Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Commentary for Kiddushin 50:6

רבי זירא אמר מביא ארבעה כלים ומניחן תחת רגליו שמעת מינה כליו של לוקח ברשות מוכר קנה לוקח הכא במאי עסקינן בסימטא

R'Joseph demurred: If so, how can an elephant be acquired, according to R'Simeon? - Said Abaye to him: By halifin, or by renting its place.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' It then becomes his temporarily, and the elephant too; v. Mishnah on 26a.');"><sup>12</sup></span> R'Zera said: He [the purchaser] brings four utensils and places them under its feet.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., causes the elephant to step upon them; he is then regarded as having placed it in his utensils, so acquiring it.');"><sup>13</sup></span> Then you may infer from this that when the purchaser's utensils are in the vendor's domain [and a bought commodity is placed in them] the purchaser obtains a title.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For presumably the elephant was standing in the vendor's grounds. But this question is disputed in B.B. 85a.');"><sup>14</sup></span> - The reference here is to an alley.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Adjoining a public thoroughfare: this is a 'no man's land'.');"><sup>15</sup></span>

Daf Shevui to Kiddushin

R. Zera suggests putting vessels underneath each of the elephant’s feet. In this way, the purchaser’s vessels contain the elephant and will acquire it. I would not suggest using your fine china.
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Daf Shevui to Kiddushin

R. Zera’s statement seems to take one side in a dispute from Bava Batra over whether a person’s vessels can acquire when they are on the seller’s property.
In order to avoid taking a stance on this dispute, the Talmud suggests that this transaction (of an elephant) takes place in an alley!
Alternatively, the elephant can be acquired by having it step on bundles of sticks hire than three handbreadths from the ground. This is considered “lifting.”
I might add that I don’t suggest buying an elephant. They eat 200-600 pounds of food a day.
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