Study Bava Batra folio 5A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
רוניא, אקפיה רבינא מארבע רוחותיו. אמר ליה: ״הב לי כמה דגדרי״, לא יהיב ליה. ״הב לי לפי קנים בזול״, לא יהיב ליה. ״הב לי אגר נטירותא״, לא יהיב ליה.
It is related that a man named Ronya had a field that was surrounded by fields belonging to Ravina on all 4 sides. Ravina built partitions around his fields and said to him: Give me your share of the expense in accordance with what I actually spent when I built the partitions, i.e., half the cost of the partitions. Ronya did not give it to him. Ravina said to him: Give me then at least your share of the expense in accordance with a reduced assessment of the price of reeds. Ronya did not give it to him. Ravina said to him: Give me then at least the wage of a watchman. But he did not give even this to him.
יומא חד הוה קא גדר דיקלי, אמר ליה לאריסיה: זיל שקול מניה קיבורא דאהיני. אזל לאתויי, רמא ביה קלא. אמר ליה: גלית דעתך דמינח ניחא לך; לא יהא אלא עיזא בעלמא, מי לא בעי נטירותא? אמר ליה: עיזא בעלמא, לאו לאכלויי בעיא? אמר ליה: ולא גברא בעית דמיכלי לה?
One day, Ronya was harvesting dates. Ravina said to his sharecropper: Go take a cluster [kibbura] of dates from him. The sharecropper went to bring them, but Ronya raised his voice at him in protest, whereupon Ravina said to him: You have revealed that you are pleased with the partitions and the protection that they provide you. Even if it were only a goat that entered your field, wouldn’t the field need safeguarding, to prevent the goat from eating the dates? Ronya said to him: If it were only a goat, doesn’t one need merely to chase it away [le’akhluyei]? No partition is required. Ravina said to him: But wouldn’t you need a man to chase the goat away? Pay me then at least the wage of a watchman.