Bava Batra 14

 Bava Batra  No Responses »
Feb 052017
 

Can one write a scroll with Torah, Neviim and Ketuvim together?  How many lines does one leave at the end of a book?  Can one start a book at the beginning of a section of parchment?  What is the ideal size for a Torah scroll to be?  How does that size work together with the opinion that there was a sefer Torah that sat in the Aron in the Beit Hamikdash?  There is a debate regarding the size of the aron and whether or not there was a Torah inside or adjacent to the aron.   The gemara then discusses the order of the books of Tanach, which has several differences from the order in the Tanachim that we use today.

Study Guide Bava Batra 14

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Bava Batra 12

 Bava Batra  No Responses »
Feb 032017
 

Different situations are described where one can’t block off entrances or pathways (even if they belong to them) that others use.  Even in a case where there are alternate paths.  Are the rabbis viewed as replacements for prophets?  Some stories are brought that show that children and mentally handicapped people can prophesize.  A firstborn can insist that his double portions be 2 pieces of adjacent lands.  Can other brothers insist on that in a case where they already own the land nearby?   Different positions and situations are brought.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Bava Batra 11

 Bava Batra  No Responses »
Feb 022017
 

Can one accept charity from non Jews?  What are the minimum sizes of courtyards, fields and gardens to be able to insist that one who the property is shared with needs to split it into 2 separate parts.  The same is discussed to various other items – bath house, hallway, tallit, etc.  Only a sefer Torah can never be split.  A discussion ensues regarding the size for a courtyard (4 square cubits) – does it include the entranceway or not?  each house gets an additional 4 cubits outside their door for unloading,  If one house has more doors, do they get more of the courtyard – how exactly does it get divided?  Various other situations are discussed – if there is a portico and one would not need space to unlaod as one can use the portico, etc.  Law regarding shared courtyards that lead to an alleyway are discussed – does one have the right to open an entrance to a different alleyway without the approval of those who already have access to the alleyway.  Can one close up an entrance from his courtyard to the alleyway because it may cause others to walk more of a distance to get to the alleyway?  Does or does it not depend on whether he is on the inner part of the alleyway and therefore others don’t go through there anyway?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Bava Batra 7

 Bava Batra  No Responses »
Jan 292017
 

Rav Chama brings 4 halachot – 3 relating to whether people have the right to make others living next door/on top of them tear down walls, houses, etc. to make their living space better.  The third relates to concern over people taking advantage of orphans and forging documents to get out of repaying a loan.   For what things can we force members of a courtyard to share costs for?  Do residents of the town need to share the costs for a wall to protect the city and a door and lock?  Do all the residents need to partake in an equal manner or do the wealthy need to pay more or do the ones living closer to the wall need to pay more as they need the protection more?  Do talmidei chachamim need to pay at all because they are considered protected from God?  2 different verses are brought to show that they do not need protection.  However Rabbi Yehuda Nesia insisted the talmidei chachamim pay.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Bava Batra 5

 Bava Batra  No Responses »
Jan 272017
 

If a neighbor is surrounded on three sides by one land owner and that land owner put up 3 walls, the inner neighbor doesn’t need to pay.  But if a fourth wall is put up, he does.  There is a debate about whether it matters who put up the fourth wall and whether or not the inner neighbor needs to share the costs of just the 4th wall or all the walls.  Or whether he needs to pay according to the actual cost of the wall or only according to the cheapest market rate for a wall or possibly even only for what it would cost to hire a watchman to protect the field.  A story is brought about Ravina and Runia who were neighbors and got into a court case about this as Runia didn’t want to share in the costs.  If a wall between 2 neighbors falls, even if the wall was higher to begin with, one need only chip in to build a four cubit high wall.  However if one builds an inner walls and plans to attach a roof from the high was to the new inner wall, one shows that the high wall serves his needs and needs to share the cost.  The mishna makes assumptions about in which situations we can assume the neighbor has already paid and in which not.  The gemara attempts to connect this with assumptions about one was can be believed that one returned a loan if the lender says he/she did not.  The gemara rejects the connection between the cases.

Study Guide Bava Batra 5

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Bava Batra 4

 Bava Batra  No Responses »
Jan 262017
 

How did Herod who began as a slave end up being a king?  And how did he end up being the one who renovated the Beit Hamikdash?  What are the halachot in a garden or in a field where there is no custom?  In a case where one cannot force the other to build a wall, one builds it on one’s property exclusively and puts a sign on it.  What is the sign?  Why in the case where both build the wall does the mishna say to put up a sign on both sides?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Bava Batra 3

 Bava Batra  No Responses »
Jan 252017
 

A version of the previous sugya is brought – in the exact opposite direction – the gemara leans toward the explanation that mechitza means to split the property and it is a property that is small (less than 4 amot by 4 amot for each side).  As a result, various questions are brought on that reading, much like in the previous sugya where the gemara sided with the explanation that mechitza is a wall and various questions were brought on that interpretation.  The size of the bricks and stones mentioned in the mishna is discussed.  Then a halacha of Rav Chisda is brought: one cannot knock down a shul unless one already has a new shul in its place.  This leads in to a story about Herod.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Bava Batra 2

 Bava Batra  No Responses »
Jan 242017
 

Study Guide Bava Batra 2

Relations between partners who want to divide property are discussed.  Can one force the other to build a wall – both to help with paying for it and for using the space in his property to build it.  The mishna is explained in two different ways and the gemara discusses each of these explanations.  The basis of the argument is do we say that looking into another’s courtyard is considered damages or not.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

 Newer Entries