[108a - 41 lines; 108b - 38 lines]
1)[line 2]בארבאARBA- a boat
2)[line 4]"... וְיַד הַשָּׂרִים וְהַסְּגָנִים הָיְתָה בַּמַּעַל הַזֶּה רִאשׁוֹנָה""... V'YAD HA'SARIM VEHA'SEGANIM HAYESAH BA'MA'AL HA'ZEH RISHONA"- "... and the hand of the officials and the regents has been foremost in this trespass." (Ezra 9:2)
3)[line 9]הכל לאיגלי גפאHA'KOL L'IGLEI GAPA- everyone must pay for the upkeep of the gates of the city
4)[line 11]רבנן לא צריכי נטירותאRABANAN LO TZERICHEI NETIRUSA- true Torah scholars do not need protection (since their Torah learning protects them, as the verse states "בְּשָׁכְבְּךָ תִּשְׁמֹר עָלֶיךָ" "b'Shochbecha Tishmor Alecha" - [When you walk, it (the Torah) shall lead you;] when you sleep, it shall protect you; [and when you awake, it shall talk with you.]" - Mishlei 6:22)
5)[line 11]לכריא דפתיאL'CHARYA D'FASYA- for digging wells for drinking water
6)[line 12]דלא נפקא באוכלוזאD'LO NAFKA B'UCHLUZA- when the townspeople do not go out to dig the wells themselves (but rather hire laborers to do so)
7)[line 14]לכריא דנהראL'CHARYA D'NAHARA- for digging out a [blocked up] river or canal
8)[line 15]תתאי מסייעי עילאיTATA'EI MESAYE'EI ILA'EI- those who live down river assist those who live upriver
9)[line 16]וחילופא במיא דמיטראV'CHILUFA B'MAYA D'MITRA- and [with regard to a river that carries blockages of silt and mud,] the opposite is true after a rainfall. (Those who live upriver must help those who live down river to dig the sewage canals that allow drainage, while those who live downriver do not have to help those who live upriver.)
10)[line 17]המסתפקותHA'MISTAPEKOS- that are supplied with
11)[line 17]ממעיןMA'AYAN- a spring of water
12)[line 20]מקלחות מיםMEKALCHOS MAYIM- that pour [sewage] water
13)[line 21]לביבBIV- a ditch or open pipe that carries sewage water out of a private property
14)[line 24]דאחזיק ברקתא דנהראD'ACHZIK RAKESA D'NAHARA- [a person] who takes possession of the land at the bank of the river. (In the time of the Persian dominion, the law was that anyone could take possession of land that was not owned by anyone else, on condition that he paid land tax for the land that he claimed.)
15)[line 25]והאידנא דקא כתבי פרסאיV'HA'IDNA D'KA KASVEI PARSA'EI- nowadays that the Persian authorities write [in the contracts of a person who buys a field adjacent to the river bank]
16)[line 25]קני לך עד מלי צוארי סוסיא מיאKANI LACH AD MALEI TZAVAREI SUSYA MAYA- "You own the property [of the riverbank and riverbed] until the height of the neck of a horse." (Nevertheless, the practice was for the owner of the field adjacent to the riverbank to build his fence far from the riverbank, leaving enough space for the people carrying merchandise on boats on the river to load and unload their merchandise on the riverbank. Consequently, if another person comes and seizes that land, we remove him from it, since it legally belongs to the field owner -RASHI.)
17)[line 30]דינא דבר מצראDINA D'VAR METZRA
When a person sells a field, the owner of the neighboring field has the first rights to buy it. If the owner sells it to someone else, then the neighbor has the right to take the field from him by paying the purchase price. This is an enactment of the Chachamim based on the verse, "וְעָשִׂיתָ הַיָּשָׁר וְהַטּוֹב" "v'Asisa ha'Yashar v'ha'Tov" (Devarim 6:18).
18)[line 32]אתא אימליך ביהASA IMLICH BEI- he (the prospective buyer of the property) came to ask advice from him (the owner of the neighboring property regarding whether or not he should buy the land)
19)[line 32]אמר ליה איזיל איזבוןAMAR LEI EIZIL IZBUN- he (the prospective buyer) said to him (the owner of the neighboring property), "Shall I go and buy it?"
20)[line 33]צריך למיקנא מיניה או לא?TZARICH L'MIKNA MINEI O LO?- Does he need to make a Kinyan with him (confirming the sincerity of the words of the owner of the neighboring property, so that the owner will not come later and take the land away from the buyer) or not?
21)[line 35]אייקור וזול ברשותיהAYAKUR V'ZOL BI'RESHUSEI- it appreciated or depreciated while in his (the Bar Metzra's) possession (since he retained the right to buy it)
22)[line 36]זבן במאה ושוי מאתןZAVAN B'ME'AH V'SHAVI MASAN- if the third party bought it for 100, and it was really worth 200
23)[line 38]לתקוני שדרתיך ולא לעוותיL'SAKUNI SHEDARTICH V'LO L'AVUSI- I sent you to benefit me and not to cause me a loss
24)[line 40]אין אונאה לקרקעותEIN ONA'AH L'KARKA'OS - there is no law of Ona'ah with regard to purchases of land (ONA'AH)
(a)The law of Ona'ah is that if a seller makes a profit (without the purchaser's knowledge) of one sixth of the total value on an item that he sells, the transaction is valid, but the seller must return the profit to the purchaser. If the profit is less than one sixth, nothing is returned. If the profit is more than one sixth, the sale is invalid even if the profit is returned.
(b)With regard to sales of real estate, even if the profit is more than one sixth, the sale is valid and nothing is returned.
25)[line 40]גריוא דארעאGERIVA D'AR'A- the size of a field needed for a Geriva, or Se'ah, of seed (1 Se'ah = approximately 7.2, 8.29 or 14.4 liters, depending upon the differing Halachic opinions). The size of this field is 2500 square Amos (approximately 519.84, 576 or 829.4 square meters, depending upon the differing Halachic opinions)
26a)[last line]עידיתIDIS- highest-quality land
b)[last line]זיבוריתZIBURIS- poorest-quality land
108b----------------------------------------108b
27)[line 1]איערומי קא מעריםI'ARUMEI KA MA'ARIM- he is using a deceptive act (by buying a small piece of land in the middle of the owner's property, the purchaser is making himself a Bar Metzra so that later he will be able to buy more of the owner's land and he will not be prevented from doing so by the other neighbor.)
28)[line 3]אחריותACHRAYUS
(a)"Achrayus" (lit. "responsibility") is a way of insuring the purchase of land or the repayment of a debt. A person who sells a field to someone else can guarantee the field by obligating himself in Achrayus. If it is determined afterwards that the seller did not have the right to sell the land (for example, if there was a lien on the property and it was claimed by a creditor as repayment for a loan), the assets of the seller are made available to the buyer to collect the value of the property that was removed from his possession. If the field was purchased without Achrayus, the buyer has no legal claim against the seller, and he is not compensated at all for his loss (Bava Basra 44b).
(b)There is an argument among the Tana'im as to whether a seller automatically accepts upon himself Achrayus whenever he sells a property or obligates himself to pay someone (e.g. by writing a document of debt or a Kesuvah) with a Shtar (a legal document), even if it did not state in the Shtar that he accepts upon himself Achrayus for the sale. Rebbi Yehudah states that "Achrayus Ta'us Sofer"; the sale or debt does have Achrayus and the scribe simply forgot to include it in the Shtar. Rebbi Meir rules that we follow the plain reading of the Shtar, and therefore there is no Achrayus (Bava Metzia 13b).
(c)The Gemara (ibid. 15b) concludes that even if Achrayus was not written in the Shtar, the seller is obligated in Achrayus unless he made an explicit condition to be absolved of Achrayus.
(d)In the case of our Gemara, one who gave a gift of land made an explicit condition to be obligated in Achrayus. This tells us that the transaction was in actuality a sale, for no one would take Achrayus for a gift (as there was ostensibly no loss of money to the recipient - RASHI).
29)[line 8]ארי אברחי לך ממצראARI AVRECHI LACH MI'METZRA- I have chased away a lion (i.e. a destructive element) from your border
30)[line 10]שמותי ודאי משמתינן ליהSHEMUTEI VADAI MESHAMTINAN LEI - we certainly put him in excommunication [until he agrees to accept any liability that comes as a result of his sale of the property to a Nochri] (SHAMTA - excommunication)
See Background to Bava Kama 112:22.
31)[line 12]משכנתאMASHKANTA- a tract of land held as security for a debt
32)[line 14]דשכונה גביהDI'SHECHUNAH GABEI- [the property] which dwells with him (the lender) (and thus the lender who is holding the property as a security is considered a neighbor, and another Bar Metzra cannot prevent him from buying that land)
33)[line 15]למכור ברחוק ולגאול בקרובLIMKOR B'RACHOK V'LIG'OL B'KAROV- [if the seller wishes] to sell property that is far away, and to redeem it with [purchasing] land that is nearby
34)[line 17]לכרגאKERAGA- head-tax
35)[line 17]ולמזוניMEZONEI (MEZONOS HA'ALMANAH VEHA'BANOS)
(a)As long as they are married, a husband must provide his wife with Mezonos (sustenance). According to some Tana'im, this obligation is mid'Oraisa and is learned from the verse "שְׁאֵרָהּ... לֹא יִגְרָע" "She'erah... Lo Yigra" (Shemos 21:10). Other Tana'im maintain that the obligation to provide one's wife with Mezonos is only mid'Rabanan. It is one of the Tena'ei Kesuvah (stipulations of the Jewish marriage contract) which are imposed by Beis Din upon every Jewish man and wife (Kesuvos 47b, see Background to Gitin 48:24). Another Tenai Kesuvah is that after he dies, his daughters must be allowed to live in the house in which he lived, and must be provided for by his household, until they become married.
(b)If he dies before his wife, his wife must also be allowed to live in the house in which he lived and must be provided for by his household (with Mezonos) until she remarries. (This stipulation was only made in Yerushalayim and the Galil. In Yehudah, the heirs reserved for themselves the right to give her the value of her Kesuvah and have her find herself a new home.) (Mishnayos Kesuvos 4:7-12)
36)[line 20]אכרזתאACHRAZTA (HACHRAZAH)
(a)Before Beis Din sells a property inherited by orphans to pay a debt of their father (or to pay other debts, as mentioned in our Gemara), they must first estimate the value of the property and then announce for thirty consecutive days (or for a period of sixty days on Mondays and Thursdays) that they are selling the property of orphans. They make the announcements in the morning and the evening, at the time that workers are going to and coming back from work. The announcements in the morning are made so that a prospective buyer can ask his worker to evaluate the property on his way to work; the announcements in the evening are made to remind the prospective buyer about the property so that he will ask his worker how much the property produces.
(b)At the time that the announcements are made, the distinguishing marks and the boundaries of the property are announced. Likewise, Beis Din announces the amount that the field produces, the estimated value, and the reason that it is being sold (whether to pay back a loan or to pay the Kesuvah of a widow. Some people prefer to pay a creditor because he will accept imperfect coins as payment, and some people prefer to pay a widow since she usually gets paid in small installments.)
(c)If Beis Din sold the property without a Hachrazah, the sale is invalid and the property has to be sold again with a Hachrazah. However, if Beis Din is selling the property in order to pay the head-tax of the orphans, to pay for the food of the widow or orphans, or to pay for the burial of the father or orphans, they do not make a Hachrazah, because there is no time to spare (Erchin 21b, RAMBAM Hilchos Malveh v'Loveh 12:8, 10-11).
37)[line 24]שכן וקרוב, מאי?SHACHEN V'KAROV, MAI?- If one person is a neighbor, and the other person is a relative, what is the Halachah (does the law of Bar Metzra apply)?
38)[line 25]"טוֹב שָׁכֵן קָרוֹב מֵאָח רָחוֹק""TOV SHACHEN KAROV ME'ACH RACHOK"- "A close neighbor is better than a distant brother." (Mishlei 27:10)
39a)[line 26]הני זוזי טבי, והני זוזי תקוליHANEI ZUZEI TAVEI, V'HANEI ZUZEI TEKULEI- these [coins offered by the outside buyer] are good (more negotiable) coins, and these [coins offered by the Bar Metzra] are more weighty coins (or the reverse - RASHI)
b)[line 26]לית ביה משום דינא דבר מצראLEIS BEI DINA D'VAR METZRA- the law of Bar Metzra does not apply (because the owner of the land is entitled to sell the land to an outside buyer and receive coins that he prefers)
40a)[line 27]צייריTZAIREI- tied in a bundle
b)[line 27]שריSHAREI- open (not tied in a bundle)
41)[line 29]ואטרחETRACH- I will toil
42)[line 30]דאמידAMID- he is estimated to be a person of means
43)[line 32]מרי-ארעא מעכב אמרי-בתיMAREI AR'A ME'AKEV A'MAREI BATEI- the owner of the land can prevent the owner of the houses [from selling the houses to an outsider]
44)[line 33]ודיקליDIKLEI- date-palm trees
45)[line 35]ישוב עדיףYISHUV ADIF- buying the land for the purpose of building a house on it takes precedence
46)[line 35]אפסיק משוניתאAFSIK MESHUNISA- a large, protruding rock separates [the neighbor's property from the property being sold]
47)[line 35]ריכבא דדיקלאRICHBA D'DIKLA- (O.F. plaisier) a row of folded tree branches that forms a fence
48)[line 36]תלםTELEM- furrow
49)[last line]פלגו לה בקרנזילPALGU LAH B'KARNEZIL- it is divided diagonally (in two directions in order to divide it into four pieces of land)