Study Bava Batra folio 156B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אמרו לו: מעשה באמן של בני רוכל שהיתה חולה, ואמרה: ״תנו כבינתי לבתי, והיא בשנים עשר מנה״, ומתה, וקיימו את דבריה! אמר להן: בני רוכל – תקברם אמן.
The Rabbis said to R' Elazar: There was an incident involving the mother of the sons of Rokhel, who was sick, and who said: My brooch should be given to my daughter, and it is valued at 1,200 dinars. And this woman subsequently died, and the rabbis upheld her statement. This indicates that a person on his deathbed can gift property without an act of acquisition. R' Elazar said to them: That case was different; the sons of Rokhel should be buried by their mother, i.e., he cursed them. It is not possible to bring a proof from this incident, as these sons were wicked people. Consequently, when ruling in this matter the rabbis did not act in accordance with the halakha, but allowed the mother of the sons of Rokhel to give this valuable piece of jewelry to their sister without an act of acquisition having been performed.
גמ׳ תניא, אמר להן רבי אליעזר לחכמים: מעשה במרוני אחד שהיה בירושלים, והיו לו מטלטלין הרבה וביקש ליתנם במתנה. אמרו לו: אין להם תקנה עד שיקנה על גב קרקע.
Talmud: It is taught in a baraita: R' Eliezer said to the Rabbis: There was an incident involving a certain man of Meron who was in Jerusalem, and he had a lot of movable property. And he desired to give the movable property as gifts to various individuals, but they could not be acquired by pulling. The Rabbis said to him: There is no remedy for transferring the property unless he transfers the movable property by means of transferring the ownership of land.
הלך ולקח בית סלע אחד סמוך לירושלים, ואמר: צפונו לפלוני, ועמו מאה צאן ומאה חביות; ודרומו לפלוני, ועמו מאה צאן ומאה חביות. ומת, וקיימו חכמים את דבריו. אמרו לו: משם ראיה?! מרוני בריא היה.
He went and acquired one plot of rocky land adjacent to Jerusalem, and he said: I give the north part of this area to so-and-so, and with it 100 sheep and 100 jugs. And I give the south part of the area to so-and-so, and with it 100 sheep and 100 jugs. And he died, and the rabbis upheld his statement. This indicates that a person on his deathbed cannot transfer property without an act of acquisition. The Rabbis said to R' Eliezer: Do you bring proof from there? The man of Meron was healthy at the time. This was not the gift of a person on his deathbed, and it could not be acquired by verbal instruction.