## Bava Batra Daf 99a

###### Bava Batra 99a:1
[Bava Batra 99a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/99a:1)

הָא קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן – לְמַטָּה כִּלְמַעְלָה; מָה לְמַעְלָה אֵין מְשַׁמֵּשׁ כְּלוּם, אַף לְמַטָּה אֵין מְשַׁמֵּשׁ כְּלוּם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The verse **teaches us this:** The area **below** the cherubs **is like** the area **above** them; **just as** the area **above** the cherubs’ wings, which were spread out in the air, **was not used for anything,** i.e., it was empty space, **so too** the area **below** them **was not used for anything** and was empty.


###### Bava Batra 99a:2
[Bava Batra 99a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/99a:2)

מְסַיַּיע לֵיהּ לְרַבִּי לֵוִי – דְּאָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי, וְאִיתֵּימָא רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: דָּבָר זֶה מָסוֹרֶת בְּיָדֵינוּ מֵאֲבוֹתֵינוּ – מְקוֹם אָרוֹן וּכְרוּבִים אֵינוֹ מִן הַמִּדָּה. תַּנְיָא נָמֵי הָכִי: אָרוֹן שֶׁעָשָׂה מֹשֶׁה, יֵשׁ לוֹ רֶיוַח עֶשֶׂר אַמּוֹת לְכׇל רוּחַ וְרוּחַ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
This **supports** the opinion of **Rabbi Levi, as Rabbi Levi said, and some say** it was **Rabbi Yoḥanan** who said: **This matter is a tradition handed** down **to us by our ancestors: The space** occupied by the **Ark** of the Covenant **and** the **cherubs is not** included **in the measurement** of the Holy of Holies in which it rested, as miraculously it did not occupy any space at all. The Gemara comments: **This is also taught** in a *baraita*: When they brought **the Ark that Moses crafted** into the Holy of Holies in the Temple of King Solomon, even though the total width of the Holy of Holies was only twenty cubits, nevertheless the Ark **had ten cubits** of empty **space** between it and the wall **in each and every direction.**


###### Bava Batra 99a:3
[Bava Batra 99a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/99a:3)

אָמַר רַבְנַאי אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: כְּרוּבִים – בְּנֵס הֵן עוֹמְדִין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְחָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת כְּנַף הַכְּרוּב הָאֶחָת, וְחָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת כְּנַף הַכְּרוּב הַשֵּׁנִית, עֶשֶׂר אַמּוֹת מִקְצוֹת כְּנָפָיו וְעַד קְצוֹת כְּנָפָיו״. גּוּפַיְיהוּ הֵיכָא הֲווֹ קָיְימִי? אֶלָּא שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ: בְּנֵס הֵן עוֹמְדִין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbenai says** that **Shmuel says:** The **cherubs stood miraculously** and did not occupy any physical space, **as it is stated: “And five cubits was one wing of the cherub, and five cubits was the second wing of the cherub; ten cubits from the tip of its wings until the tip of its wings”** (I Kings 6:24). Accordingly, the wings of two cherubs, standing side by side, would occupy the entire twenty cubits width of the Sanctuary. But if so, **where,** in what space, **were their bodies standing?** Since their wings alone, which protruded from the sides of cherubs’ bodies, occupied twenty cubits, there was no room left in which their bodies could stand. **Rather,** one must **conclude from** the verse that the cherubs **stood miraculously** and did not occupy any physical space.


###### Bava Batra 99a:4
[Bava Batra 99a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/99a:4)

מַתְקֵיף לַהּ אַבָּיֵי: וְדִלְמָא בּוֹלְטִין כְּתַרְנְגוֹלִין הֲווֹ קָיְימִי! מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רָבָא: וְדִלְמָא זֶה שֶׁלֹּא כְּנֶגֶד זֶה הֲווֹ קָיְימִי! מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רַב אַחָא בַּר יַעֲקֹב: וְדִלְמָא בַּאֲלַכְסוֹנָא הֲווֹ קָיְימִי!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Abaye objects to this** proof: **But perhaps they stood** with their bodies **emerging** beneath their wings, **like chickens,** with their wings protruding above them from the same point in the center of their backs. If so, their bodies would stand beneath their wings and would not occupy any additional space. **Rava** also **objects to this** proof: **But perhaps they stood** so that **this** one **was not next to that** one and the wings of the two cherubs overlapped, thereby allowing for the additional space occupied by their bodies. **Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov** also **objects to this** proof: **But perhaps they were standing in a diagonal [*ba’alakhsona*]** alignment from one corner of the Holy of Holies to the diagonally opposite corner. In this way there would be enough space for their bodies and their wings.


###### Bava Batra 99a:5
[Bava Batra 99a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/99a:5)

מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רַב הוּנָא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַב יְהוֹשֻׁעַ: וְדִלְמָא בֵּיתָא מֵעִילַּאי רָוַוח! מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רַב פָּפָּא: וְדִלְמָא מִיכָּף הֲווֹ כָּיְיפִי יְדַיְיהוּ! מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רַב אָשֵׁי: וְדִלְמָא שַׁלְחוֹפֵי הֲווֹ מְשַׁלְחֲפִי!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Huna son of Rav Yehoshua** also **objects to this** proof: **But perhaps** the width of twenty cubits stated in the verse refers only to the width at ground level, whereas **the room widened at the top** and was therefore able to accommodate both their wings and the width of the bodies. **Rav Pappa** also **objects to this** proof: **But perhaps they were folding their wings** somewhat; since their wings were not fully extended they did not actually fill the full twenty cubits of the Sanctuary. **Rav Ashi** also **objects to this** proof: **But perhaps** their wings **crossed over** one another, so that they did not occupy so much space.


###### Bava Batra 99a:6
[Bava Batra 99a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/99a:6)

כֵּיצַד הֵן עוֹמְדִין? רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר; חַד אָמַר: פְּנֵיהֶם אִישׁ אֶל אָחִיו, וְחַד אָמַר: פְּנֵיהֶם לַבַּיִת. וּלְמַאן דְּאָמַר פְּנֵיהֶם אִישׁ אֶל אָחִיו, הָא כְּתִיב: ״וּפְנֵיהֶם לַבַּיִת״! לָא קַשְׁיָא; כָּאן בִּזְמַן שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין רְצוֹנוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם, כָּאן בִּזְמַן שֶׁאֵין יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין רְצוֹנוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ Continuing its focus on the cherubs, the Gemara asks: **How were** the cherubs **standing? Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Elazar** disagree about this. **One says: Their faces** were turned **one toward the other. And one says: Their faces** were turned **toward the House,** i.e., the Sanctuary. The Gemara asks: **But according to the one who says** that **their faces** were turned **one toward the other, isn’t it written: “And their faces were toward the House”** (II Chronicles 3:13)? How does he explain the meaning of this verse? The Gemara answers: This is **not difficult,** as their faces miraculously changed directions in reflection of the Jewish people’s relationship to God. **Here,** when it states that the cherubs faced each other, it was **when the Jewish people do the will of God. There,** the verse that describes that the cherubs faced the Sanctuary and not toward each other, was **when the Jewish people do not do the will of God.**


###### Bava Batra 99a:7
[Bava Batra 99a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/99a:7)

וּלְמַאן דְּאָמַר ״וּפְנֵיהֶם לַבַּיִת״, הָא כְּתִיב: ״וּפְנֵיהֶם אִישׁ אֶל אָחִיו״! דִּמְצַדְּדִי אַצְדּוֹדֵי – דְּתַנְיָא, אוּנְקְלוֹס הַגֵּר אָמַר: כְּרוּבִים – ״מַעֲשֵׂה צַעֲצֻעִים״ הֵן, וּמְצוֹדְדִים פְּנֵיהֶם כְּתַלְמִיד הַנִּפְטָר מֵרַבּוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **And according to the one who says** they stood as described in the verse: **“And their faces were toward the House,” isn’t it written: “With their faces one toward the other”** (Exodus 25:20). How does he explain the meaning of this verse? The Gemara answers: **They were angled sideways** so that they turned both to each other and toward the Sanctuary, **as it is taught** in a *baraita*: **Onkelos the Convert said** that the **cherubs were** of the **form of children,** as the verse states: “And in the Holy of Holies he made two cherubim of the form of children; and they overlaid them with gold” (II Chronicles 3:10), **and their faces were angled sideways** toward the Ark of the Covenant, **like a student taking leave of his teacher.**


###### Bava Batra 99a:8
[Bava Batra 99a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/99a:8)

**מַתְנִי׳** מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ בּוֹר לִפְנִים מִבֵּיתוֹ שֶׁל חֲבֵירוֹ – נִכְנָס בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁדֶּרֶךְ בְּנֵי אָדָם נִכְנָסִין, וְיוֹצֵא בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁדֶּרֶךְ בְּנֵי אָדָם יוֹצְאִין. וְאֵינוֹ מַכְנִיס בְּהֶמְתּוֹ וּמַשְׁקָהּ מִבּוֹרוֹ, אֶלָּא מְמַלֵּא וּמַשְׁקָהּ מִבַּחוּץ. וְזֶה עוֹשֶׂה לוֹ פּוֹתַחַת, וְזֶה עוֹשֶׂה לוֹ פּוֹתַחַת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** **One who has** ownership of **a cistern** located **beyond the house of another,** i.e., the cistern can be accessed only by entering the property of the other, and also has access rights to that cistern, **may enter** the house to access his cistern only **at a time when it is usual for people to enter, and may leave** only **at a time when it is usual for people to leave. And** in addition, **he may not bring his animal** into the house **and water** it **from his cistern; rather, he** must **fill** a pail with water from the cistern **and water** his animal **outside. And this** one, the owner of the cistern, **constructs for himself a lock** on the entrance to the cistern to prevent the homeowner from drawing water from it, **and that** one, the homeowner, **constructs for himself a lock.**


###### Bava Batra 99a:9
[Bava Batra 99a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bava%20Batra/r/99a:9)

**גְּמָ׳** פּוֹתַחַת לְהֵיכָא? אֲמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: שְׁנֵיהֶם לַבּוֹר. בִּשְׁלָמָא בַּעַל הַבּוֹר, בָּעֵי לְאִשְׁתַּמּוֹרֵי מַיָּא דְּבוֹרֵיהּ; אֶלָּא בַּעַל הַבַּיִת – לְמָה לֵיהּ? אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** The mishna states that the owner of the cistern and the homeowner each construct a lock. The Gemara asks: **A lock to where? Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Both of them** construct a lock on the opening **to the cistern** to prevent the other from accessing it unilaterally. The Gemara asks: **Granted, the owner of the cistern** constructs a lock, as **he wants to protect the water of his well. But why** does **the homeowner** construct a lock? **Rabbi Elazar said:**