A free account is required to play audio and download files.
No community start suggestion yet.
When is a person obligated to pay for benefiting from another's property without causing loss? The shiur analyzes the Gemara (גמרא)'s distinction between cases where the property owner would have rented to others (kayim l'agra) versus when he wouldn't, and explores the Rashba's challenge involving the ba'al aliyah who builds both floors. A fundamental distinction emerges between dinei hana'ah (benefit law) and dinei sechirus (rental law).
The shiur opens with a Rashba's question on the Gemara (גמרא)'s case of a ba'al aliyah (upstairs owner) who uses a beam belonging to the ba'al habayis (ground floor owner). According to Rav Yehuda, this is a case of zeh nehene vezeh lo chaser (one benefits while the other loses nothing) which requires payment due to sechirus (rental). However, the Gemara states that if the ba'al aliyah builds both floors and lives downstairs, he is exempt even according to Rav Yehuda, since it becomes zeh lo nehene (he's not benefiting, as he could move upstairs). The Rashba challenges: granted it's zeh lo nehene, but it's still zeh chaser (causing loss to the owner) - and the halacha (הלכה) generally holds one liable for zeh lo nehene vezeh chaser. How then can the builder be exempt from paying? The shiur then examines Rashi (רש"י)'s understanding of a related Gemara regarding me'ilah (misuse of consecrated property). There appears to be a textual dispute between Rashi and the Ramah regarding who is liable for me'ilah when a gizbar (treasurer) gives a consecrated beam to his friend - whether the gizbar or the recipient is considered mo'el. This leads to a broader analysis of different versions of the Gemara text.
Looking for the full summary?
Full access is available to members of the TUF Alumni Association or the Yam Hagadol Foundation.
Already a member? Let the admin know!
Bava Kamma 20b-21a
Looking for the full transcript?
Full access is available to members of the TUF Alumni Association or the Yam Hagadol Foundation.
Already a member? Let the admin know!
Dedicate a Shiur in Gemara
L'ilui nishmas a loved one. In honor of a simcha or yahrzeit. As a zechus for a refuah sheleimah. Your dedication helps carry Rabbi Zweig's Torah to learners around the world.
When an animal damages crops, the Torah prescribes a unique payment formula based on multiplying the damaged area by sixty. Does this formula redefine the actual loss, or does it merely create a payment mechanism that still acknowledges the full damage sustained? The Gemara explores whether someone who ate in doubt should pay the higher-quality amount, examining how the principle of motzi me-chaveiro alav haraya applies when payments fall within the range of actual loss.
What makes testimony valid when different witnesses testify to different parts of the same event? The Gemara debates whether the principle of "davar v'lo chatzi davar" (complete testimony, not partial) disqualifies witnesses who testify separately to theft and slaughter. Rashi's approach reveals that the issue is not merely combining elements, but whether each witness's statement is independently meaningful.
Why is a ganav who sells a stolen animal on Shabbos exempt from the fourfold/fivefold payment? The shiur analyzes whether this exemption stems from kam lei b'derabbah or from the absence of a valid mechira. The Rashba's principle that matana resembles mechira when it is "nishtarish b'chet" is explored, along with the Rambam's position on hekdesh and the distinction between giving to bedek habayis versus mizbe'ach.
When a ganav shechts a stolen animal l'avodah zarah, why isn't he patur from payment since it's already isur hana'ah? The shiur explores the fundamental machloket Rashi-Tosafot on whether the isur derives from the act of shechita or from the din shechita itself. The Gemara's application of davar garem be'mamon ke'mamon domi extends the analysis to when borrowed animals become niskal.