Study Bava Metzia folio 31A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
באסרטיא ופרה רצה בין הכרמים – הרי זו אבידה. טלית בצד גדר, קרדום בצד גדר, ופרה רועה בין הכרמים – אין זו אבידה. שלשה ימים זה אחר זה – הרי זו אבידה. ראה מים ששוטפין ובאין – הרי זה גודר בפניהם.
on a main thoroughfare [be’isratiyya], or a cow running through the vineyards, that is lost property. If one found a cloak alongside a fence, an ax alongside a fence, or a cow grazing among the vineyards, that is not lost property. If one sees these items for 3 consecutive days, that is lost property. If one saw water that is flowing and coming to inundate another’s field, he must establish a barrier before the water in order to preserve the field.
אמר רבא: ״לכל אבידת אחיך״ – לרבות אבידת קרקע. אמר ליה רב חנניא לרבא: תניא דמסייע לך, ראה מים ששוטפין ובאין הרי זה גודר בפניהם.
Rava says that the verse: “And so should you do with every lost item of your brother” (Deuteronomy 22:3), serves to include an obligation to protect your brother from the loss of his land. Rav Ḥananya said to Rava: There is a baraita that is taught that supports your opinion. If one saw water that is flowing and coming to inundate another’s field, he must establish a barrier before the water in order to preserve the field.
אמר ליה: אי משום הא לא (תסייעי) [תסייען], הכא במאי עסקינן? בדאיכא עומרין. אי דאיכא עומרין, מאי למימרא – לא צריכא, דאית בה עומרין דצריכי לארעא, מהו דתימא: כיון דצריכי לארעא, כי גופה דארעא דמיין, קא משמע לן.
Rava said to Rav Ḥananya: If you are attempting to bring support for my ruling due to that baraita, do not support my ruling. With what are we dealing here in the baraita? We are dealing with a field in which there are sheaves of grain on the land. The tanna of the baraita is referring to preservation of the sheaves, not of the land itself. The Talmud asks: If the baraita is referring to a field in which there are sheaves of grain, what is the purpose of stating it? Isn’t it obvious that one is obligated to preserve the sheaves as he would any other item? No, it is necessary to state the halakha only in a case where there are sheaves that need the land in order to dry. Lest you say: Since they still need the land, their legal status is like that of the land itself and he is not obligated to return them, the baraita teaches us that the sheaves are independent of the land and must be preserved.