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BAVA METZIA 118

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SUMMARY

If a person's wall collapses into the garden of his friend he has no right to tell his friend that the stones are his and he should clean up the stones himself.
 
If his friend agrees to keep the stones and clean it up himself the owner of the wall doesn't have the right to change his mind and take back the stones even if he pays for the expenses of the cleanup.
 
If someone hires a worker to collect straw he has no right to tell the worker to take the straw for his payment.
 
If the worker already agreed to take straw for his payment the employer doesn't have the right to change his mind and pay the employee for his work and take the straw for himself.
 
If an olive press is built into a rock and there is a garden on top of it which is owned by someone else if the bottom of the garden caves in the owner may plant instead in the olive press until the owner of the olive press builds supports for his garden.
 
If only four Tefachim of the garden collapsed Rav holds the owner may plant on four Tefachim of the olive press while Shmuel holds that he may plant entirely in the olive press. (1)
 
If someone rents a house and four Tefachim of the floor caves in Rav holds he may use the only a space of four Tefachim on the first floor, while Shmuel holds he may move in completely on the first floor because we can't force someone to live on two different floors.
 
If the Beis Din condemned his wall or tree and gave him a certain amount of time to take it down, if it falls and causes damage within the allotted time he is Patur but if it falls after the time is up he is Chayav.
 
If someone hires a worker to work for him and he directs him to his friend's field he must pay him his full wages and he may collect from his friend the amount of his benefit.
 
If someone hires a worker to work for him or to weed his friend for him if the worker finds a Metzi'ah it belongs to the worker.
 
If he hires the worker to do Melachah for him if he finds a Metzi'ah it belongs to the Ba'al ha'Bayis. (2)
 
If a person hires a worker to collect straw from Hefker he may not tell him to collect his wages from the straw but if he hired him to guard the straw he may tell him to collect his wages from the straw. (3)
 
The guards of spontaneously grown produce of Shvi'is of Hekdesh that is to be used for the purpose of the Minchas ha'Omer or the Shtei ha'Lechem receive wages from the Terumas ha'Lishkah.
 
R. Yosi says if the guard wants to do voluntary work for Hekdesh and forfeit his wages he may do so, while the Tana Kama disagrees.
 
Ravin says in the name of R. Yochanan that the Tana Kama holds that the guard may not do voluntary work because of the concern that it will not become public knowledge that it is Hekdesh and bullies will steal the produce.
 
The Tana of the Mishnah says that fertilizer may be brought into Reshus ha'Rabim only momentarily.
 
R. Yehudah says at the time that people take out the fertilizer it is permitted to place fertilizer in Reshus ha'Rabim so it will be stepped on by people and animals because it was with this condition that Yehoshua inherited the land.
 
It is forbidden to soak cement or make bricks in the Reshus ha'Rabim, however it is permitted to mix cement in the Reshus ha'Rabim. (4)
 
If someone builds in the Reshus ha'Rabim he should build immediately after the stones are brought to the Reshus ha'Rabim and if the stones cause damage he is Chayav to pay.
 
R. Shimon Ben Gamliel says a person may prepare his work in Reshus ha'Rabim and if it causes damage he is Patur.
 
R. Yehudah says if someone places his Ner Chanukah in Reshus ha'Rabim and it causes a fire he is Patur since he brought it out with Reshus.
 
If someone places a Tanur (large oven) on the second story of a house there must be three Tefachim of plaster underneath it and if for a Kirah (small oven) there must be at least one Tefach of plaster, but if it causes a fire he is Chayav to pay.
 
R. Shimon argues and he holds that if there is the requisite amount of plaster underneath the over and it causes a fire he is Patur from paying.
 
If a person who quarried a stone from the mountain broke the stone he is Chayav, if he gave it to the chiseler of the stone the stone and he broke it he is Chayav.
 
If the stone was given to the donkey driver who brings the some to a construction site and he broke it he is Chayav, if he gave it to the person who passes the stone to the construction worker and he breaks it he is Chayav.
 
If the stone was given to the construction worker and he breaks it he is Chayav, if the stone was broken by the foreman he is Chayav.
 
If after the stone was placed in the wall it fell and broke if the workers are paid for the finished product and not by the day they are all Chayav, but if they are paid by the day only the foreman is Chayav. (5)
 
If there are two adjoining gardens and one is on higher ground than the other and a vegetable is growing on the incline between the two gardens R. Meir says it belongs to the upper garden because if he would take away his earth the vegetable would not grow.
 
R. Yehudah says it belongs to the lower garden because if he would fill his garden with earth the vegetable would cease to exist.
 
R. Shimon says that if the vegetable was within arms reach of the upper garden it belongs to him and if not it belongs to the lower garden. (6)
 
Rava says that everyone agrees that the root of the vegetable belong to the upper garden and the Machlokes between R. Yehudah and R. Meir is only with regards to the remainder of the vegetables.
 
If a person buys one tree in his friend's land and another tree grows from its roots it belongs to the owner of the land.
 
If another tree grows from the bark of the tree according to R. Meir it belongs to the owner of the land and according to R. Yehudah it belongs to the owner of the tree.

A BIT MORE

1. Rav holds that although the owner of the garden will be forced to plant on two separate levels he may not take over the entire olive press, while Shmuel holds we can't force him to plant on two different levels.
 
2. Since he hired him to do Melachah and picking up a Metzi'ah is also a Melachah the hand of the worker is like the hand of the Ba'al ha'Bayis and the Ba'al ha'Bayis is Koneh the Metzi'ah.
 
3. If he hired him to collect straw of Hefker the Ba'al ha'Bayis is Koneh the straw and therefore he must pay him cash for his wages just as he is obligated to pay cash to any other worker, however if he hired him to guard the straw since the straw is Hefker and he is not Koneh the worker is working for Hefker and not for the Ba'al ha'Bayis and therefore he may tell him to collect his wages from the straw of Hefker.
 
4. It is forbidden to soak cement or make bricks in the Reshus ha'Rabim because it must be kept there for a long time, however mixing cement is permitted because it doesn't take a long time.
 
5 If they are paid a fixed sum for the finished building they all have a stake in the building being finished and therefore they are all considered a Shomer on the stone until the building is finished and they are Chayav, however if the stone broke while it was being handled by one of them only he is Chayav because he is an Adam ha'Mazik and when someone damages something with his own hands he is the only one who is Chayav. However, if they are being paid by the day they do not have a stake in the finished building therefore they are not considered a Shomer and they are only Chayav if the stone is damaged while it was in their hands.
 
6. R. Shimon holds like R. Meir that the vegetable belongs to the upper garden, however he holds that if it is not within arms reach because it is a disgrace for him to have to ask permission from the owner of the lower garden to enter his garden in order to take the vegetable.

BRIEF INSIGHT

A CONDEMNED WALL
 
If the Beis Din condemned his wall or tree and gave him a certain amount of time to take it down, if it falls and causes damage within the allotted time he is Patur, but if it falls after the time is up he is Chayav. The Shitah Mekubetzes explains that Beis Din never gives someone more than thirty days to carry out a directive of Beis Din. However, with regards to a potential danger such as a very high wall that is estimated to collapse in fifteen days or less the Beis Din may force him to take it down with very short notice. If he fails to do so the Beis Din will hire workers to take it down and will sell the stones in order to pay the workers.

QUICK HALACHAH

GUARDING HEFKER
 
If someone hires a worker to do work on his field or to collect something that is Hefker he may not tell him to take what you worked on for your wages, but if the worker agreed to take out for his wages the employer may not retract if the worker made a Kinyan Meshichah or Hagbahah or if it is in his Reshus. If he hired him to guard something that is Hefker he may tell him to take what he worked on for his wages because the Ba'al ha'Bayis had not yet been Zocheh in it and the worker may go ahead and be Zocheh in it. (Shulchan Aruch CM 337:3, 4)

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