[52a - 28 lines; 52b - 32 lines]
1)[line 1]יעשה לו סגולהYA'ASEH LO SEGULAH- they should set up an investment for him, as the Gemara below explains, either a Sefer Torah or a fruit-bearing date-palm
2a)[line 3]יעשה כפירושןYA'ASEH K'FEIRUSHAN- he should do as they explicitly stated
b)[line 3]יעשה פירוש לפירושןYA'ASEH PEIRUSH L'FEIRUSHAN- he should interpret their statements, i.e. he should return it to the husband, the master or the father (RASHBAM)
3)[line 4]דביתהו דרבה בר בר חנהDEVIS'HU D'RABAH BAR BAR CHANAH- the wife of Rabah bar bar Chanah
4)[line 4]כי קא שכבהKI KA SHACHVAH- when she was dying
5)[line 5]הני כיפי דמרתא ובני ברתאHANEI KIFEI D'MARTA U'VENEI VERATA- these earrings (O.F. anels - rings, jewelry) belong to Marta and the sons of his daughter
6a)[line 6]אי מהימנא לךIY MEHEIMNA LACH- if she is trustworthy to you (that she did not steal them from you)
b)[line 8]אי אמידא לךIY AMIDA LACH- (a) if they (Marta and the sons of his daughter) are wealthy such that it is plausible that they would deposit jewelry with your wife (RASHBAM, 1st explanation); (b) if you believe your wife to be wealthy because she has friends who have given her money and possessions on the condition that you have no ownership over them (and she wants to give this jewelry to Marta and the sons of his daughter) (RASHBAM, 2nd explanation)
7)[line 13]אפילו חָלְקוּAFILU CHALKU- (lit. even if they (a father and son) separated [from one another]) even if a son has stopped being supported by his father [they are not able to attain a Chazakah on each other's lands, since the presence of one on the lands of the other is not likely to bring about the protest of the other]
8)[line 16]אישתעי לי רב חייאISHTA'I LI RAV CHIYA- Rav Chiya said to me
9)[line 17]מהורמיז ארדשירHURMIZ ARDESHIR- Weh-Ardashir or Ardjir, formerly Seleucia, ancient city of Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). Seleucia was founded by King Seleucus I, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, sometime after 311 BCE, on the west bank of the Tigris River northeast of Babylon, which was despoiled to supply materials for its construction. Controlling the navigation of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as well as the commerce of Mesopotamia, the city rapidly rose to wealth and splendor, becoming a famous center of Hellenistic civilization. When in the 2nd century BCE Mesopotamia came under the rule of Parthia, Seleucia continued as a great commercial city and in the 1st century CE had a population of 600,000. The city was partly burned by the Roman emperor Trajan in 116 CE, and in 164 CE it was completely destroyed by the Roman general Avidius Cassius in his campaign against the Parthians. The destruction of Seleucia marked the end of Hellenistic civilization in Mesopotamia. Ardashir I, king of the New Persian Empire (224-241 CE) and founder of the Sassanid Dynasty, built Weh-Ardashir on the ruins of Seleucia.
10a)[line 22]אונותONOS- deeds of purchase (lit. "strengths," for they give legal strength to the bearer of these documents)
b)[line 22]ושטרותSHETAROS- loan documents
11)[line 25]אבאABA- Rav. Rav is called Aba (a) as a title of authority, since Rav was older than Shmuel (RASHI to Yevamos 57b); (b) because that was his name (RASHBAM, ARUCH, Erech Abaye, cited by TOSFOS to Chulin 38a DH Itztrich)
12)[line 26]כלום טענינן להו ליתמי מידי דלא טען להו אבוהון?KELUM TA'ANINAN LEHU L'YASMEI MIDI D'LO TA'AN LEHU AVUHON?!- Do we (Beis Din) make a claim for them (the orphans) using a claim that their father could not use? (That is, Rav rules that while he was alive, their father needed to bring proof that the money specified by the documents belonged to him. What changed after his death such that the brothers of their father must now prove that the money did not belong to their father?)
13)[line 27]זוגא דסרבלאZUGA D'SARBELA- (a) scissors used for cutting wool (RASHBAM); (b) according to the Girsa זווא דסרבלא ZAVA D'SARBELA - a pair of woolen cloaks (ARUCH)
14)[line 27]וספרא דאגדתאSAFRA D'AGADTA- a book of Agadah (Midrashim)
15)[last line]בדברים העשוים להשאיל ולהשכירBI'DEVARIM HE'ASUYIM L'HASH'IL UL'HASKIR- in a case regarding things that a person lends or rents out to others (i.e. the Zuga d'Sarbela and the Safra d'Agadta are things that a person normally lends or rents out)
52b----------------------------------------52b
16)[line 4]דאין חלוקין בעיסתןEIN CHALUKIN B'ISASAN- where they do not divide [anything among themselves, including] the dough [that is used to make the bread that they eat] (and as such, we suspect that any money that he used to purchase land and to give out loans belongs to the estate and should be shared equally among the heirs, unless he brings proof that it belonged to him)
17)[line 5]מעיסתו קימץME'ISASO KIMETZ- he scrimped from his dough [enough to eventually sell and put aside money for himself]
18)[line 6]בקיום השטרKIYUM HA'SHTAR (KIYUM SHETAROS)
(a)Mid'Oraisa, a Shtar (contract) or Get which was written legally and signed by witnesses is considered absolute proof. The Chachamim, out of fear of forgeries, required that every Shtar be validated ("Kiyum") in one of the following manners:
1.The witnesses themselves attest to the validity of their signatures.
2.Two other witnesses who recognize the signatures attest to their validity.
3.The signatures are matched to those on a previously validated Shtar or Get.
(b)In our Sugya, Rabah and Rav Sheshes are arguing according to the ruling of Rav, who requires the oldest brother to bring proof that the money he used belonged to him. Rav Sheshes requires that he validate his Shtaros as proof. Rabah rules that this is not sufficient proof, but rather he must bring witnesses to attest to his ownership.
19)[line 21]אטו כל הני דאמרינן, לאו בני חזקה נינהו?!ATU KOL HANEI D'AMRINAN, LAV BENEI CHAZAKAH NINHU?!- Is this to say that the cases that follow in the Mishnah (Daf 42a), e.g. a person who gives a gift or brothers who divide their father's estate, cannot accomplish a Kinyan through a Chazakah?!
20a)[line 23]בחזקה שיש עמה טענהCHAZAKAH SHE'YESH IMAH TA'ANAH- [a person who is in the process of making] a Chezkas Shalosh Shanim [on a piece of land] while a Me'ar'er protests his claim
b)[line 25]חזקה שאין עמה טענהCHAZAKAH SHE'EIN IMAH TA'ANAH- [a person who is in the process of making] a Chazakah as an act of acquisition [on a piece of land] where there is no protest [to his claim]
21)[line 26]והאחין שחלקוHA'ACHIN SHE'CHALKU- brothers who divided [their father's estate]
22)[line 26]והמחזיק בנכסי הגרHA'MACHAZIK B'NICHSEI HA'GER (NICHSEI HA'GER SHE'MES)
(a)When a Jew dies, his closest relatives inherit his estate (according to the hierarchy established by the Torah, as recorded in Bamidbar 27:8-11). Because all Jews are related to each other (at least through Yakov Avinu and his sons), every Jew must have heirs. A convert, however, may have no heirs (since his non-Jewish relatives do not inherit his estate). When a convert dies without heirs, his estate becomes Hefker (ownerless). The first person who takes possession of his belongings becomes their owner.
(b)In order to take possession of the estate of a convert who dies without any heirs, one must make a Ma'aseh Kinyan, a formal Halachically-binding act denoting the acquisition of any part of the estate, as in all cases of taking possession of items that are Hefker. Depending on what object one is acquiring, different Kinyanim are used. The forms of Kinyan that may be used for the acquisition of the Metaltelin (mobile items) of a Ger are Hagbahah (i.e. lifting the item), Meshichah (i.e. pulling the item or causing it to move), and Chatzer (i.e. bringing the item into one's private domain). The only form of Kinyan that may be used for the acquisition of the land of a Ger is Chazakah (i.e. performing an act that is normally performed only by an owner).
23a)[line 28]נָעַלNA'AL- [if the one who takes possession of the Nichsei ha'Ger hung a door and] locked it
b)[line 28][ו]גדרGADAR- [if he] fenced in [the property]
c)[line 28][ו]פרץPARATZ- [if he] made a breach in a fence to create an entrance
24)[line 29]בקדושין דבי לויKIDUSHIN D'VEI LEVI- the Tosefta of Kidushin taught by Levi, i.e. his collection of Beraisa'os to Maseches Kidushin
25)[last line]לך חזק וקניLECH CHAZEK U'KENI - "Go, do an act of Chazakah, and acquire it" (KINYAN CHAZAKAH)
(a)When a person buys an object, he must make a Ma'aseh Kinyan, a formal Halachically-binding act denoting his acquisition of the object, in order for the sale to be irrevocably binding. Depending on what object one is acquiring, different Kinyanim are used (see Background to Bava Kama 51:26). For acquiring land, the Kinyan can be made by the giving over of money, the writing of a Shtar, or the making of a Chazakah.
(b)Examples of Chazakah for real estate are Na'al (locking), Gadar (fencing in), and Paratz (making a breach in a fence to create an entrance) or any act that is done to enhance the land, such as digging to improve a field and the like (MISHNAH Bava Basra 42a).
(c)In our Sugya, Rava rules that if the buyer performs an act of Chazkah on the land in the presence of the seller, the Kinyan takes effect immediately, even if the seller has not verbally expressed his agreement that he acquire it through Chazakah (and even before the buyer pays the agreed price).