## Bava Batra Daf 54b

###### Bava Batra 54b:1
[Bava Batra 54b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/54b:1)

וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ מְסוּיֶּימֶת בִּמְצָרֶיהָ, עַד כַּמָּה? אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא: כִּדְאָזֵיל תַּיָּירָא דְשׁוֹרֵי וְהָדַר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And if it is not defined by its boundaries, up to how much** of the field is acquired by one strike of the hoe? **Rav Pappa said:** He acquires as far **as an ox driver goes and returns,** i.e., the size of a standard furrow, beginning where the hoe entered the ground.


###### Bava Batra 54b:2
[Bava Batra 54b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/54b:2)

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: נִכְסֵי גּוֹי הֲרֵי הֵן כְּמִדְבָּר, כׇּל הַמַּחְזִיק בָּהֶן זָכָה בָּהֶן. מַאי טַעְמָא? גּוֹי – מִכִּי מָטוּ זוּזֵי לִידֵיהּ אִסְתַּלַּק לֵיהּ, יִשְׂרָאֵל לָא קָנֵי עַד דְּמָטֵי שְׁטָרָא לִידֵיהּ. הִלְכָּךְ הֲרֵי הֵן כְּמִדְבָּר, וְכׇל הַמַּחְזִיק בָּהֶן זָכָה בָּהֶן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **Rav Yehuda says** that **Shmuel says:** With regard to the **property of a gentile** that was sold to a Jew for money, **it is** ownerless **like a desert** until the purchaser performs an act of acquisition; **anyone who takes possession of it** in the interim has **acquired it. What is the reason** for this? The **gentile relinquishes** ownership of it **from** the moment **when** the **money reaches his hand,** while the **Jew** who purchased it **does not acquire** it **until the deed reaches his hand. Therefore,** in the period of time between the giving of the money and the receiving of the deed, the property **is like a desert, and anyone who takes possession of it** has **acquired it.**


###### Bava Batra 54b:3
[Bava Batra 54b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/54b:3)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבָּיֵי לְרַב יוֹסֵף: מִי אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל הָכִי?! וְהָאָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: דִּינָא דְמַלְכוּתָא דִּינָא; וּמַלְכָּא אָמַר: לָא לִיקְנֵי אַרְעָא אֶלָּא בְּאִיגַּרְתָּא! אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אֲנָא לָא יָדַעְנָא; עוֹבָדָא הֲוָה בְּדוּרָא דְרָעֲוָתָא, בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל דִּזְבַן אַרְעָא מִגּוֹי, וַאֲתָא יִשְׂרָאֵל אַחֲרִינָא רָפֵיק בָּהּ פּוּרְתָּא; אֲתָא לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּרַב יְהוּדָה, אוֹקְמַהּ בִּידָא דְּשֵׁנִי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Abaye said to Rav Yosef: Did Shmuel** actually **say this? But doesn’t Shmuel say** that **the law of the kingdom is the law,** i.e., the *halakha* obligates Jews to observe the laws of the locale in which they reside, **and the king said** that **land may not be acquired without a document?** Therefore, taking possession should not be effective for acquisition. Rav Yosef **said to him: I do not know** how to reconcile this contradiction, but **there was an incident in** the village of **Dura that** was founded by **shepherds, where** there was **a Jew who purchased land from a gentile** by giving money, **and** in the interim **another Jew came** and **plowed it a bit.** The two Jews **came before Rav Yehuda** for a ruling, and he **established** the property **in the possession of the second** individual. This accords with the ruling of Shmuel that the property is ownerless until a Jew performs an act of acquisition.


###### Bava Batra 54b:4
[Bava Batra 54b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/54b:4)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: דּוּרָא דְרָעֲוָתָא קָאָמְרַתְּ?! הָתָם בָּאגֵי מִטַּמְּרִי הֲווֹ – דְּאִינְהוּ גּוּפַיְיהוּ לָא הֲווֹ יָהֲבִי טַסְקָא לְמַלְכָּא, וּמַלְכָּא אֲמַר: מַאן דְּיָהֵיב טַסְקָא, לֵיכוֹל אַרְעָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Abaye **said to him: Are you saying** that the incident occurred in **Dura that** was founded by **shepherds?** Proof cannot be brought from that case, as **there** the **fields were concealed, since** the owners of fields **would not pay the land tax [*taska*] to the king, and the king says** that **one who pays land tax** may **profit** from **the field.** Therefore, in that case, the gentile who sold the property did not actually own it, and consequently by the laws of the kingdom could not sell it. The one who took possession of the property acquired it in accordance with the law of the kingdom, as he committed to pay the land tax. Elsewhere, one would not acquire the field until he received a deed of sale from the gentile.


###### Bava Batra 54b:5
[Bava Batra 54b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/54b:5)

רַב הוּנָא זְבֵן אַרְעָא מִגּוֹי, אֲתָא יִשְׂרָאֵל אַחֵר רָפֵיק בַּהּ פּוּרְתָּא. אֲתָא לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּרַב נַחְמָן, אוֹקְמַהּ בִּידֵיהּ. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מַאי דַּעְתָּיךְ? דְּאָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: נִכְסֵי גּוֹי הֲרֵי הֵן כְּמִדְבָּר, וְכׇל הַמַּחְזִיק בָּהֶם זָכָה?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara relates: **Rav Huna purchased land from a gentile. Another Jew came and plowed it slightly.** Rav Huna and that Jew **came before Rav Naḥman,** who **established** the property **in the possession** of the latter. Rav Huna **said to** Rav Naḥman: **What are you thinking** in issuing this ruling? Is it **because Shmuel says** that **the property of a gentile is like a desert, and anyone who takes possession of it** has **acquired it?**