Bava Batra 47

בשביל של כרמים דאם איתא דמעלמא אתי כיון דמידדי לא מצי אתי דכל דמידדי והדר חזי ליה לקיניה מידדי ואי לא לא מידדי

with a path between vineyards; for though [there is ground for saying that] it came from a distance. [because it is more than fifty cubits from a cote],<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The vines having enabled it to hop further than it would otherwise be able to do. ');">¹</span> yet here, since it can only hop, it cannot have come from a distant cote, because a bird will only hop away from the cote so long as it can still see the cote on turning round, but no further.

אמר אביי אף אנן נמי תנינא דם שנמצא בפרוזדור ספיקו טמא שחזקתו מן המקור ואע"ג דאיכא עלייה דמקרבא

Abaye said: We too know R. Hanina's rule<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That 'majority' is the decisive factor. ');">²</span> from the Mishnah. which says: 'If blood<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The reference is to a woman who finds on her body blood which may be either the blood of childbirth, and therefore clean, or the blood of an issue and therefore unclean. V. Lev. XV. 25. ');">³</span>

א"ל רבא רוב ומצוי קא אמרת רוב ומצוי ליכא למאן דאמר

is found in the 'anteroom'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For an explanation of these terms. v. Niddah, ad init. ');">⁴</span> and there is any doubt about its character, it is reckoned unclean, because it is presumed to be from the 'source'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For an explanation of these terms. v. Niddah, ad init. ');">⁴</span>

דתני ר' חייא דם הנמצא בפרוזדור חייבין עליו על ביאת מקדש ושורפין עליו את התרומה

— notwithstanding the fact that there is an 'upper chamber'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For an explanation of these terms. v. Niddah, ad init. ');">⁴</span> which is nearer. Said Raba to him: You are speaking of a case where there is 'frequency' as well as 'majority';<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., although the blood might have come from the 'upper chamber' which is nearer, we yet presume it to have come from the 'source' where there is more blood and whence blood more frequently flows. ');">⁵</span>

ואמר רבא ש"מ מדרבי חייא תלת שמע מינה רוב וקרוב הלך אחר הרוב ושמע מינה רובא דאורייתא וש"מ איתא לדר' זירא

where there are both 'frequency' and 'majority' no one questions that they carry more weight than 'nearness'. R. Hiyya taught:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Reading [H] v. Tosaf. ');">⁶</span>

דאמר רבי זירא אע"פ שדלתות מדינה נעולות

Blood found in the 'anteroom' renders [the woman] liable [for a sin-offering] if she enters the Sanctuary,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Before due purification, because it is certainly unclean. ');">⁷</span> and <i>terumah</i> must be burnt on its account.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., if the woman touched the terumah in this unclean state. ');">⁸</span>

דהא אשה דכי דלתות מדינה נעולות דמיא ואפי' הכי קא אזלינן בתר רובא

Raba remarked: From this statement of R. Hiyya three lessons may be derived. One is [that where we have to choose between] 'majority' and 'nearness', we decide on the ground of 'majority'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since if we decided that the blood belongs to that category to which it is nearest, it would not render the woman liable to a sin-offering nor necessitate the burning of terumah. ');">⁹</span> The second is that the rule of 'majority' derives its warrant from the Scripture. The third is that R. Zera was right when he laid down that [in the case of a piece of meat] we decide on the ground of 'majority' even though the town gates are closed,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If there are ten butchers' shops in a town of which nine sell 'kosher' meat and the tenth 'trefa', then if a piece of meat is found near the one which sells 'trefa' meat we still say, on the ground of 'majority', it is 'kosher', and this (R. Zera maintains) not only if the town gates are open so that there is a possibility of it having been brought in by Jews from outside, forming a 'majority', but even if they are closed, i.e., even if there is only one 'majority' and not two. ');">¹⁰</span>

והא רבא הוא דקאמר רוב ומצוי ליכא למ"ד הדר ביה רבא מההיא

because the case of the woman here is analogous to the case where the town gates are closed,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In the fact that there is only one 'majority'. viz. that the 'majority' of blood emanates from the source; v. Keth. 15a. ');">¹¹</span> and even so we decide on the ground of 'majority'. But was it not Raba himself who said that where 'majority' and 'frequency' were combined no one questioned that they carried more weight than 'nearness' [whereas here he says that 'majority' itself carries more weight]? — Raba retracted the objection he then made to Abaye.

איתמר חבית שצפה בנהר אמר רב נמצאת כנגד עיר שרובה ישראל מותר כנגד עיר שרובה נכרים אסירא ושמואל אמר אפילו נמצאת כנגד עיר שרובה ישראל אסירא אימור מהאי דקרא אתאי

It has been stated: If a barrel of wine is found floating on the river [Euphrates]. Rab says, if it is opposite a town where the majority of the inhabitants are Jews, the wine is permitted, and if opposite a town where the majority of the inhabitants are nonjews. the wine is prohibited. Samuel, however, says that even if it is found opposite a town where the majority of the inhabitants are Jews, it is prohibited, because it may be supposed to have come from Hai di-Kira.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [Ihi di-Kira, the modern Hit (v. Obermeyer, Die Landschaft Babylonien, 59ff.). A town in the North of Babylonia which was outside the Jewish settlement.] ');">¹²</span> May we say that the ground on which they join issue is the dictum of R. Hanina [that we follow the 'majority' in preference to 'nearness']. Samuel accepting it<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And so this barrel is prohibited. because most barrels are from non-Jews. ');">¹³</span>

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. ');">¹⁴</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. ');">¹⁵</span>

לא דכולי עלמא אית להו דר' חנינא והכא בהא קמיפלגי דמר סבר אם איתא דמהאי דקרא אתאי עקולי ופשורי הוה מטבעי לה ומר סבר חריפא דנהרא נקט ואתאי

or shallows<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Formed by melting snows. This is Rashi's explanation. Others render 'bends and inlets', v. Aruch. ');">¹⁶</span> of the river, whereas Samuel thinks that it can have been carried along by the force of the stream.

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. ');">¹⁷</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. ');">¹⁸</span>

שאני התם דאי מיגניב מינה אצנועי בגויה לא מצנעי והני מילי חמרא אבל עינבי מצנעי

— There was a different reason in that case, viz., that if the wine had been stolen from that vineyard it would not have been hidden there. This, however, applies only to wine, but [stolen] grapes might be hidden [in the same vineyard]. A number of flasks of wine were found between trunks of vines<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [ [H] or 'at Be Kufai', a village 4 parasangs west of Bagdad; v. Obermeyer; p. 267.] ');">¹⁹</span>

הנהו זיקי דחמרא דאשתכחן בי קופאי שרנהו רבא לימא לא סבר לה לדרבי חנינא שאני התם דרובא

[of a Jew] and Raba permitted the wine to be drunk.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As being presumably Jewish and not Gentile wine. ');">²⁰</span> Shall we say that he did not hold with R. Hanina?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Deciding according to 'nearness' and not 'majority'. ');">²¹</span> — There was a different reason in that case, viz, that most