a Shtar only invalidate it when the height of those lines are the height] of the handwriting of the witnesses (who are not expert in writing by hand, as a scribe is, and thus need more space to write)

4)[line 7]סופרSOFER- [the handwriting of] the scribe

5)[line 7]דכל המזייףKOL HA'MEZAYEF- anyone who falsifies [text in a Shtar]

6)[line 7]לאו לגבי ספרא אזיל ומזייףLAV L'GABEI SAFRA AZIL U'MEZAYEF- he does not go to a scribe and have him falsify [the text in a Shtar] (this is because the scribe will never agree to do such a thing, since he does not want to ruin his reputation and lose his job)

7)[line 9]כגון "לך" "לך" זה על גבי זהKEGON "LECHA" "LECHA" ZEH AL GABEI ZEH- like the words "Lecha, Lecha," one on top of the other (two lines are needed for the two words, plus an additional space above the upper line for the elongation of the letter "Lamed," plus an additional space below the upper line for the elongation of the letter "Chaf Sofis," plus an additional space above the lower line for the elongation of the lower letter "Lamed," plus an additional space below the lower line for the elongation of the lower letter "Chaf Sofis")

8)[line 10]וארבעה אויריןARBA'AH AVIRIN- four spaces (see previous entry)

9)[line 13]ושלשה אויריןSHELOSHAH AVIRIN- three spaces (one space above the upper line for the elongation of the "Lamed," one space below the lower line for the elongation of the "Chaf Sofis," and one normal space between the two lines)

10)[line 13]כגון "ברוך בן לוי" בשיטה אחתKEGON "BARUCH BEN LEVI" B'SHITAH ACHAS- like the words "Baruch ben Levi" written on one line

11)[line 15]ושני אויריןSHENEI AVIRIN- two spaces (one space above the line for the elongation of the "Lamed" in the word "Levi," and one space below the line for the elongation of the "Chaf" in the word "Baruch")

12)[line 15]לא שנו אלא בין עדים לכתבLO SHANU ELA BEIN EDIM LI'CHESAV- the Beraisa's ruling [that two blank lines invalidate a Shtar] was taught only with regard to [the two lines] between the [signatures of the] witnesses and the text of the Shtar

13)[line 16]בין עדים לאשרתאBEIN EDIM L'ASHARTA- between the [signatures of the] witnesses and the confirmation. The "Asharta" (or "Henpek") is the legal confirmation or endorsement of a Shtar, which is written by Beis Din at the end of the Shtar. In the Asharta, Beis Din attests that the Shtar was signed by valid, confirmed witnesses.

14)[line 17]טובאTUVA- many [lines may be left blank and the Shtar remains valid]

15)[line 18]וחתימי סהדיV'CHASIMI SAHADEI- and witnesses are signed [to it already]

16)[line 20]וחתימי סהדיV'CHASIMI SAHADEI- and he will forge the signatures of witnesses

17)[line 20]דמטייט ליהMETAYET LEI- he smudges it [with ink, so that nothing can be written in that space]. (According to RABEINU TAM, this means that he writes dots or lines to fill up the space, but not that he pours ink on it to make smudges.)

18)[line 22]סהדי אטיוטא הוא דחתימיSAHADEI A'TIYUTA HU D'CHASIMEI- the witnesses who signed might be testifying about the ink smudge. (The RASHBAM explains that the witnesses might actually have intended to testify that there was an ink smudge there, so that the bearer of the Shtar should not be suspected of wrongdoing (see SHACH CM 46:88). The RITVA explains that the presence of an ink smudge is considered an interruption between the Shtar and the signatures, and it is considered as if the signatures are signed on a separate document altogether)

19)[line 25]גייז לי לעילאGAYIZ LEI L'ILA- he will cut off the upper part (the text that is written in the Shtar)

20)[line 25]ומחיק ליה לטיוטאU'MACHIK LEI L'TIYUTA- and he will erase the ink smudge

21)[last line]הוא ועדיו על המחקHU V'EDAV AL HA'MECHAK- it (the text of the Shtar) and its [signatures of] witnesses are written on erased paper

163b----------------------------------------163b

22)[line 1]דמתני לה משמיה דשמואלD'MASNI LAH MI'SHMEI D'SHMUEL- who teaches it (the statement that a Shtar is valid when both the Shtar and its signatures are written on an erasure) in the name of Shmuel (and thus there is no contradiction between the two statements of Rav, since the second statement was never said by Rav)

23)[line 3]כל כי האי גוונאKOL KI HAI GAVNA- any [Shtar written] like this

24)[line 10]הוא ועדיו בשיטה אחתHU V'EDAV B'SHITAH ACHAS- it (the text of the Shtar) and its [signatures of] witnesses are written on a single line

25)[line 13]הוא בשיטה אחת, ועדיו בשיטה אחרתHU B'SHITAH ACHAS V'EDAV B'SHITAH ACHERES- it (the text of the Shtar) is written on one line, and its [signatures of] witnesses are written on another line

26)[line 14]דלמא כתב הוא ועדיו בשיטה אחתDILMA KASAV HU V'EDAV B'SHITAH ACHAS- perhaps he wrote it (the text of the Shtar) and its [signatures of] witnesses on one line (i.e. he cut off the real text of the Shtar above the blank line (between the text and the real witnesses), and then he wrote his own, falsified text in the space of that blank line, and he forged the signatures of witnesses on that same line (and he left the signatures of the real witnesses on the line below it), turning the Shtar into one which has its text and its witnesses all written on one line, which is valid)

27)[line 15]לרבות בעדים הוא דעבדיL'RABOS B'EDIM HU D'AVDEI- I did it (i.e. I had witnesses sign below the one-line Shtar as well as on the line itself) merely in order to have more witnesses

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