Commentary for Bava Kamma 117:7
ולא תימא כרב אידי בר אבין דאמר רב אידי בר אבין כגון שאכלה ערוגה בין הערוגות ולא ידעינן אי כחושה הואי אי שמינה הואי דאמר קום שלים שמינה במיטב דאיכא השתא דהכי לא אמרינן
this means the best of the field of the plaintiff and the best of the vineyard of the plaintiff. This is the view of R. Ishmael. R. Akiba, however, says: Scripture only intended to lay down that damages should be collected out of the best and this applies even more to sacred property. Nor can you say that he [R. Ishmael] meant this in the sense of R. Idi b. Abin, who said [that it deals with a case where] e.g., the cattle consumed one bed out of several beds and we could not ascertain whether its produce was meagre or fertile, so that R. Ishmael would [thus be made to] order the defendant to go and pay for a fertile bed in accordance with the value of the best bed at the time of the damage. This could not be maintained by us, for the reason that the onus probandi falls upon the claimant. R. Ishmael<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [In the case where the quality of the bed consumed by the cattle was not in doubt.] ');"><sup>6</sup></span>
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