Study Bava Kamma folio 12A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
לבתר דנפק, אמר להו עולא, הכי אמר רבי אלעזר: אפילו מיתמי. אמר רב נחמן: אשתמיטן עולא.
The Talmud relates: After Rav Naḥman exited the study hall, Ulla said to the remaining rabbis in the study hall: In truth, this is what R' Elazar said: A slave can be collected as payment even when collecting from the debtor’s orphans. Generally, when collecting a debt from the debtor’s orphans the creditor can collect only from the land that they inherited from their father, which is liened to the debt. R' Elazar rules that a creditor can also collect from the slaves they inherited, as he holds that in this regard, the legal status of slaves is like that of land. Ulla did not reveal this fact to Rav Naḥman, as he knew that Rav Naḥman disagreed and held that the legal status of slaves is like that of movable property. When he heard of Ulla’s revelation, Rav Naḥman said: Ulla evaded me, as had he told me R' Elazar’s full opinion, I would have brought proofs against his opinion.
הוה עובדא בנהרדעא, ואגבו דייני דנהרדעא. הוה עובדא בפומבדיתא, ואגביה רב חנא בר ביזנא. אמר להו רב נחמן: זילו אהדורו, ואי לא – מגבינן לכו לאפדנייכו.
The Talmud relates: There was an incident in Neharde’a, and the judges of Neharde’a collected, on behalf of a creditor, slaves that orphans had inherited from the debtor. There was an incident in Pumbedita, and Rav Ḥana bar Bizna collected slaves from orphans as repayment for a debt. Rav Naḥman said to those judges: Go and return those slaves to the orphans, and if you do not do so, we will collect the value of the slaves from the proceeds of your own mansions in order to compensate the orphans for their loss, as you have made an elementary mistake in your ruling and therefore you are responsible to rectify it.