On Second Thought: Delving Into the Sugya with Rabbanit Yafit Clymer

Masechet Bava Batra On the topic of neighbors, a recurring theme in the masechet

Listen here:

Watch here:

Printable Sources

Sources:

Mishnah Bava Batra 1:5

They compel [a partner in a courtyard to contribute to] the building of a gate-house and a door for the courtyard. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: “Not all courtyards are fit for a gate-house… How long must a man dwell in a town to count as one of the men of the town? Twelve months. If he has purchased a dwelling place he immediately counts as one of the men of the town.

תוספתא בבא מציעא י״א:י״ב

כופין בני העיר זה את זה  לבנות להן בית הכנסת, לקנות להן ספר תורה ונביאים […].

בבא בתרא ז׳ ב:ו׳-י״ג

“כּוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ לִבְנוֹת לָעִיר חוֹמָה דְּלָתַיִם וּבְרִיחַ”

Bava Batra 7b:6-13

MISHNA: The residents of a courtyard can compel each inhabitant of that courtyard to financially participate in the building of a gatehouse and a door to the jointly owned courtyard. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel disagrees and says: Not all courtyards require a gatehouse, and each courtyard must be considered on its own in accordance with its specific needs.

רמב”ם הלכות שכנים פרק יא הלכה א 

Anyone who has made a threshing-floor in their area, or set up a bathroom, or any work which involves dust, ash, or such things, must distance [those enterprises] so that the ash or smell of the bathroom or dust will not reach their fellow, in order not to damage them… [Translation by R’ Yonatan Neril]

מדרש תנחומא, קרח ד׳:א׳

מִכָּאן אָמְרוּ חֲכָמֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה, אוֹי לָרָשָׁע וְאוֹי לִשְׁכֵנוֹ. 

Midrash Tanchuma, Korach 4:1

From here our Sages said, “Oy to the wicked one, and oy to their neighbor.” 

דברים י״ט:י״ד

(יד) לֹא תַסִּיג גְּבוּל רֵעֲךָ אֲשֶׁר גָּבְלוּ רִאשֹׁנִים בְּנַחֲלָתְךָ אֲשֶׁר תִּנְחַל בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר (ה) אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ לְרִשְׁתָּהּ

Deuteronomy 19:14

Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set, in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

הלכות שכנים פרק יב 

יג הַמּוֹכֵר לִיתוֹמִים קְטַנִּים אֵין בּוֹ דִּין בַּעַל הַמֵּצַר. הַטּוֹב וְהַיָּשָׁר שֶׁעוֹשִׂין חֶסֶד עִם אֵלּוּ יָתֵר מִבַּעַל הַמֵּצַר: 

When a person sells property to orphans below the age of majority,the neighbor is not given the right to displace the purchaser. For “goodness and justice” is to act generously toward such individuals more than a neighbor. 

יד וְכֵן הַמּוֹכֵר לְאִשָּׁה אֵין בּוֹ דִּין בַּעַל הַמֵּצַר מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵין דַּרְכָּהּ לִטְרֹחַ תָּמִיד וְלִקְנוֹת הוֹאִיל וְלָקְחָה חֶסֶד הוּא שֶׁתַּעֲמֹד הַקַּרְקַע בְּיָדָהּ: 

Similarly, when a person sells property to a woman, the neighbor is not given the right to displace the purchaser. The rationale is that it is not customary for women to trouble themselves frequently to purchase property. Hence, since a woman did make such an effort, and purchased property, it is an act of kindness to allow her to retain ownership of it.

במדבר כה יד – (ה) מַה־טֹּ֥בוּ אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֑ב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!

רשי

מה טבו אהליך HOW GOODLY ARE THY TENTS — He said this because he saw that the entrances of their tents were not exactly facing each other (Bava Batra 60a; cf. v. 2). 

משכנתיך means thy encampments, as the Targum has it. — Another explanation — מה טבו אהליך HOW GOODLY ARE THY TENTS — How goodly are the tent of Shiloh and the Temple when these flourished, in that sacrifices were offered therein to atone for you;

ספורנו

משכנותיך, a reference to the synagogues of the Jews all over, as well as to their Temples when these existed.. 

מדרש תנחומא, נשא טז

This text is related (to Cant. 5:1), “When I come to my garden, my sister bride.” R. Samuel bar Nahman said, “When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, He longed to have an abode below just as He had on high. Having created Adam, He commanded and said to him (in Gen. 2:16–17), ‘You may freely eat of any tree in the garden; But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you may not eat of it.’ Then he transgressed against his commandment. The Holy One, blessed be He, said this to him, ‘This is what I longed for, that just as I have a dwelling on high, I would likewise have one below. Now when I have given you one command, you have not kept it. Immediately the Holy One, blessed be He, removed His Divine Presence [up] to the first firmament

וּכְתִיב: בָּאתִי לְגַנִּי אֲחוֹתִי כַּלָּה (שה״‎ש ה, א). אֵימָתַי, כְּשֶׁהוּקַם הַמִּשְׁכָּן.

.

ויקרא רבה ל

אָמַרְתִּי לָכֶם (שמות כה, ב): וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה, בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁאָדוּר בֵּינֵיכֶם. (שמות כה, ה): וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ, כִּבְיָכוֹל אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא קְחוּ אוֹתִי וְאָדוּר בֵּינֵיכֶם,

I said to you: “They shall take Me a gift [veyikḥu li teruma]” (Exodus 25:2), sothat I will dwell in your midst. “They shall make Me a sanctuary” (Exodus 25:8) – as it were, the Holy One blessed be He said: Take Me and I will reside in your midst.

Hadran’s Beyond the Daf shiurim are also available by podcast on

Spotify

Apple Podcasts 

YouTube

Beyond the Daf is where you will discover enlightening shiurim led by remarkable women, delving deep into the intricacies of Talmudic teachings, and exploring relevant and thought-provoking topics that arise from the Daf.