Responsa for Bava Batra 47:12
ההוא חצבא דחמרא דאישתכח בפרדיסא דערלה שריא רבינא לימא משום דסבר לה דרבי חנינא
A barrel of wine [which had been stolen] was found in a vineyard which was 'uncircumcised',<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., had been planted less than three years. V. Lev. XIX. 23. ');"><sup>17</sup></span> and Rabina permitted the wine to be drunk. Shall we say it was because he held with R. Hanina?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And most wine is from vineyards of more than four years' standing. ');"><sup>18</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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