## Bava Batra Daf 104a

###### Bava Batra 104a:1
[Bava Batra 104a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/104a:1)

פָּחוֹת כׇּל שֶׁהוּא – יְנַכֶּה, יָתֵר כׇּל שֶׁהוּא – יַחֲזִיר. הָא סְתָמָא – כְּ״הֵן חָסֵר הֵן יָתֵר״ דָּמֵי!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
and he gave him even **the slightest amount less** that what was stipulated, the seller **must deduct** the difference from the purchase price of the field and return money to the buyer. If he gave him even **the slightest amount more** than what was stipulated, the buyer **must return** the difference to the seller. The reason that even the slightest difference in value must be returned is that the seller specified that he was selling land measured precisely with a rope. **But** had he sold the land **without** further **specification,** it would be **like** he sold it saying that it is a *beit kor* **more or less.**


###### Bava Batra 104a:2
[Bava Batra 104a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/104a:2)

אֵימָא סֵיפָא – וְאִם אָמַר לוֹ: ״הֵן חָסֵר הֵן יָתֵר״; אֲפִילּוּ פִּיחֵת רוֹבַע לִסְאָה אוֹ הוֹתִיר רוֹבַע לִסְאָה – הִגִּיעוֹ. הָא סְתָמָא – כְּמִדָּה בְּחֶבֶל דָּמֵי! אֶלָּא מֵהָא לֵיכָּא לְמִשְׁמַע מִינַּהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara rejects this argument by proposing another, completely opposite proof: **Say the latter clause** of the mishna: **And if** the seller **said to** the buyer that he is selling him a *beit kor* of land **more or less,** then **even if he gave** him **one-quarter of a *kav* per *se’a* less** than what was stipulated, **or he gave him one-quarter of a *kav* per *se’a* more** than what was stipulated, **it is his** and the sale is valid. One can infer: The reason that the sale is valid is that he specified that he was selling a *beit kor* of land more or less. **But** had he sold the land **without** further **specification,** it would be **like** he sold it saying that he was selling the land **measured** precisely **with a rope. Rather,** since the mishna can be interpreted in two opposite ways, **no** inference is **to be learned from** the mishna.


###### Bava Batra 104a:3
[Bava Batra 104a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/104a:3)

תָּא שְׁמַע: ״בֵּית כּוֹר עָפָר אֲנִי מוֹכֵר לָךְ״; ״כְּבֵית כּוֹר עָפָר אֲנִי מוֹכֵר לָךְ״; ״הֵן חָסֵר הֵן יָתֵר אֲנִי מוֹכֵר לָךְ״ – אֲפִילּוּ פִּיחֵת רוֹבַע לִסְאָה, אוֹ הוֹתִיר רוֹבַע לִסְאָה – הִגִּיעוֹ. אַלְמָא סְתָמָא נָמֵי, כְּ״הֵן חָסֵר הֵן יָתֵר״ דָּמֵי! הָתָם, פָּרוֹשֵׁי קָא מְפָרֵשׁ – אֵיזֶהוּ בֵּית כּוֹר שֶׁהִיא כְּבֵית כּוֹר? כְּגוֹן דַּאֲמַר לֵיהּ: ״הֵן חָסֵר הֵן יָתֵר״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara tries to present another proof: **Come** and **hear** a proof from a *baraita*: If the seller said to the buyer: **I am selling you** a plot of **earth** the size of **a *beit kor*;** or he said to him: **I am selling you** a plot of **earth about** the size of **a *beit kor*;** or he said to him: **I am selling you** a *beit kor* **more or less;** then **even if he gave** him **one-quarter of a *kav* per *se’a* less** than what was stipulated, **or he gave him one-quarter of a *kav* per *se’a* more** than what was stipulated, **it is his** and the sale is valid. One can infer: **Apparently,** selling a *beit kor* of land **without** further **specification** is **also like** selling it **more or less.** The Gemara rejects this proof: **There,** the *tanna* **is explaining** his statement, which should be understood as follows: **When is** the phrase **a *beit kor*** treated like the phrase **about** the size of **a *beit kor*?** In a case **where** the seller **says to** the buyer: I am selling you a *beit kor* **more or less.**


###### Bava Batra 104a:4
[Bava Batra 104a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/104a:4)

מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רַב אָשֵׁי: אִם כֵּן, ״אֲנִי מוֹכֵר לָךְ״ ״אֲנִי מוֹכֵר לָךְ״ לְמָה לִי? אֶלָּא לָאו שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ סְתָמָא נָמֵי כְּ״הֵן חָסֵר הֵן יָתֵר״ דָּמֵי? שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Ashi objects to this: If that is so,** then **why do I** need to repeat the words: **I am selling you,** three times? The fact that the *baraita* repeats these words in each clause indicates that it is discussing three separate sale transactions, and not that the three clauses are all referring to one case. **Rather, isn’t it** correct to **conclude from** the *baraita* that selling a *beit kor* of land **without** further **specification** is **like** selling it **more or less?** The Gemara affirms: **Conclude from** the *baraita* that this is so.


###### Bava Batra 104a:5
[Bava Batra 104a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/104a:5)

מַהוּ מַחֲזִיר לוֹ? מָעוֹת וְכוּ׳. לְיַפּוֹת כֹּחוֹ שֶׁל מוֹכֵר אָמְרִינַן, לְיַפּוֹת כֹּחוֹ שֶׁל לוֹקֵחַ לָא אָמְרִינַן?!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ With regard to a buyer who received too much land and now must compensate the seller, the mishna teaches: **What does he return to him?** He pays him **money,** and if the seller so wishes, the buyer returns the surplus land to him, because the Sages said that the buyer pays money in order to enhance the power of the seller. In other words, the Sages allowed the seller to choose whether to take back the surplus land or to demand payment for it from the buyer, even though this effectively forces the buyer to purchase the surplus land from him. The Gemara asks: Is it correct that **we say** that **the seller’s power should be enhanced, and** that **we do not say** that **the buyer’s power should be enhanced?**


###### Bava Batra 104a:6
[Bava Batra 104a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/104a:6)

וְהָתַנְיָא: פִּיחֵת שִׁבְעַת קַבִּין וּמֶחֱצָה לְכוֹר, אוֹ הוֹתִיר שִׁבְעַת קַבִּין וּמֶחֱצָה לְכוֹר – הִגִּיעוֹ. יוֹתֵר מִכָּאן – כּוֹפִין אֶת הַמּוֹכֵר לִמְכּוֹר וְאֶת הַלּוֹקֵחַ לִיקַּח.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
But **isn’t it taught** otherwise in a *baraita*: **If** the seller **gave** the buyer **seven and a half *kav* per *kor* less** than what was stipulated, which is the equivalent of a quarter*-kav* per *se’a*, as a *kor* is equal to thirty *se’a*, **or he gave him seven and a half *kav* per *kor* more** than what was stipulated, **it is his** and the sale is valid. If the difference is **greater than that** amount, the court **compels the seller to sell and the buyer to buy** the difference. This indicates that we also say that the buyer’s power should be enhanced, since if the buyer so wishes, the seller is compelled to sell him land and accept payment for it.


###### Bava Batra 104a:7
[Bava Batra 104a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/104a:7)

הָתָם, כְּגוֹן דַּהֲוָה יַקִּירָא מֵעִיקָּרָא, וְזָל הַשְׁתָּא; דְּאָמְרִינַן לֵיהּ: אִי אַרְעָא יָהֲבַתְּ לִי – הַב לִי כְּזוּלָא דְּהַשְׁתָּא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara replies: **There,** the *baraita* is not discussing a case where the buyer wishes to acquire the surplus land, but rather with a case **where** the land **was initially,** at the time of the sale, **expensive, but now it is cheap,** and the seller wants the buyer to pay him for the surplus land according to the initial higher rate. In this case, **we say to** the seller, in the name of the buyer: **If you** wish to **give me land** and receive money, **give me** the land **according to the current, cheaper rate.** This is what the *baraita* is referring to when it states that the seller is compelled to sell.


###### Bava Batra 104a:8
[Bava Batra 104a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/104a:8)

וְהָתַנְיָא: כְּשֶׁהוּא נוֹתֵן לוֹ – נוֹתֵן לוֹ כְּשַׁעַר שֶׁלָּקַח מִמֶּנּוּ! הָתָם, כְּגוֹן דַּהֲוָה זוּלָא מֵעִיקָּרָא, וְיָקְרָא לַהּ הַשְׁתָּא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara raises a difficulty: **But isn’t it taught** in a *baraita*: **When he gives him** money in payment for the surplus land, **he gives** it **to him according to the rate at which he had bought** the rest of the land **from him?** The Gemara replies: **There** the *baraita* is referring to a case **where** the land **was initially cheap but now it is expensive.** If, in such a case, the seller wants the buyer to pay him for the surplus land, he is compelled to sell it to him according to the cheap rate from the time of the original sale.


###### Bava Batra 104a:9
[Bava Batra 104a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/104a:9)

שֶׁאִם שִׁיֵּיר בַּשָּׂדֶה בֵּית תִּשְׁעָה קַבִּין וְכוּ׳. אָמַר רַב הוּנָא: תִּשְׁעָה קַבִּין שֶׁאָמְרוּ, וַאֲפִילּוּ בְּבִקְעָה גְּדוֹלָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna teaches: **As, if the surplus in the field was an area required for the sowing of nine *kav*** of seed, and in a garden an area required for the sowing of a half-*kav* of seed, or, according to the Rabbi Akiva, an area required for the sowing of a quarter-*kav* of seed, the buyer can return the surplus land to the seller, and the seller cannot demand payment in money. **Rav Huna says:** The *halakha* **that was stated** in the mishna, that a surplus in the size of an area required for the sowing of **nine *kav*** of seed can be returned to the seller, applies **even in a large valley** which measures several *kor*. If the surplus is a significant plot of land equal in size to an area required for the sowing of nine *kav* of seed, the buyer can return it to the seller, even if it is less than one-quarter of a *kav* per *se’a*, i.e., less than one twenty-fourth the size of the field that was sold.


###### Bava Batra 104a:10
[Bava Batra 104a:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/104a:10)

וְרַב נַחְמָן אָמַר: נוֹתֵן שִׁבְעַת קַבִּין וּמֶחֱצָה לְכׇל כּוֹר וָכוֹר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And Rav Naḥman says: He calculates seven and a half *kav* for each and every *kor*,** which is equivalent to one-quarter of a *kav* per *se’a*. As long as the surplus does not exceed that ratio, he is not required to return it, even if the surplus is greater than the area required for the sowing of nine *kav*.