Bava Kamma - Daf 17
- כל העוסק בתורה ובגמילות חסדים זוכה לנחלת שני שבטים
Rebbe Yochanan quoted Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai commenting on the passuk: אשריכם זורעי על כל מים משלחי רגל השור והחמור – Praiseworthy are you who sow by all waters, who send forth the feet of the ox and the donkey. This teaches: כל העוסק בתורה ובגמילות חסדים – Whoever occupies himself with Torah learning and bestowing kindness, זוכה לנחלת שני שבטים – merits the inheritance of two shevatim, referring to Yosef and Yissachar. He presents pesukim demonstrating that "זריעה" alludes to tzedakah, and that "מים" alludes to Torah. He then explains the inheritance merited: זוכה לכילה כיוסף – he merits a “canopy,” (i.e., glory) like Yosef, canopy refers to glory, וזוכה לנחלת יששכר – and merits the inheritance (i.e., wealth) of Yissachar, and quotes pessukim to support each. Alternatively: אויביו נופלים לפניו כיוסף – his enemies fall before him like Yosef’s fell before him, וזוכה לבינה כיששכר – and merits understanding like Yissachar (pessukim are quoted for each).
- Machlokes Tannaim if צרורות pay only half-damages
The second Perek begins: כיצד הרגל מועדת – Regarding what is the foot of an animal mu’ad? לשבר בדרך הלוכה – To break things on the way of its walking. Later, it says: שהיו צרורות מנתזין מתחת רגליה – if pebbles were shooting out from under its feet, and it broke utensils, משלם חצי נזק – [the owner] pays half of the damages. Similarly, if it stepped on a utensil and broke it, and a piece of it fell on a second utensil and broke it, he would pay full damages of the first, and half of the second (whose damage was indirect). The Gemara quotes three Baraisos demonstrating that the law of צרורות is a machlokes. The first is a case of ordinary צרורות, and a hog which was digging and caused pebbles to fly and damage. The second speaks of chickens which were fluttering, and wind from their wings broke utensils. The third describes chickens stirring up earth that damaged food. In all three, the Tanna Kamma obligates paying half-damages, and Sumchos requires full payment. Rava ultimately explains that all Tannaim agree that כחו כגופו דמי – one’s force is like his body, and such damage is considered direct. Still, the Rabbonon hold: וחצי נזק צרורות הלכתא גמירי לה – half-damage payment for צרורות was received as a halachah leMoshe miSinai.
- בתר מעיקרא או בתר תבר מנא
Rava asked: דרסה על כלי ולא שברתו – If [an animal] trampled a utensil but did not break it immediately, ונתגלגל למקום אחר ונשבר – and it rolled elsewhere and broke on impact, what is the halachah? בתר מעיקרא אזלינא וגופיה הוא – Do I follow the beginning of the process, and it is thus [the animal’s] body which broke the utensil, או דלמא בתר תבר מנא אזלינא וצרורות נינהו – or do I follow the moment of the utensil’s breaking, and it would be צרורות? The Gemara asks that this question can be resolved from Rabbah’s ruling: זרק כלי מראש הגג – If one threw a utensil from the top of a roof, ובא אחר ושברו במקל פטור – and someone else came and broke it with a stick, [the second person] is exempt from paying, דאמרינן ליה מנא תבירא תבר – because we say to him, “He has merely broken an already broken utensil.” Since we consider the utensil broken at the beginning of the process, the damage in Rava’s case should be considered inflicted directly by the animal’s body (and pay in full). The Gemara concedes that Rabbah’s ruling would resolve Rava’s inquiry, but Rava himself was uncertain about Rabbah’s ruling.
