Study Bava Kamma folio 112B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
שלא בפני בעל דין?! ולא? והא קתני: בין גדולים בין קטנים, חייבין! אמר ליה: הרי מחלוקת סומכוס בצידך. אמר: איכפל כולי עלמא וקאי כסומכוס – לאפקוען לדידי?
who testify in the absence of a litigant? Since the defendant is a minor his presence is not legally recognized, and the court does not accept testimony against him. R' Yirmeya questioned this assertion: And is it so that the court does not accept such testimony? But isn’t it taught that if a robber leaves stolen goods to his children, whether they are adults or minors, they are obligated to pay the owner? If the court obligates minors to pay, it must accept testimony about them. R' Avin said to R' Yirmeya: Sumakhos’s dispute is at your side, i.e., Sumakhos disagrees with this ruling and holds that the minors are exempt from paying. R' Yirmeya said to him: Did the whole world go to the effort to hold in accordance with the opinion of Sumakhos in order to seize what is mine?
אדהכי איגלגל מילתא, אתא ומטא לקמיה דרבי אבהו. אמר: לא שמיע לכו הא דרב יוסף בר חמא אמר רבי אושעיא? דאמר רב יוסף בר חמא אמר רבי אושעיא: תינוק שתקף בעבדיו, וירד לתוך שדה של חבירו ואמר ״שלי הוא״, אין אומרים: נמתין עד שיגדיל; אלא מוציאין מידו מיד, ולכשיגדיל יביא עדים ונראה!
In the meantime, the matter circulated and eventually came before R' Abbahu, who said: Did you not hear that which Rav Yosef bar Ḥama says that R' Oshaya says? As Rav Yosef bar Ḥama says that R' Oshaya says: With regard to a child who took his slaves and descended into the field of another and said: It is mine, the court does not say: Let us wait until he matures before we assess his claims. Rather, the court removes it from his possession immediately, and when he matures he may bring witnesses to attest to his claim and we will see how to judge the case. Similarly, R' Yirmeya should be awarded the disputed property until his minor brother-in-law may litigate in court.