Study Bava Batra folio 96A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
דתניא: הבודק את החבית להיות מפריש עליה תרומה והולך, ואחר כך נמצאת חומץ; כל שלשה יום – ודאי, מכאן ואילך – ספק.
As it is taught in a baraita (Tosefta, Terumot 2:8): With regard to one who inspects a jug to see if it still contains enough wine to continually mentally separate teruma from it to exempt other untithed wine he has, until all the wine in that jug would be teruma and would be given to a priest, and afterward the contents of the jug were found to have turned to vinegar, which cannot be set aside as teruma for untithed wine, then all 3 days after he had last inspected it, it is definitely viewed as having been wine, and any wine for which teruma was separated during those days is tithed. From that point onward, more than 3 days after the previous inspection, it is uncertain as to whether it had already turned to vinegar, and any wine for which teruma was separated during those days is not tithed.
מאי קאמר? אמר רבי יוחנן, הכי קאמר: כל שלשה ימים הראשונים – ודאי יין, מכאן ואילך – ספק.
The Talmud clarifies: What is the baraita saying? R' Yoḥanan says that this is what it is saying: For all of the first 3 days following the inspection, it is definitely viewed as having been wine that had not yet turned to vinegar. From that point onward, it is uncertain as to whether it had already turned to vinegar. Accordingly, any wine for which teruma was separated after those 3 days by means of designating the contents of that jug as teruma has an uncertain status.
מאי טעמא? חמרא – מעילאי עקר, והאי טעימיה ולא עקר. אם תמצא לומר: בתר דטעימיה עקר; הוה ריחא חלא וטעמיה חמרא, וכל ריחיה חלא וטעמיה חמרא – חמרא.
What is the reason? The process in which wine turns sour and becomes vinegar starts with the wine at the top of the jug; and it is that wine which he tasted when he inspected it, and at that time it had not yet soured. And even if you say that immediately after he tasted it the wine began to sour, during the following 3 days it would have the odor of vinegar and its taste would be of wine, and anything that has an odor of vinegar but its taste is of wine is regarded as wine.