Study Chagigah folio 25B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
חבר ועם הארץ שירשו את אביהם עם הארץ, יכול לומר לו: טול אתה חטין שבמקום פלוני, ואני חטין שבמקום פלוני.
In the case of a ḥaver and an am ha’aretz, who are brothers and inherited property from their father, who was also an am ha’aretz, the ḥaver can say to his am ha’aretz brother: You take the wheat that is in such and such a place and I will take the wheat that is in such and such a place. The ḥaver knows that the former batch of wheat had been made susceptible to impurity, and he would therefore have no use for it, while the latter batch had not been made susceptible to impurity.
טול אתה יין שבמקום פלוני, ואני יין שבמקום פלוני.
The Mishnah continues: Similarly, the ḥaver brother may say to the am ha’aretz brother: You take the wine that is in such and such a place and I will take the wine that is in such and such a place. The ḥaver knows that the latter batch of wine has not been rendered impure, and he wants to take that batch as his share. When brothers inherit a quantity of a certain item they will each end up receiving an equal share of that item. Therefore, the principle of retroactive designation applies, meaning that it is considered that whatever portion any particular brother receives in the end is the one that had been designated for him as his inheritance from the beginning. It is not considered to be a trade or a business transaction with the other brothers in exchange for their portions.
אבל לא יאמר לו: טול אתה לח ואני יבש, טול אתה חטין ואני שעורים.
The Mishnah continues: But the ḥaver brother may not say to the am ha’aretz brother: You take the wet produce and I will take the dry produce. Nor may he say: You take the wheat, and I will take the barley. The principle of retroactive designation does not apply to objects of different types. If one brother would take wheat and the other barley it would be considered a trade. And it is prohibited for a ḥaver to sell or transfer impure produce or produce that is susceptible to impurity to an am ha’aretz, who does not strictly follow the principles of purity, as this would involve the prohibition of “You should not place a stumbling-block before the blind” (Leviticus 19:14).