In the ancient world, water was a scarce resource and people often dug various kinds of pits and cisterns on their properties to store it. Today we begin the second chapter of Bava Batra with a mishnah that concerns the placement of these structures:
A person may not dig a pit close to the pit of another. Nor may he dig a ditch or a cave or a water channel or a launderer’s pond, unless he distances all of these three handbreadths from the wall of another and plasters them with lime.
The mishnah is concerned that if I dig any of these water features too close to my neighbor’s pit, they may weaken its walls and lead to eventual collapse. Waterproofing is also part of making sure the surrounding soil doesn’t erode and damage my neighbor’s structure. Even though I’m undertaking these actions within my own domain, I don’t have unfettered freedom if my actions could harm a fellow’s property.
The Gemara entertains the question of whether I need to take into account a pit that my neighbor hasn’t yet dug:
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It was stated: With regard to one who comes to dig any of these close to the boundary of his field, Abaye says: “He may place them close to the boundary.” Rava says: “He may not place them close to the boundary.” Both agree that he may not place them close to his neighbor’s field if that field is designated for digging pits. They disagree with regard to a field that is not designated for digging pits.
According to this presentation of Abaye and Rava’s dispute, everyone agrees that I should worry about my excavation harming a future pit my neighbor might wish to dig. But they disagree about the extent to which I should worry. If my neighbor’s field is one in which it’s typical to dig pits, and they merely haven’t begun construction — or haven’t yet dug closer to the border between our properties — Abaye and Rava agree that digging along the boundary of my own property is forbidden, because in doing so I’ve now limited the space in which my neighbor can dig. As the Gemara goes on to explain, Abaye permits digging next to a field not ordinarily designated for pits because it is likely the neighbor will never want to dig there, but Rava forbids it because he thinks that once the neighbor sees me digging my pit, the neighbor might be inspired to change their mind and dig on their own property. What they share is a commitment to the idea that my actions should not seriously limit my neighbor’s future pit-digging prospects.
But maybe this isn’t the disagreement at all. The Gemara goes on to record a different version of their dispute.
There are those who say: All agree that one may dig or place these excavations close to the boundary of a field that is not designated for digging pits. When they disagree it is with regard to a field that is designated for digging pits. Abaye says: “One may dig these excavations or place these items close to the boundary … ” And Rava says: “One may not dig these excavations or place these items close to the boundary.”
In this version, Abaye and Rava agree that I am not expected to worry about limiting placement for my neighbor’s future pit if the property is not the sort on which one usually digs pits. This alternative version provides people with more latitude — or, to put it differently, requires less consideration of a neighbor’s future actions. It suggests that while we must avoid causing harm to a neighbor’s existing property, limiting what a neighbor can do in the future on their property — as long as we think that action is unlikely — is an acceptable outcome.
Read all of Bava Batra 17 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on July 12, 2024. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
