BAVA METZIA 105 (6 Sivan) - Dedicated by Eddie and Esther Turkel in memory of Chaim Yosef ben Ephraim Henoch HaLevi z”l.

[105a - 36 lines; 105b - 40 lines]

1)[line 1] , TREI ISKEI V'CHAD SHETARA, PESEIDA D'LOVEH- when two investments (Iska) were written in a single document, it is to the borrower's detriment. (In such a case, the two investments are considered a single Iska. Consequently, the borrower stands to gain less than he would gain had there been two separate Iskas. If there is a loss on one and a gain on the other, they cancel each other. Had they been written in two separate documents, the borrower's share of the loss would have been less than his share of the gain. For example, if one Iska involved 100 Zuz, and the other involved 100 Zuz, had they been kept separate, the borrower's share of the loss (in the event of a loss) would have been half of each, and his share of the gain (in the event of a gain) would have been 2/3rds of each. Hence, if one lost 12 and the other gained 18, the borrower's net profit would be 6 (i.e. he lost 6 on the first Iska, and gained 12 on the second Iska). If, however, the two Iskas were combined into a single, 200-Zuz Iska, then the borrower's net gain would be only 4 (since the net gain of the entire Iska was only 6 (18-12).)

2)[line 3] TARACH U'MALYEI V'LO OD'EI- he toiled and recovered the loss (of the Iska) and did not inform the investor-lender

3)[line 4] DARI ME'HEI'ACH PESEIDA BAHADA'I- carry/accept from this (the previous venture, which resulted in a loss) the loss with me (that is, view the previous venture, which resulted in a loss, and the present venture, with resulted in a gain, as two separate ventures, and thus accept half of the loss of the previous venture, and receive only 1/3rd of the gain of the present venture. This results in a smaller gain for the investor, for if the loss and gain are combined first and then the investor receives a share of the net gain, his share is then greater.)

4)[line 6] HANI BEI TREI- those two people (who work together with the merchandise of one lender- RASHI)

5)[line 7]V'RAVACH- and it succeeded

6)[line 8] TA LIFLOG- let us split the profits (even though the time of the Iska had not expired)

7)[line 14] DARINA BA'HADACH- I will carry/accept [the loss] with you

8)[line 16]L'NAKESH- to remove the weeds from between plants

9)[line 19] L'VASAR HACHI KARIVNA LAH- after that (the reaping), I will plow it (to kill the weeds)

10)[line 19] CHITEI MA'ALYASA BA'INA- I want high-quality wheat (and by removing the weeds after the harvest, the wheat that is harvested is of lower quality)

11)[line 20] MENAKISHNA LACH SHI'UR MANASICH- I will remove the weeds for you only from your portion [of the produce that you receive, according to the sharecropping agreement, from the field's produce]

12)[line 21] KA MENASVAS SHEM RA L'AR'A'I- you are giving a bad name to my land (for people will think that you weeded the entire field, and yet they will see weeds growing there)

13)[line 21] VEHA'TENAN MIPNEI SHE'MA'ALAS LEFANAI ASAVIM- but the Mishnah says [that the reason the owner can demand that the sharecropper weed the field is] because [the owner can claim] "you are filling up my field with weeds (which will grow there the following year as a result of not being removed this year)" (implying that this is the only claim that the owner can make)

14)[line 22] BIZRA D'NAFAL NAFAL- once the seeds [of the weeds] have fallen, they have fallen (and they will grow next year if the weeds are not removed now, even if you plow after the harvest)

15)[line 22] V'LO ASESAH- and it did not produce

16)[line 23] , IM YESH BAH KEDEI L'HA'AMID KRI, CHAYAV L'TAPEL BAH- if there is enough [produce] in it (the field) in order to set up a pile, then he (the sharecropper) is obligated to work with it

17)[line 23] ?MAI KITZVAH BI'KRI?- What sort of standard measurement is there with [being able to set up] a pile? (How can this one measurement be the determining factor for the sharecropper's obligation to work the field, for both large fields and small fields alike?)

18)[line 24] IM YESH BAH KEDEI NEFILAH- if there is enough [produce] in it in order to replant [next year's crop with the yield of this year]

19a)[line 25]OKIM- I will stand up

b)[line 25]ANIR- I will plow

c)[line 26]EZRA- I will plant

d)[line 26]ECHTZOD- I will reap

e)[line 26]A'AMER- I will bind into sheaves

f)[line 26]EDOSH- I will thresh

g)[line 26]IDREI- I will winnow (separate the chaff from the grain)

h)[line 26] OKIM KARYA KADAMACH- I will set up a pile of grain before you

20a)[line 27]AMALI- my labor

b)[line 27] NAFKUS YADI- my expenses

21a)[line 28] KEDEI SHE'TA'AMOD BO HA'RACHAS- in order that a pitchfork be able to stand up in it

b)[line 28]RACHAS- (O.F. pele) a shovel or pitchfork (used for winnowing)

22)[line 28] RACHAS HA'YOTZEI ME'HAI GISA L'HAI GISA- the [shovel blade of the] pitchfork is exposed on each side (and it is not completely covered by the grain of the pile, because the pile is small) (RASHI)

23)[line 29] KOL SHE'EIN KONES SHELO RO'EH PENEI HA'CHAMAH- as long as the shovel blade (of the pitchfork) fork does not see the face of the sun (i.e. it is completely covered); ("Kones" - O.F. fladon, the blade of the shovel, excluding the handle)

24)[line 31] CHUTZ MIN HA'HOTZA'AH- excluding the expenses involved

25)[line 31] PERITZEI ZEISIM V'ANAVIM- underdeveloped olives and grapes (that will never fully develop)

26)[line 32] BEIS SHAMAI METAM'IN U'VEIS HILLEL METAHARIN (TUM'AS OCHLIN)

(a)All foods become Tamei if they touch a source of Tum'ah, but only after they first become wet. From then on, even after they dry, they can still become Tamei.

(b)Seven liquids can enable foods to become Tamei: water, dew, oil, wine, milk, blood, and honey.

(c)The minimum amount of food that can become Tamei is a k'Beitzah.

(d)Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel argue whether or not underdeveloped olives and grapes qualify as "food" such that they could become Tamei.

27)[line 33]" ""... U'VNEI PARITZEI AMCHA YENASE'U LEHA'AMID CHAZON V'NICHSHALU"- "[And in those times many shall stand up against the king of the south;] and the men of violence among your own people shall exalt themselves to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail" (Daniel 11:14).

28)[line 35] ARBA'AS KABIN L'KORAH- [they produce only] four Kavim [of oil or wine] per beam-load (the amount of olives or grapes placed into the press to be pressed by the beam at one time)

29)[line 35] HA B'ASRA D'ME'AILEI KORA B'ULELA- this one was referring to a place in which they place a Kor [of olives or grapes] in the press at one time; (O.F. sac - the amount of grapes or olives which is put at any one time under the press)

105b----------------------------------------105b

30)[line 1] ALU V'ILAN SHE'KOCHO RA - if they (a person who was Tamei with Tum'as Zivah and a person who was Tahor) went up in a tree that was weak (ZAV: HESET)

(a)A Zav (Vayikra 15:1-15, see Background to Bava Kama 24:5) can cause objects that are under him to become Avos ha'Tum'ah whether he touches them or not. The objects become Tamei Midras (lit. an object that is treaded upon), otherwise known as Mishkav or Moshav ha'Zav, (or the Tachton, of a Zav). An object (other than Klei Cheres - earthenware objects) that is under him becomes a Midras only if it was made for lying, sitting, or leaning upon.

(b)A person who touches (Maga) or carries (Masa) either a Midras or a Zav themselves gets the status of Rishon l'Tum'ah, and so do the clothes he is wearing and other utensils (except for earthenware utensils) that he is touching at the time.

(c)Utensils or clothes that lie above the Zav also get the status of a Rishon l'Tum'ah, whether he touches them or not. These are called the Elyon of a Zav.

(d)A Zav also causes Tum'ah through Heset, when he moves (or outweighs on a balance scale, or on the limb of a tree, as in our Sugya) a person or an object that is Tahor. In all other types of Tum'ah besides Zav, Zavah (see Background to Bava Kama 24:2), Nidah (see Background to Kidushin 80:2b) and Yoledes (see Background to Kidushin 13:16), the Tamei who moves a person or object that is Tahor does not make that person or object Tamei. Only a Zav, etc. can be Metamei people or objects in this way.

31)[line 1] UV'SOCHAH SHE'KOCHAH RA- a tree-branch that is weak

32)[line 3] SHE'EIN B'IKARO LA'CHUK ROVA- its trunk is not thick enough for one to carve out of it [a piece of wood the size of] a Rova [of a Kav]

33)[line 4] []KOL SHE'NECHBEIS B'[A]CHZIYONAH- any branch which is hidden when one grasps it [with his hand] (i.e. his hand completely encompasses the thickness of the branch)

34)[line 5] BEIS HA'PERAS

(a)Beis ha'Peras is a general term referring to a field or an area that the Rabanan decreed to be treated as though it were Tamei, in certain respects. The Mishnayos in Ohalos (18:1-4) explain that there are three specific types of Beis ha'Peras:

1.A field in which a grave was plowed over, scattering the bones in all directions. Such a field may be planted with trees, but not with vegetables or grains. Its earth can make a person Tamei through Maga or Masa.

2.A field (that is a Reshus ha'Rabim; TOSFOS to Kesuvos 24b; RASH to Ohalos 18:3) in which a grave is known to exist but it became lost and cannot be located. In such a field, trees may not be planted but vegetables or grains may be planted. It can make a person Tamei through Ohel (and according to some Girsa'os, through Maga and Masa as well).

3.A field on the edge of a town where a corpse was brought [and mourned] before burial. Such a field may neither be planted nor sown with vegetables or grains (but its earth is not Tamei if removed from its place). There are a number of reasons why the Rabanan might have made such a field Tamei:

i.Part of a corpse may have become dislodged and fallen there (RASHI to Moed Katan 5b DH Mishum Ye'ush) [or that an entire corpse may have inadvertently been left behind there - ME'IRI ibid.].

ii.Alternatively, since a corpse is commonly found there, the Rabanan instituted that the area not be sown or planted, so as not to attract people to the area who will become Teme'im and spread Tum'ah. (PERUSH HA'MISHNAH of the Rambam to Ohalos 18:4)

iii.The prohibition against planting or sowing such a field has nothing to do with Tum'ah whatsoever. Rather, it involves a question of ownership. Since the community has made it their practice to mourn for and eulogize the dead in this field and the original owner did not protest this practice, he loses all rights to the land. The former owner cannot later decide to plant the field and deny the community the right to use it as a place for public mourning. (RITVA, RASH to Ohalos 18:4 and many Rishonim - see Vilna Ga'on Choshen Mishpat 377:2)

(b)The Bartenura offers three explanations as to why the word "Peras" was used to describe these fields: 1. Tum'ah spreads (Pores) out in all directions from the field; 2. Bones that are broken (Perusim) are strewn in the field. (These first two explanations only apply to the first of the three types of Beis ha'Peras mentioned above, (a:1)); 3. People's feet (Parsos) stay away from the area because of its Tum'ah.

(c)In the first type of Beis ha'Peras (a field with a burial plot that has been plowed), the Rabanan decreed that the field is Metamei in every direction from the grave for the length of the furrow of a plow, which is 50 Amos. This results in an area 100 Amos by 100 Amos around the grave (RASH to Ohalos 17:1). The Rabanan instituted a way to remove the Tum'ah from the area that was plowed (in certain cases) by blowing the dirt of each section of the field to check for small pieces of bone.

35)[line 6] AL GABEI AVANIM SHE'YACHOL L'HASIT- on top of stones which are able to be moved [by the person walking over them]

36)[line 8] , KOL SHE'ROCHVO, V'ARKUVOSAV NOKSHOS- any person upon whom another person rides, and his knees knock together

37)[line 10] , KOL SHE'ROCHVAH, METILAH GELALIM- any animal upon which a person rides, and it defecates

38)[line 13]() [] (MAFSHILIN) [MAFSHILAN] LA'ACHORAV- he should swing them to behind him

39)[line 16] IM HAYU TEFILIN ROTZETZOS- if the Tefilin would be crushed [by the load]

40)[line 19]ZEVEL- dung (used for fertilizer)

41)[line 20] LO YESALKEM LI'TZEDEADIN- he should not move them (the Tefilin) to the side

42)[line 20] LO YIKSHEREM B'MOSNAV- he should not tie them (the Tefilin) to his waistline

43)[line 23]MITPACHAS- the covering (of Tefilin)

44)[line 24] RIV'A D'RIV'A D'FUMBEDISA- a quarter of a quarter-Litra of Pumbedisa (a very small measure)

45)[line 27] ASBERAH LACH- I will explain to you

46)[line 29] HA'RU'ACH SHE'PIZRAH ES HA'OMARIN- if the wind scattered the sheaves [in the field, and they covered up the stalks of Leket which must be left for the poor people to take]

47)[line 29]LEKET

"Leket" refers to individual (one or two) stalks of grain that inadvertently slip out of the reaper's hand while he harvests them (by cutting them underneath with a sickle) or while he uproots them (if he is not using a sickle) (SEFER HA'CHINUCH #218; see Pe'ah 4:10 and Chidushei Anshei Shem). Such stalks may not be retrieved by the owner but must be left for the poor, as described in Vayikra (19:9-10), " ... " "v'Leket Ketzircha Lo Selaket... le'Ani vela'Ger Ta'azov Osam" - "Do not pick up the individual stalks that have fallen from the harvest... you shall leave them (the gifts of Pe'ah, Leket, Olelos, and Peret) for the poor and the stranger." If three stalks fall together, they are not considered Leket and may be retrieved by the owner.

48)[line 30] KEDEI NEFILAH- enough [produce] to use it to replant the field

49a)[line 32] MAPOLES YAD- throwing down [and sowing] the seeds by hand

b)[line 32] MAPOLES SHEVARIM- throwing down [and sowing] the seeds with oxen (by placing the seeds in a wagon (attached to the oxen) with a perforated floor)

50)[line 35] ACHALAH CHAGAV- if it was consumed by locusts

51)[line 35]NISHDEFAH- smitten by blight (alt. damage to the crops caused by searing, hot east winds)

52)[line 36] IM KIBLAH HEIMENU B'MA'OS- if he rented the field from him for [a fixed sum of] money

53)[line 38] RUBA D'VAGA- a majority of fields in the valley

54)[line 39] NISHDAF TELEM ECHAD- a single furrow/ridge (surrounding this field) was blighted [along with it, but not the entire fields surrounding this field]

55)[last line] AFSIKA BEIRA- a fallow field separated [between them]

56)[last line]ASPASTA- any plant especially adapted for use as animal fodder; grass