Commentary for Bava Batra 86:6

ואי בעית אימא כגון דאית ליה סהדי למר ואית ליה סהדי למר ואמור רבנן ארעא היכא דקיימא תיקום

But if he has once testified that it belongs to Levi, how can he recover it from him?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And so how can he think any such thing? ');">⁶</span> — [We suppose] that what he will say [in evidence] is, I know that this field does not belong to Judah.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Without committing himself to the statement that it belongs to Levi. ');">⁷</span> But cannot he recover it from Judah by means of the same proofs by which he recovers it from Levi?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' E.g., if Judah has claimed the property on the ground that Reuben sold it to him. In that case we should think there can be no objection to Simeon's testifying that Reuben sold the field to Levi, because even if the field is ultimately assigned to Judah, Simeon can recover it from him on the ground that Reuben took it from him (v. Tosaf. s.v. [H]). ');">⁸</span> — He says: It is easier for me to deal with the second [Levi] than with the first [Judah].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'the first is easy for me, the second difficult'. ');">⁹</span> Or if you like I can reply that both [Simeon and Judah] have witnesses [to prove their title], and the Rabbis have laid down that in such cases the land shall remain in possession of its present owner.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And therefore, if the land is once assigned to Judah, Simeon will not be able to recover it from him. Hence if Judah claims it from Levi (from whom Simeon can certainly recover), Simeon must not give evidence against him. ');">¹⁰</span>

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