Study Bava Batra folio 55A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
ליעבד לי מר כאידך דשמואל, דאמר שמואל: לא קנה אלא מקום מכושו בלבד! אמר ליה: בהאי, אנא כשמעתין סבירא לי – דאמר רב הונא אמר רב: כיון שניכש בה מכוש אחד – קנה כולה.
If so, the Master should do for me in accordance with another statement of Shmuel, as Shmuel says that one who hoes ownerless property has acquired only the place that he struck with the hoe. Rav Naḥman said to him: In this matter I hold in accordance with our halakha, as Rav Huna says that Rav says: Once he struck the land with a hoe one time, he acquired the entire property.
שלח רב הונא בר אבין: ישראל שלקח שדה מגוי, ובא ישראל אחר והחזיק בה – אין מוציאים אותה מידו. וכן היה רבי אבין ורבי אילעא וכל רבותינו שוין בדבר.
The Talmud relates that Rav Huna bar Avin sent a ruling: In the case of a Jew who purchased a field from a non-Jew, and then another Jew came and took possession of it, it is not removed from the possession of the second Jew. And so too, R' Avin, and R' Ile’a, and all of our Rabbis agree with regard to this matter.
אמר רבה: הני תלת מילי, אישתעי לי עוקבן בר נחמיה ריש גלותא, משמיה דשמואל: דינא דמלכותא דינא, ואריסותא דפרסאי – עד ארבעין שנין, והני זהרורי דזבין ארעא לטסקא – זביניהו זביני.
§ Rabba said: These 3 statements were told to me by Ukvan bar Neḥemya the Exilarch in the name of Shmuel: The law of the kingdom is the law; and the term of Persian sharecropping [arisuta] is for up to 40 years, since according to Persian laws the presumption of ownership is established after 40 years of use; and in the case of these tax officials [zaharurei] who sold land in order to pay the land tax, the sale is valid, as the tax officials were justified in seizing it, and one may purchase the land from them.
והני מילי לטסקא, אבל לכרגא – לא. מאי טעמא? כרגא – אקרקף דגברי מנח. רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע אמר: אפילו שערי דכדא משתעבדי לכרגא.
The Talmud notes: And this statement applies to land seized to pay the land tax, but not to land seized to pay the head tax. What is the reason for this? The head tax is placed on a man’s head, i.e., the obligation of this tax is on the individual and is unrelated to his property. It is therefore theft for the tax officials to sell land for this purpose. Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, said: Everything, even the barley in the pitcher, is mortgaged for the payment of the head tax.