The mishna discusses someone who sees an item and asks someone to pick it up for him. As long as he hasn’t yet handed it to the person who asked him to pick it up, the person can claim that it is his own. The gemara tries to reconcile this with a mishna in Peah that describes someone who takes part of the corner of another’s field on behalf of a poor person. There is a concept that one who takes money from a debtor for a friend when the debtor also owes others and may not have enough funds to go around cannot acquire the money for his friend. The question is does the same thing apply to a lost item since potentially it is causing everyone else not to acquire it or do we say since there is no potential financial loss for anyone as the lost item wasn’t something they are owed, then he can acquire it for the friend. The mishna then discusses that one who jumps on an item also doesn’t acquire it. Reish Lakish brings a halacha that one acquires everything within 4 cubits surrounding a person. The gemara then questions this from a mishna in Peah and also our mishna and two answers are brought for each source to explain why it doesn’t contradict. Reish Lakish and Rabbi Yochanan debate whether a minor girl’s divorce document can be given to her by placing in her courtyard or in the 4 cubits surrounding her. The gemara explains that the argument is based on whether a courtyard functions as an extension of one’s hand or as a messenger.
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