Bava Metzia - Daf 49
- מחוסר אמנה re: verbal commitments
With respect to דברים – words (i.e., verbal commitments), Rav says: אין בהן משום מחוסרי אמנה – retracting from them does not constitute lack of trustworthiness, but Rebbe Yochanan says it does. Rav was challenged from a Baraisa which darshens the phrase "הין צדק" to teach: שיהא הן שלך צדק ולאו שלך צדק – that your “yes” should be correct, and your “no” should be correct. Abaye answers that it means: שלא ידבר אחד בפה ואחד בלב – that one should not say one thing with his mouth, and another in his heart at that time, but he may change his mind due to changed circumstances. In another Baraisa (quoted on the previous Daf), Rebbe Shimon says the Rabbis are not pleased with one who violates his word, and the Gemara answers that it is a machlokes Tannaim. Rebbe Yochanan seems to contradict his opinion above, because he taught that one who says, “I will give you a gift” may retract. Rav Pappa answers that this refers to a large gift, but Rebbe Yochanan holds one should not retract from a small gift, דסמכא דעתייהו – because [the recipients] rely on him that he sincerely intends to give it.
- Rebbe Shimon: money acquires if the produce is in the buyer’s property
In a Baraisa, Rebbe Shimon says that the seller can only retract from the purchase when both the money and produce are in the seller's possession, but once the produce is in the buyer's possession, he cannot retract. The Gemara asks that this is obvious, and Rava explains: כגון שהיתה עלייה של לוקח מושכרת ביד מוכר – it is a case where the buyer’s attic was rented by the seller, and his wheat was stored there. Although it is legally the seller’s domain while he rents it, the wheat is physically in the buyer’s house. Rebbe Shimon holds that Biblically, money acquires מטלטלין, but the Rabbis required משיכה of the produce so the seller would not tell the buyer "נשרפו חיטיך בעלייה" – your wheat burned in the attic. Here, since the produce is in the house which the buyer owns, if a fire breaks out in the attic, איהו טרח ומייתי לה – [the buyer] will trouble himself and bring [the wheat] out. Therefore, they allowed money to finalize this sale, in accordance with the Biblical law.
- אונאה: שתות מקח or שתות מעות?
The next Mishnah states: האונאה ארבעה כסף מעשרים וארבעה כסף לסלע – Price fraud is defined as four silver [maos] out of the twenty-four silver [maos] of a sela, meaning, שתות למקח – a discrepancy of a sixth of the purchase. The Mishnah then teaches until when the defrauded party can retract or demand payment of the difference. Rav says: שתות מקח שנינו – a sixth of the market value of the purchased item is what we learned in the Mishnah as the rate for אונאה. Shmuel says: שתות מעות נמי שנינו – we also learned that a sixth of the money paid is a deviation considered אונאה. The Gemara illustrates that if something worth six zuz was sold for five, or sold for seven, all agree that we follow the item’s true value, and since the deviation was a sixth (too high or too low, respectively), it is considered אונאה. They argue where something worth five zuz was sold for six, defrauding the buyer by a fifth of its value, or something worth seven zuz was sold for five, defrauding the seller by a seventh of its value. Shmuel holds we follow the purchase price to consider it a “sixth,” but according to Rav, the first case is over a sixth and void, and the second case is less than a sixth and waived.
