Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Tuesday's Thoughts on the Daf - Bava Basra 46

Bava Basra 46 contains a gemara which seems to be straight out of a "sitcom." In the middle of 46a, the gemara answers the question - what do you do if the item you bring home from the tailor turns out to belong to someone else? Can you use the shirt, or do you have wait for the proper owner to turn up and (hopefully) switch it out with yours?

The gemara answers that the shirt can be used by the recipient, although if the same kind of item was switched at a beis avel (mourner's house) or a dining hall, the recipient cannot use the item and must wait until he gets his back from the other person.

The gemara quotes Rav Chiya who clarifies that the reason that the tailor is treated differently is that it is possible that he was given a shirt to sell and by accident he sold yours instead. Since the owner of the shirt wanted it sold, he would have no problem with the tailor giving it to you, therefore the recipient can use it. This is later qualified as the gemara relates that if the item is given to you by the tailor's wife or child you may not use the item since its possible that the tailor's family member got confused (or in modern parlance "switched the tickets").

I have not seen modern shaa'los u'teshuvos about this question, but I am sure they must exist...

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1 comment:

Yaakov said...

yesterdays daf yomi digest discusses this shilah http://webmail.aol.com/28200/aol/en-us/mail/get-attachment.aspx?uid=1.25153980&folder=Saved%2fsaved+on+aol+2&partId=4&saveAs=Bava_Basra_46.pdf DAF NOTES discusses this shilah http://www.daf-yomi.org/ViewDaf.asp?did=1133&tid=33&insight=&audio=&hebrew=#insight
Choshen Mishpat Through the Lens of The Daf Yomi - In-depth practical case-study analyses derived directly from each day’s Daf. discusses the shilah
http://www.dafshiurim.org/downloads/bavabasra/shiurim3.html