Commentary for Bava Batra 257:3

המחלק נכסיו על פיו ריבה לאחד ומיעט לאחד כו': היכי דמי מתנה בתחלה היכי דמי באמצע היכי דמי בסוף

IF ONE DISTRIBUTED HIS PROPERTY VERBALLY [AND] GAVE TO ONE [SON] MORE, AND TO [ANOTHER] ONE LESS, etc. How is one to understand [the giving of] A GIFT AT THE BEGINNING, IN THE MIDDLE, or AT THE END? — When R. Dimi came<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' From Palestine. ');">⁷</span> he stated in the name of R. Johanan: [If one wrote,] 'Let a certain field be given to X and he shall inherit it,' this is [called] A GIFT AT THE BEGINNING. [If he wrote], 'let him inherit it and it shall be given to him', this is [called] A GIFT AT THE END. 'Let him inherit it and let it be given to him so that he may inherit it', this is A GIFT IN THE MIDDLE. [This law is] only [applicable to the case] of one person and one field,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' IN such a case, the expression of 'inheritance' is counteracted by that of 'gift'. ');">⁸</span> but not to [the case of] one person and two fields,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If, in connection with one field, the expression of 'inheritance' and with the other that of 'gift' was used, the latter field is acquired by the donee but not the former. ');">⁹</span>

Explore commentary for Bava Batra 257:3. In-depth commentary and analysis from classical Jewish sources.