Bava Metzia - Daf 9
- Acquiring a bridle held up by a rider and someone holding its end
A Baraisa states: אחד רכוב חמור – if one litigant is riding a donkey ואחד תפוס במוסירה – and one is holding the bridle, זה קנה חמור וזה קנה מוסירה – this one acquires the donkey, and this one acquires the bridle. The Gemara asks that the rider should also acquire part of the bridle, since it is an adornment and considered part of the donkey. Rav Ashi eventually concluded: זה קנה חמור ובית פגיה – this [rider] acquires the donkey and its headstall (the bridle segment over its head), וזה קנה מה שתפוס בידו – and the other one acquires the part of the bridle in his hand, and the rest is not acquired by anyone.
Rebbe Abahu suggested that the one holding the bridle acquires all of it, without having lifted all of it: הואיל ויכול לנתקה ולהביאה אצלו – since he can yank [the bridle] and bring it to himself, he acquires it without doing so. This is rejected by the Gemara, because if so, if half a cloak is lying on a pillar, and someone lifts the other half from the ground, he would acquire it, since he can yank it off the pillar!?
- משיכה of an animal to acquire utensils on it (חצר מהלכת)
Rebbe Elazar asked, if someone tells his fellow: משוך בהמה זו וקני כלים שעליה – draw this animal near, and thereby acquire the utensils on it, does he acquire the utensils? Is the "משיכה" of an animal, which is usually performed by causing it to walk, able to acquire utensils, whose משיכה is done by pulling them? This implies that if he were to acquire the animal itself, he would certainly acquire the utensils as well. Rava objects: חצר מהלכת היא – it is a traveling chatzeir, וחצר מהלכת לא קנה – and a traveling chatzeir does not acquire!? Even if it was stationary, it is invalid as a chatzeir, since it is able to move (and thus different from one’s “hand,” which is the source of chatzeir). The Gemara answers that Rebbe Elazar’s case was בכפותה - where [the animal] was bound and could not move. Rava was asked that if a traveling chatzeir cannot acquire, then if (hefker) fish jump into someone’s boat, would he not acquire them? He replied: ספינה מינח נייחא – a boat is at rest; ומיא הוא דקא ממטו לה – and it is the water which moves it, so it is not considered a traveling chatzeir. Rav Ashi said the same regarding a get thrown into a basket carried on a woman’s head.
- Machlokes about acquiring פאה for a poor person
A Mishnah states that if someone gathered פאה and said, הרי זו לפלוני עני – this is hereby for Ploni the poor man, Rebbe Eliezer says the poor man acquires it, but the Chachomim say: יתננה לעני הנמצא ראשון – he should give it to the first available poor man, because the עני did not acquire the פאה. Ulla said the machlokes concerns a rich man (who is ineligible for פאה) acquiring on behalf of an עני. Rebbe Eliezer holds: מגו דאי בעי מפקר נכסיה – since, if he wants, he can be mafkir his possessions, rendering him an עני and entitled to collect פאה for himself, השתא נמי חזי ליה – now, too, while he is still wealthy, [פאה] is considered theoretically appropriate for him. ומגו דזכי לנפשיה – And since he can acquire it for himself, זכי נמי לחבריה – he can also acquire it for his fellow the עני, although he cannot currently take פאה. The Chachomim respond: חד מגו אמרינן – we can say one “since” argument, תרי מגו לא אמרינן – but we cannot say two “since” arguments, because his eligibility for פאה is two steps removed. However, the Chachomim agree that an עני can acquire פאה on another עני’s behalf, since he can acquire it for himself.
