Traité Bava Kamma

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : the owner of the wine has the right to collect only his wage, i.e., compensation for the effort he put into salvaging the honey. He is not, however, entitled to compensation for the wine itself. But if the owner of the wine said: I will salvage your honey and you will pay me the value of my wine, the owner of the honey is obligated to pay him compensation for the wine.

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : Similarly, if a river washed away his donkey and the donkey of another, and his donkey was worth one hundred dinars and the donkey of the other was worth two hundred, and the individual with the less valuable donkey abandoned his donkey and instead salvaged the donkey of the other, he has the right to collect only his wage, i.e., compensation for the effort he put into salvaging his fellow’s donkey. But if he said to the owner of the more valuable donkey: I will salvage your donkey and you will pay me the monetary value of mine in exchange, the owner of the more valuable donkey is obligated to pay the rescuer compensation for his donkey.

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : GEMARA: And why does one who pours out wine have the right to collect only this wage? Let him say to the owner of the honey: I have acquired your honey from ownerless property. Isn’t it taught in a baraita: One who was laden with jugs of wine and jugs of oil and saw that they were breaking and their contents were leaking out should not say: This is hereby separated as teruma and tithe for the produce that I have in my house. And even if he said this, it is as though he did not say anything. The fact that one cannot separate produce that is about to be lost as teruma or tithe indicates that such property is considered ownerless.

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : The Gemara answers that it is as Rabbi Yirmeya says in a different context, that the ruling discussed there is referring to a case where the basket of the olive press was wrapped around it so that the barrel would not break completely, and some of the contents would remain inside. So too, here, the mishna issued its ruling only when the basket of the olive press was wrapped around the honey barrel so that it would not break completely, and the contents are therefore not rendered ownerless.

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : The Gemara challenges the baraita that stated: And even if he said that the wine or oil is separated as teruma or tithe, it is as though he did not say anything. But isn’t it taught in a different baraita: If one was traveling on the road and had money in his possession, and he saw a ruffian moving toward him, he should not say: The second-tithe produce that I have in my house is hereby desacralized onto these coins, i.e., the sanctity of the produce is hereby transferred to the coins. But if he said so, his statement stands, and the produce is desacralized while the coins attain the sanctity of the second tithe.

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : The Gemara answers: Here we are dealing with a case where he is capable of saving his money from the ruffian and that is why he may transfer the sanctity of the second tithe to the coins. The Gemara asks: If it is a case where he is capable of saving the money, why should he not say that the produce should be desacralized ab initio? The Gemara answers: It is a case where he is capable of saving the money only with difficulty. Consequently, he should not transfer the sanctity of the second tithe to the coins, as it may be lost; but if he does so, the transfer takes effect, as it is not certain that the money will be lost.

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : The Gemara asks: And is it so that wherever there is a potential loss one should not say that the sanctity is transferred to the money ab initio? But isn’t it taught otherwise in the following baraita: If one had ten barrels of ritually impure, untithed wine, i.e., first-tithe wine from which the teruma of the tithe had not yet been separated, and he saw that one of them had broken and that its contents were leaking out, or that it had been exposed and is forbidden for consumption, he may say: This barrel is hereby separated as the teruma of the tithe for the other nine barrels. But with regard to oil, he should not do so due to the priest’s loss.

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : The Gemara answers that Rabbi Yirmeya said: The baraita issued its ruling only when the basket of the olive press was wrapped around the barrel so that some of its contents would remain inside. The Gemara asks: Granted, this rationale applies to a barrel that was broken, as the remaining contents are still fit for use, but with regard to a barrel that was exposed, for what use is it fit?

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : And if you would say that the exposed wine is fit for sprinkling, in order to spread its pleasant aroma, isn’t it taught otherwise in the following baraita? With regard to water that was exposed, one may not pour it out in the public domain, nor mix clay with it, nor settle dust with it by sprinkling it in a house, nor give it to his animal to drink, nor give it to the animal of another. This proves that exposed liquids may not be used even for sprinkling.

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : The Gemara answers: The wine is fit for use because he passed it through a strainer, and it is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Neḥemya, as it is taught in a baraita: A vessel covered with a strainer is subject to the halakha of exposure if the vessel is left unsupervised. Rabbi Neḥemya said: When is this so? It is so when the lower vessel, in which the liquid collects after passing through the strainer, is exposed. But when the lower vessel is covered, even if the upper vessel is exposed, it is not subject to the halakha of exposure, because the venom of a snake is like a sponge in that it floats and stays in place.

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : The Gemara questions this explanation: Wasn’t it stated with regard to Rabbi Neḥemya’s ruling that Rabbi Simon says that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: They taught Rabbi Neḥemya’s ruling only where one did not mix it, but if one mixed the wine, any venom found in it becomes capable of penetrating the strainer? Consequently, the wine remains forbidden even if it is passed through a strainer.

Traduction française en préparation — version anglaise (Steinsaltz) : The Gemara answers: There, too, it is possible to prevent the venom from mixing with the wine by placing something upon the mouth of a barrel that will filter it slowly so that the venom will not penetrate the strainer, and the wine may therefore be used.