Responsa for Bava Batra 47:10
לימא בדרבי חנינא קא מיפלגי דמר אית ליה דרבי חנינא ומר לית ליה דרבי חנינא
and Rab not accepting it?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And this barrel is permitted because it is near a Jewish town. ');"><sup>14</sup></span> — No: both accept the dictum of R. Hanina. and the ground on which they join issue is this, that in the opinion of Rab. if the barrel had come from Hai di-Kira it would have been sunk or stuck in the bays<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Formed by protruding rocks. ');"><sup>15</sup></span>
Teshuvot Maharam
Q. Thieves broke into A's cellar and inserted a tap into a cask of wine. Subsequently it was discovered that a great deal of wine was missing from the cask. Rabbi Jedidyah, however, permitted the use of the wine that was left in the cask.
A. Though the majority of thieves are Gentiles, and the talmudic dictum regarding Pumbeditha (A.Z. 70a) does not apply to other places, the use of this wine is permitted nevertheless, for there is no evidence that thieves broke into the cellar. Thus the cellar was found locked, while thieves do not trouble themselves to lock a door after their work is done. Therefore we assume that a member of the household inserted the tap, a common enough occurrence. Each member of the household, though he knows that he himself did not tamper with the cask, is nevertheless permitted to drink the wine, for he may assume that one of the other members of the household inserted the tap.
SOURCES: B. p. 295, no. 389. Cf. Asher, Responsa 19, 1.
A. Though the majority of thieves are Gentiles, and the talmudic dictum regarding Pumbeditha (A.Z. 70a) does not apply to other places, the use of this wine is permitted nevertheless, for there is no evidence that thieves broke into the cellar. Thus the cellar was found locked, while thieves do not trouble themselves to lock a door after their work is done. Therefore we assume that a member of the household inserted the tap, a common enough occurrence. Each member of the household, though he knows that he himself did not tamper with the cask, is nevertheless permitted to drink the wine, for he may assume that one of the other members of the household inserted the tap.
SOURCES: B. p. 295, no. 389. Cf. Asher, Responsa 19, 1.
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