Bava Metzia - Daf 116
- Using a seized shechitah knife or goats to claim an unproven debt
A man once seized a shechitah knife as a משכון, and Abaye told him to return it, since it is used for food preparation, and then he should go to Beis Din to claim his debt, which he would have to prove. Rava said he does not need to bring proof, ויכול לטעון עד כדי דמיהן – and he may claim up to [the knife’s] value. Since it was in his possession, and no witnesses saw him take it, he could have claimed he had bought it. Since he did not, he must be telling the truth that this debt is owed to him, provided it is not more than the knife’s value. The Gemara wonders if Abaye disagrees with this ruling, and quotes an incident where goats ate some barley in Nehardea, and the barley owner seized the goats, and claimed a large amount of damage to his barley. Shmuel’s father ruled that he is believed to claim up until the goats’ value, since he could have claimed that he had purchased the goats. The Gemara answers that in that case, he would have been believed to claim he purchased the goats, since they are not normally rented or lent. This knife, however, is something occasionally lent out or rented, and Rav Huna bar Avin wrote: דברים העשויין להשאיל ולהשכיר – if someone is holding items which are commonly lent out or rented, and he claims to have purchased them, he is not believed. Rava would respond that people are careful with shechitah knives, which may become nicked, and do not lend them out.
- Dividing building materials of a collapsed building of two floors belonging to two people
The tenth Perek begins: הבית והעלייה של שנים שנפלו – If a ground floor and an upper story belonging to two people collapsed, שניהם חולקין בעצים ובאבנים ובעפר – they both divide the wood, stones, and earth based on the relative heights of the two structures. ורואין אלו אבנים העשויות להשתבר – And we assess which stones were more likely to break and distribute the stones accordingly. If the building collapsed downward, the lower story’s stones are more likely broken, and if the wall fell outward, the upper stones (which fell further) are more likely broken. The Gemara explains that the first ruling, that the stones are divided evenly, must be where the building fell at night, and the stones were cleared by people in the street who left, so we cannot determine how the building fell. The Gemara asks: וליחזי ברשות דמאן יתבן – let us see in whose property [the stones] are sitting after they were cleared away, and the other party seeking to take them will be subject to המוציא מחבירו עליו הראיה!? The Gemara answers that the case is where the stones are in a property they jointly own, or neither owns, or that such partners usually allow each other to keep things in each other’s property.
- A rented upper story which partially collapsed, re: upper tenant living in lower story until rebuilt
The next Mishnah states that if a rented upper story partially collapsed, and the homeowner does not want to repair it, הרי בעל העלייה יורד ודר למטה – the [tenant] of the upper story may descend and live in the lower apartment עד שיתקן לו את העלייה – until [the homeowner] repairs the upper story. Rebbe Yose says the tenant is responsible to provide the plaster which covers the ceiling. Rabbah explains the case is ברובה – where most of [the floor] collapsed, but Shmuel says it applies even בארבעה – where only four square tefachim of floor collapsed. Rabbah holds: אדם דר חציו למטה וחציו למעלה – a person can live partially below and partially above, so if most of the upper story is intact, he can only use the lower story to replace his missing space. Shmuel holds a person cannot be expected to live on two different floors and may move downstairs if a significant portion of the floor collapsed. The Mishnah’s case is where the landlord said: "עלייה זו שעל גבי בית זה אני משכיר לך" – I am renting to you this upper story, which is on top of this lower story, thereby committing the lower story to the tenant if the upper one collapses.
