Study Bava Batra folio 35A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
דרב אמר: יחלוקו, ושמואל אמר: שודא דדייני? התם, ליכא למיקם עלה דמילתא; הכא, איכא למיקם עלה דמילתא.
as Rav said: In that case, they should divide the property between them, and Shmuel said: It is decided based on the discretion [shudda] of the judges. Why in the seemingly equivalent case of a dispute where there is no evidence for either litigant did Rav Naḥman rule that whoever is stronger prevails? The Talmud answers: There, in the case of the two deeds, it will not be possible for the court to clarify the matter in the future, and therefore, the court issues a ruling according to the information they currently have. Here, in the case of Rav Naḥman, it may be possible for the court to clarify the matter in the future, if one of the litigants was to bring witnesses supporting his claim.
ומאי שנא מהא דתנן: המחליף פרה בחמור, וילדה; וכן המוכר שפחתו, וילדה – זה אומר: ״עד שלא מכרתי ילדה״, וזה אומר: ״משלקחתי ילדה״ – יחלוקו?
The Talmud asks: And in what way is this case different from that which we learned in a Mishnah (Bava Metzia 100a): With regard to one who exchanges a cow for a donkey and the cow calved, and similarly one who sells his Canaanite female slave and she gave birth, and this one, i.e., the seller, says: She gave birth before I sold either the cow or female slave, and the offspring belongs to me; and that one, i.e., the buyer, says: She gave birth after I purchased her and the offspring belongs to me, the ruling is that they should divide the value of the newborn. In that case, the court is not able to clarify the matter, so they should rule that whoever is stronger prevails.