Bava Metzia

Bava Metzia
Tractateof theTalmud
English:	Middle Gate
Seder:	Nezikin
Number ofMishnahs:	101
Chapters:	10
Babylonian Talmudpages:	119
Jerusalem Talmudpages:	44
Toseftachapters:	11
	←Bava Kamma Bava Batra→

Bava Metzia(Jewish Babylonian Aramaic:בָּבָא מְצִיעָא,"The Middle Gate" ) is the second of the first threeTalmudictractates in the order ofNezikin( "Damages" ), the other two beingBava KammaandBava Batra.Originally all three formed a single tractate calledNezikin(torts or injuries), eachBavabeing a Part or subdivision. Bava Metzia discussescivil matterssuch asproperty lawandusury.It also examines one's obligations to guard lost property that have been found, or property explicitlyentrustedto him.

Mishnah

The Mishnah of Bava Metzia contains ten chapters.

Honorary trustee (Shomer Hinam), chapters 1-3

An honorary trustee is one who finds lost property. He has to keep it asshomer hinam(watching over another's property without receiving any remuneration) until he can restore it to the rightful owner (Deut 22:1–3). The laws as to what constitutes finding, what to do with the things found, how to guard against falseclaimants,how to take care of the property found, under what conditions the finder of a thing is bound to take care of it, and under what conditions he is not so obligated—all this is explained in the first two chapters. A trustee who takes no payment is only responsible for such loss of the entrusted property as has been caused through the trustee'snegligence(peshi'ah). The mode of procedure in such cases, and the laws concerning eventualfines,are discussed in 2:1; all other laws concerning the responsibilities and the rights of theshomer hinamare contained in 3:4–12.

Sale and Trust, chapters 4-5

Contains various laws concerning sale and exchange. The payment of money does not finalize the sale; and the buyer may legally cancel the sale and claim a refund until he has "drawn" the purchased item away from its place: this "drawing" (meshikhah) makes the sale final. Until such act is performed the seller is to some extent ashomer hinamof the money paid. Similarly, the buyer may become ashomer hinamof the thing bought, if, on finding that he has been cheated, he wants to cancel the sale, to return the thing bought, and to claim the money back. What constitutes cheating / fraud (onaah) is defined in the course of this chapter, stating that where the seller charges one-sixth (1⁄6) more than the going price, it is counted asfraud,or overcharging.

Chapter 5 deals with laws concerning interest, which have nothing in common with the laws concerningshomer hinambeyond the fact that taking interest and cheating (onaahof chapter 4) both consist of an illegal addition to what is actually due. The laws prohibiting the taking of interest are very severe, and extend to all business transactions that in any way resemble the taking of interest. The two terms for interest appearing inLev 25:36,neshekh(interest), andtarbit(increase), are explained and illustrated by examples (5:1–10). According to the Mishnah "the lender, who takes interest, the borrower who pays it, the witnesses, the security, and the clerk who writes the document, are all guilty of having broken the law concerning interest" (5:11). SeeLoans and interest in Judaism.

A paid trustee (Shomer Sakhar), chapters 6-7

A paid trustee is liable to pay for all losses except those caused by an accident (ones). He has to swear that such an accident happened, and is thereupon free from payment (7:8–10). The example given in the Mishnah ofshomer sakharis that of anartisanwho undertakes to produce certain work out of a given material. If the material is spoiled, or the work produced is not according to agreement, he has to pay. As the hirer (sokher) has the same liability as theshomer sakhar,some laws relating to thesokherare included in chapter 6. From the paid trustee the Mishnah passes over (chapter 7) to the workman (po'el) in general, and regulates the working time, the food, and also the rights of the workman to partake of the fruit of the field or vineyard while working there (Deut 23:25–26).

Borrower (Shoel), chapter 8:1-3

A borrower or hirer is liable to pay for every kind of loss, including loss through accident, except "if the lender is with him" (Exodus 22:14); that is, according to the traditional interpretation, if the lender was likewise at work with him, for payment or without payment.

Hirer (Sokher), chapters 8:6-9 and 9

The laws of asokherof movable property having been given in chapter 6, Mishnah 8:6-9 and 9:1-10 discuss thesokherofimmovable property;and the relations between the tenant of a house and hislandlord,and between the farmer of a field and its owner. Among the laws that regulate these relations are the following: If the tenant takes a house for a year, and the year happens to be aleap year,the tenant occupies the house thirteen months for the same price. The tenant cannot be evicted in the winter betweenSukkotandPassover,unless notice be given one month before the beginning of the winter. In large towns and for shops, one year's notice is required.

9:11-12, taking up again the subject of hiring, regulate the various terms for paying the due wages (based onLev 19:13andDeut 24:14–15). The last section of chapter 9 defines the rights of the creditor in accordance withDeut 24:6,10–13.

The final chapter (10) regulates the relations between joint owners and neighbors, in dwellings and in fields. The last case mentioned is especially interesting as showing a highly developed state of agricultural jurisdiction in the Mishnaic days.

Tosefta and Gemara

TheToseftain Bava Metzia is divided into eleven chapters, which correspond to the ten chapters of the Mishnah in the following way: Chapters 1-2 correspond to chapters 1-2 of the Mishnah; chapter 3 to chapters 3-4 of the Mishnah; chapters 4-6 to chapter 5 of the Mishnah; chapter 7 — which begins "he who hires workmen" (po'alin) instead of "he who hires artisans" (umanin) — to Mishnah 6:1; and chapter 8 correspond to chapters 6-8 of the Mishnah; chapters 9-10 to chapter 9; chapter 11 to chapter 10 of the Mishnah.

TheGemara,in explaining the laws of the Mishnah, discusses a variety of similar problems, especially the Babylonian Gemara; the Jerusalem version being very meager in this respect.Rabbi Zeira,coming fromBabyloniato Jerusalem, is said to havefasteda hundred times within a certain period of time, praying that he might forget the Babylonian Gemara, and fully grasp the teachings ofRabbi Yochanan,the Jerusalem master.^[1]According toRashi,the rabbis of Jerusalem were not of a contentious disposition, and settled difficulties without much discussion (compare p. 38b: "Are you fromPumbedita,where they make an elephant pass through the eye of a needle? ").

References

^Bava Metzia 85a

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Singer, Isidore;et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Baba Mezi'a".The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

External links

[1] Bava Metzia 85a

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