Bava Batra 64B

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Text Excerpt

דרבי עקיבא סבר: מוכר בעין יפה מוכר, ורבנן סברי: מוכר בעין רעה מוכר; ודקאמר נמי בעלמא ״רבי עקיבא לטעמיה, דאמר מוכר בעין יפה מוכר״⁠ – מהכא.

As R' Akiva holds that one who sells, sells generously, so that whatever is not explicitly excluded from the sale is assumed to be sold, while the Rabbis hold that one who sells, sells sparingly, so that whatever is not explicitly included in the sale is assumed to be unsold. And perhaps that which is also stated generally: R' Akiva conforms to his standard line of reasoning, as he says that one who sells, sells generously, is derived from here.

ממאי? דלמא רבי עקיבא סבר: אין אדם רוצה שיתן מעותיו וידרסוהו אחרים, ורבנן סברי: אין אדם רוצה שיטול מעות ויפרח באויר!

The Talmud rejects this opinion and asks: From where do you arrive at such a conclusion? Perhaps R' Akiva and the Rabbis do not disagree whether, in principle, a person who sells, sells generously or sparingly, but rather their disagreement is limited to this specific case. As R' Akiva holds that a person does not want to spend his money on the purchase of a house and then have others tread upon his property, and therefore he says that the seller must purchase for himself a path through the buyer’s domain to reach his pit. And the Rabbis hold that a person does not want to receive money for the sale of his house and then have to fly through the air in order to reach his pit, and therefore they say that the seller presumably withheld for himself a path to his pit.

ואלא מסיפא ⁠– מכרן לאחר, רבי עקיבא אומר: אינו צריך ליקח לו דרך, וחכמים אומרים: צריך.

Rather, the proof is from the last clause of the Mishnah, which states: If the seller kept the house but sold the pit and the cistern to another, R' Akiva says: The buyer need not purchase for himself a path through the seller’s domain. But the Rabbis say: He must purchase for himself a path through the seller’s domain. The tanna’im seem to disagree as to whether a person who sells, sells generously or sparingly.

Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.