Bava Metzia - Daf 25
- Produce or money found in front of a container
The next Mishnah lists found items which must be announced, including a vessel with produce inside, or a purse with coins inside. The Gemara infers: הא כלי ולפניו פירות – but if he found a vessel with produce in front of it, כיס ולפניו מעות – or a purse with coins in front of it, he may keep them, because we do not assume they came from the container. This supports a Baraisa which says the same, and adds that if some produce remains in the container, it must all be returned. The Gemara asks that this contradicts another Baraisa stating that if one found an item without a siman (e.g., coins) near an item with a siman (e.g., a purse), he must announce both!? Four answers are given: (1) Flax near a barrel need not be returned, because if it had come from the barrel, some would have remained. Produce near a basket must be returned, since all of it may have slid out. (2) The law of produce depends on whether some remains in the basket or not. (3) The difference is whether the basket faces the produce or not. (4) The difference is whether the basket has an outer rim or not.
- שלשה מטבעות זה על גב זה
The Mishnah stated: שלשה מטבעות זה על גב זה – three coins one upon the other must be returned. Rebbe Yitzchak Migdelaah said, and was supported by a Baraisa: והוא שעשויין כמגדלין – this is only true where they are arranged like towers. Rebbe Chanina said, as the Gemara clarifies, that they must be של מלך אחד כעין שלשה מלכים – coins of one king which are like coins of three kings, meaning they are different diameters, with the largest on the bottom and the smallest on top, which clearly indicates an intentional arrangement. If they are of equal size, the finder keeps them (even if they are stacked), because it is possible they simply fell that way. Rebbe Yochanan holds even coins of equal size which are stacked must be announced, and Ravina explains: טבעא מכריז – he announces he found coins, and the owner describes their number and arrangement. Rebbe Yirmiyah asked about several other arrangements, such as a circle, a line, a triangle, and steps, and the Gemara proves that the final case must be announced.
- Something hidden, or possibly hidden, may not be touched
The next Mishnah states that if one found young pigeons which were tied, either behind a fence or a wall, or in the paths of fields, הרי זה לא יגע בהן – he should not touch them. The Gemara explains that we say: הני אינש אצנעינהו – a person apparently hid these in these protected places, and if they are taken to be announced, the owner has no siman with which to claim them. Therefore, they should be left where they are, because he may return for them. The Gemara asks that their location should be a siman, and answers: במדדין – the case is birds which hop from place to place, and may not have originated here. The Gemara asks that if so, they may have come from elsewhere, and were never hidden, and they should belong to the finder!? The Gemara answers that both possibilities exist, and it is thus a case of ספק הינוח – uncertainty if it was placed intentionally, and Rav said: כל ספק הינוח – In every case of uncertainty if a found item was placed intentionally, לכתחילה לא יטול – one should not take it, ואם נטל לא יחזיר – but if he did take it, he should not return it to anyone, since it lacks a siman.
