On today’s daf, the Gemara continues its exploration of what sorts of things are included in the sale of property. If you’re selling a courtyard, does the sale include permanent structures like pits, ditches and caves along with moveable property like an olive press and household goods? The answer might come down to what the word “courtyard” means.
The mishnah on today’s daf offers a general rule: Unless otherwise specified, moveable housewares are not included with the sale of a courtyard, while permanent fixtures are. But the mishnah records one dissenting opinion.
Rabbi Eliezer says: One who sells a courtyard (without specifying what is included in the sale) has sold only the airspace of the courtyard.
This is a pretty minimalist take. If you purchase the open space, but nothing that defines the space, what are you really getting?
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The Gemara dives into this dispute to clarify what’s at issue:
Rabba said: If the seller said to the buyer dirata, everyone agrees that he means the houses. When they disagree, it is where he said to him darta. One sage holds that he means the garden (the space between the houses), and one sage holds that he means the houses.
This is a little more reasonable. If the contract refers to dirata, it refers to the houses surrounding a courtyard. But if the contract specifies darta, Rabbi Eliezer says it covers the land between the houses (not just the air itself), while the anonymous voice of the mishnah says that it refers to the houses that define the courtyard. It doesn’t resolve the dispute, but at least we’re clear on what we’re arguing about.
But that’s not the only tradition that comes down to us. The Gemara goes on to present an alternate version of how this plays out:
Rabba says: If the seller says to the buyer darta, everyone agrees that he means the houses. When they disagree, it is where he said to him hatzer. One sage holds hatzer means only the airspace, and one sage holds just as the courtyard of the Tabernacle.
In this telling, darta means (or perhaps includes) the houses that surround the courtyard. But if the sale is for the hatzer, we have a disagreement: Rabbi Eliezer says only the airspace is sold, while the anonymous voice of the mishnah includes the houses as well. The Talmud doesn’t reach a conclusion in this debate, but the later codes adopt the mishnah’s opinion.
So where does this leave us? Setting aside the opinions of later rabbis, using the word dirata implies a more comprehensive sale, while using hatzer is going to put you between Rabbi Eliezer and his anonymous counterpart. And if you say darta? Depending on how you define the word, you might be dealing with the courtyard and its buildings in a clean deal, or you might have a mess on your hands.
Read all of Bava Batra 67 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on August 31, 2024. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
