The mishnah on page 108 described the laws of inheritance in four different categories. First, there are relatives from whom inheritance goes both ways: we inherit from them and they inherit from us. Second, there are relatives who can inherit from us but we can’t inherit from them. Third, there are relatives we can inherit from but not the reverse. Fourth and finally, there are some relatives who will never inherit from us, nor we from them. We might expect there is a great deal of overlap between categories two and three: relationships where inheritance goes only one way. Indeed, let’s review what the mishnah said about these two categories:
(Category 2) A man with regard to his mother, and a man with regard to his wife, and sons of sisters — all inherit from their respective relatives but do not bequeath to them.
(Category 3) A woman with regard to her sons, and a woman with regard to her husband, and maternal uncles — all bequeath to their respective relatives but do not inherit from them.
Did you catch it? The first two items on each of the lists are identical! Saying that a man is able to inherit from his mother and his wife but does not bequeath to them is the same saying that a woman passes on her property to her son and her husband, but cannot inherit from them. So the Gemara asks about the latter phrase:
Why do I need to include these items here too?
As a practical matter, separating out categories two and three — those who inherit but don’t bequeath from those who bequeath but don’t inherit — may be convenient for those memorizing the text and quickly accessing information. But it does lead to repetition of information. Sometimes, the Gemara overlooks extra words in the mishnah, explaining that they are included for stylistic reasons. Sometimes, as we saw with a beraita yesterday, the Gemara does not overlook apparent superfluity in a tannaitic source and goes to great lengths to explain it. Today, the rabbis are going to explain the apparent superfluity.
(The inclusion of sons and husbands in the third category) teaches us that the laws for a woman who bequeaths to her son are similar to that of a woman who bequeaths to her husband: Just as with regard to a woman who bequeaths to her husband, the husband does not inherit property through his wife while he is in the grave, so too, the same rules apply to a woman who bequeaths to her son, i.e., the son does not inherit property through his mother while he is in the grave in order to bequeath to his paternal brothers.
The second category of the mishnah informs us that there are situations where a woman passes on her property to her husband and her sons even though she does not inherit from them. Their inclusion in that category is not superfluous — it is there to teach us that the rule that they only inherit while they are still alive applies equally to her husband and her sons. This means that if their death proceeds hers, it is her relatives, and not theirs, who inherit what she owns at the time of her death.
How does this work practically? Maimonides notes that if a woman survives her husband and sons, her grandchildren, if she has them, inherit her property. If she has no grandchildren, her estate goes to her closest relative from her father’s household. It’s interesting to note that the term Maimonides uses for grandchildren is zera, literally seed, and potentially gender inclusive, potentially implying that she could be inherited by a granddaughter if she has no grandsons.
Today’s discussion and legal texts that follow only make reference to a woman’s sons, not her daughters. Given that a touchstone text for the rabbis on this subject is the account in the Book of Numbers in which daughters of Zelophehad successfully advocated to receive an inheritance from their father, it’s a surprising omission. That is, until tomorrow’s daf, when the Gemara clarifies (spoiler alert) that a daughter also stands in line to inherit from both her father and her mother.
Read all of Bava Batra 114 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on October 17, 2024. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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