Shabbos, Jul 13 2024 ‫ז' תמוז תשפ“ד‬

OVERVIEW of the Daf HALACHAH Highlight

1) Digging a pit (cont.) Who has the responsibility to prevent damage from oc-
Numerous unsuccessful challenges to Rava’s position curring?
are presented. ‫ואת החרדל מן הדבורים‬
And mustard from bees
2) Who has the responsibility to prevent damage?
As part of the Gemara’s analysis of Rava’s position the
Gemara analyzes the dispute between Rabanan and R’ Yo-
T he Gemara quotes the Mishnah (25a) that teaches
that it is necessary for a person to distance his mustard
si. from his neighbor’s bees. Rashi1 explains that the con-
It is suggested that both Rabanan and R’ Yosi agree cern is that the bees will eat the mustard, which will leave
that it is the damager’s responsibility to prevent damage. a sharp taste in their mouth. To alleviate the discomfort
The Gemara proves that R’ Yosi’s position is that it is the bees will return to the hive and consume the honey.
the one who would be damaged who is responsible to take Since the mustard plants cause a loss to the beekeeper, it
steps to prevent damage from occurring. is necessary for the mustard plant owner to assure that
The point of dispute between Rabanan and R’ Yosi is the bees do not reach his plants. This ruling seems to con-
explained.  tradict a Gemara in Bava Kama (47b). The Gemara there
discusses the case of an ox that ate fruit that belongs to
Distinctive INSIGHT his owner’s neighbor and became ill. The owner of the
fruit is not liable to pay for the damages to the animal
Opening a bakery in one’s house since he can respond to the claim against him that the
‫חתומין ושל צבעין תחת‬ ‫ות של‬‫תא שמע לא יפתח אדם ח‬ animal should not have been eating his fruit. In our case,
‫אוצרו של חבירו ולא רפת בקר‬ as well, the gardener should be allowed to plant his mus-
I f a pit already exists on the other side of the property
line, one may only dig a new pit and excavate on his
tard where he chooses and if the beekeeper allows his
bees to eat the mustard and then eat the honey, it is his
own fault.
own property if he maintains a three tefach distance One explanation2 is that there is a difference between
from the pre-existing pit. Earlier on 17b, the Gemara liability and the necessity to take precautions to prevent
presented an inquiry regarding what the halacha would damage from occurring. Regarding liability, since the
be if one neighbor would decide to dig a pit in his prop- owner of the fruit did not do anything to damage his
erty where there is no pre-existing pit in the neighbor’s neighbor’s ox he cannot be held liable for the damages.
yard. Abaye says that this first pit may be dug at the bor- However, regarding the obligation to take steps to prevent
der, and if the other neighbor later decides to dig a pit damages it is necessary for one to take precautionary
in his yard as well, that second pit would have to be measures even if it is not his fault. Another distinction
placed six tefachim from the first one. This distance ac- between the two cases relates to whether the animal un-
commodates a three tefach clearance around the wall of der discussion can be properly guarded. An ox is a type
each pit. Rava holds that the first pit must be dug at a of animal that could be properly guarded, therefore the
distance of three tefachim from the border. Even owner of the fruit can claim to the animal owner that he
though there is no pre-existing pit on the other side of should have watched his animal better so that it should
the property line, we still require the first pit to be built not eat someone else’s fruit and become ill. Bees, on the
considering the neighbor’s possible future plans to dig other hand, can not be properly guarded and therefore
his own pit. one can not say to the bee owner that he should have tak-
In explaining Rava, Tosafos (‫ )ד“ה מרחיקין‬explains en steps to prevent his bees from eating the mustard and
that digging a pit at the border directly weakens the thus the mustard owner must take the necessary precau-
ground around it, and the neighbor will therefore not tionary measures to prevent the damage from occurring.
be able to use his own land later to dig a pit. The initial 
.‫ רש"י ד"ה ואת החרדל‬.1
(Continued on page 2) .‫ עפ"י אילת השחר המובא ביוסף דעת‬.2
Number 1652—‫בבא בתרא י“ח‬

REVIEW and Remember

(Insight...Continued from page 1)
excavation at the property line is prohibited because it is
direct damage to the neighbor’s property.
Rabeinu Yona adds that we prevent the first neighbor 1. Why is it necessary to leave four amos of space
from digging a pit so close because it is seen as damage to between one’s tree and one’s neighbor’s field?
the pit which may later be dug.
The Gemara brings many sources to try to show 2. Why is it necessary to distance mustard from
which of the approaches, that of Abaye or that of Rava, is bees?
correct. One source is the Mishnah (20b) which teaches
that one may not open a bakery or dyer’s facility on the 3. What does the Gemara initially think is the point
main floor of a building if the building houses a store- of dispute between Rabanan and R’ Yosi?
house of grain, oil or wine. It is understood that the
smoke from an oven will rise and damage the commodi- 4. According to the Gemara’s conclusion, what is the
ties stored upstairs. Tosafos explains that the heat from point of dispute between Rabanan and R’ Yosi?
the constant fire below will damage the contents of the
storage facility. The Gemara determines that the re-
striction not to open a bakery is in place only when a a barn are common utilities one houses in his own dwell-
warehouse is already in place, but if the upstairs is cur- ing, so these cannot be restricted as long as they do not
rently empty, one may open a bakery or dying compound represent direct damage to others.
on the main floor. This is a question against Rava who Rashi and Rashba limit this dispensation to functions
says that a potential damage must be distanced even ini- which are commonly found in one’s house. Ritva expands
tially, even before the harm is direct. The Gemara an- this allowance to wherever there is a clear benefit and ad-
swers that Rava agrees that a bakery, dying facility or even vantage to having something in one’s own house. 
lessness awakens children or sick peo- place and start to scream at the
STORIES Off the Daf ple and caused them exceptional
emotional and physical pain. (Rav
blameless shamash of the shul—after
all, he is tired! In this manner, he has
Misplaced priorities Yisrael held that ‫ה‬‫ גזל שי‬is a Torah of course violated the prohibitions
‫ת"ש מרחיקין את הזרעים‬ prohibition. Although some question forbidding lashon hara and publicly

T oday’s daf discusses avoiding

causing harm to one’s neighbor. This
this, the Shut Keren L’Dovid points
out that he certainly violates the To-
rah prohibition against causing an-
embarrassing a fellow Jew. When he
finally finds that someone else was
using his shtender, he screams at him
is one of the main lessons taught by other pain.1) Many people feel a in public, not realizing that this per-
Rav Yisrael Salanter, zt”l: to deter- need for a hot drink ,and wake their son is a talmid chacham who has
mine if our actions are causing dam- household help to prepare it . If the been learning all night. Of course this
age to others, and to refrain from housekeeper is an orphan or widow compounds the above prohibitions
them. as is most often the case, this is an since now he has publicly shamed a
Rav Yisrael would remonstrate even more serious transgression. At talmid chacham.
against causing harm even when pre- this point one notices that he is a bit “After the selichos, not only is
paring for something as important as late and rushes to shul, quickly spill- this person blind to his sins—he is
selichos. “When a person wakes up at ing whatever is leftover from his even pleased with himself for his fer-
chatzos or early in the morning to say drink in the street—thereby creating a vor during the service! Little does he
selichos, he often feels great zeal. But bor b’reshus harabim!” know: ‫—יצא שכרו בהפסדו‬he has lost
if he is not careful, he rushes to get He would continue, “When the his reward due to his spiritual fail-
dressed and wakes his wife and fami- person finally gets to shul he may ures.”2 
ly—and possibly even his neighbors— find that his shtender is not in its ‫ ס' י"ח‬,‫ או"ח‬,‫ שו"ת קרן לדוד‬.1
at this early hour. Sometimes his care-  326-327 '‫ ע‬,‫ ח"א‬,‫ועות המוסר‬‫ ת‬.2
Daf Digest is published by the Chicago Center, under the leadership of
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