Study Bava Batra folio 7A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אמר ליה: ״איסתריה אנא ואבנייה״. אמר: ״לית לי דוכתא למידר בה״. אמר ליה: ״אנא אוגר לך דוכתא״. אמר ליה: ״לא טרחנא״. ״לא קא מתדר לי״. ״שוף אכריסך ועול, ושוף אכריסך ופוק״.
The owner of the lower story said to him: I will dismantle the structure and rebuild it. The owner of the upper story said: But then I will have no place to live while you are renovating. The owner of the lower story said to him: I will rent a place for you to live for the duration. The owner of the upper story said to him: I do not want to bother with moving. The owner of the lower story said to him: But I cannot live in my apartment in this condition, as the walls have sunk into the ground. The owner of the upper story said to him: That is not my problem. Crawl on your stomach to go in, and crawl on your stomach to go out.
אמר רב חמא: בדינא קא מעכב. והני מילי דלא מטו כשורי למטה מעשרה, אבל מטו כשורי למטה מעשרה, מצי אמר ליה: למטה מעשרה רשותא דידי הוא, ולא משעבד לך.
Rav Ḥama said: By law, the owner of the upper story can prevent his downstairs neighbor from rebuilding. The Talmud comments: And this statement applies only when the beams supporting the second story have not reached lower than 10 handbreadths from the ground. But if those beams have reached lower than 10 handbreadths from the ground, the owner of the lower story can say to the owner of the upper story: Below 10 handbreadths is my domain and my domain is not bound to you to support your residence.
והני מילי דלא אתנו גבי הדדי, אבל אתנו גבי הדדי – סתרי ובנו.
The Talmud further comments: And this statement, that the owner of the upper story can prevent his downstairs neighbor from rebuilding, applies only when they did not stipulate with each other that if the house sinks they will rebuild the house anew. But if they made such a stipulation with each other, they must dismantle the house and rebuild it.