Bava Batra 39

ולמחר תבענא ליה בדינא הויא מחאה

and tomorrow, i.e., in the future, I will bring a claim against him in court, it is a valid protest.

אמר לא תימרו ליה מאי אמר רב זביד הא קאמר לא תימרו ליה רב פפא אמר לדידיה לא תימרו ליה לאחריני אימרו להו חברך חברא אית ליה חברא דחברך חברא אית ליה

If the one lodging a protest also said: Do not tell the possessor of the protest, what is the halakha? Rav Zevid said: It is not a valid protest, because isn’t he saying: Do not tell him? Therefore, word of the protest will not reach the possessor and it is meaningless. Rav Pappa disagreed and said that the owner merely meant: Do not tell him personally, but they, i.e. the witnesses, should tell others. In that case, word of the protest will reach the possessor, since your friend has a friend whom he tells about the protest, and your friend’s friend has a friend whom he tells about the protest; therefore, it is a valid protest.

אמרו ליה לא אמרינן ליה אמר רב זביד הא קא אמרו ליה לא אמרינן ליה רב פפא אמר לדידיה לא אמרינן ליה לאחריני אמרי להו חברך חברא אית ליה וחברא דחברך חברא אית ליה

If the witnesses before whom the owner lodged the protest said to him: We are not going to tell the possessor about your protest, what is the halakha? Rav Zevid said: It is not a valid protest, and he has to lodge a protest before other witnesses, as are they not saying to him: We are not going to tell him about your protest? Rav Pappa disagreed and said that they merely meant: We are not going to tell him personally, but we are going to tell others. In that case, word of the protest will reach the possessor, since your friend has a friend whom he tells about the protest, and your friend’s friend has a friend whom he tells about the protest; therefore, it is a valid protest.

אמר להו לא תיפוק לכו שותא אמר רב זביד הא קאמר לא תיפוק לכו שותא אמרו ליה לא מפקינן שותא אמר רב פפא הא קאמרי ליה לא מפקינן שותא רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע אמר כל מילתא דלא רמיא עליה דאיניש אמר לה ולאו אדעתיה

If the one lodging the protest also said to them: A word [shuta] should not emerge from you about this, what is the halakha? Rav Zevid said: It is not a valid protest, as isn’t he saying to them: A word should not emerge from you? Similarly, if the people before whom he protested said to him: We will not have a word emerge from us, Rav Pappa said: It is not a valid protest, as aren’t they saying to him: We will not have a word emerge from us? Rav Huna, the son of Rav Yehoshua, disagreed and said: It is a valid protest, because with regard to any matter that is not actually incumbent on a person to keep secret, it is likely that he will say it to others unawares, and therefore the presumption is that word will reach the possessor.

אמר רבא אמר רב נחמן מחאה שלא בפניו הויא מחאה איתיביה רבא לרב נחמן אמר רבי יהודה לא אמרו שלש שנים אלא כדי שיהא באספמיא ויחזיק שנה וילכו ויודיעוהו שנה ויבא לשנה אחרת ואי סלקא דעתך מחאה שלא בפניו הויא מחאה למה לי למיתי ליתיב התם אדוכתיה ולימחי התם עצה טובה קא משמע לן דניתי ונשקול ארעא ופירי

§ Rava says that Rav Naḥman says: A protest that is lodged not in the presence of the possessor is a valid protest. Rava raised an objection to what Rav Naḥman said from the mishna: Rabbi Yehuda says: The Sages said that establishing the presumption of ownership requires three years only in order that if the owner will be in Spain and another possesses his field for a year, people will go and inform the owner by the end of the next year, and the owner will come back in the following year and take the possessor to court. And if it enters your mind that a protest that is lodged not in his presence is a valid protest, why do I need the owner to come? Let him remain there in his place and protest. The Gemara answers: There, Rabbi Yehuda wishes to teach us good advice, that he should come and collect the land and its produce.

מדקא מותיב ליה רבא לרב נחמן מכלל דלא סבירא ליה דמחאה שלא בפניו הויא מחאה והאמר רבא מחאה שלא בפניו הויא מחאה בתר דשמעה מרב נחמן סברה

The Gemara asks: From the fact that Rava raised an objection to Rav Naḥman, it may be inferred that he does not hold that a protest that is lodged not in his presence is a valid protest. But doesn’t Rava say: A protest that is lodged not in his presence is a valid protest? The Gemara answers: He held that conclusion only after he heard this halakha from Rav Naḥman.

אשכחינהו רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא לתלמידיו דרבי יוחנן אמר להו מי אמר רבי יוחנן מחאה בכמה רבי חייא בר אבא אמר רבי יוחנן מחאה בפני שנים רבי אבהו אמר רבי יוחנן מחאה בפני שלשה

§ The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, encountered the students of Rabbi Yoḥanan and said to them: Did Rabbi Yoḥanan say in the presence of how many people a protest must be lodged? Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: A protest must be lodged in the presence of two people. Rabbi Abbahu said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: A protest must be lodged in the presence of three people.

לימא בדרבה בר רב הונא קא מיפלגי דאמר רבה בר רב הונא כל מילתא דמתאמרא באפי תלתא

The Gemara suggests: Shall we say that they disagree with regard to the halakha of Rabba bar Rav Huna? As Rabba bar Rav Huna says: Any matter that is said in the presence of three people

לית בה משום לישנא בישא מאן דאמר בפני שנים לית ליה דרבה בר רב הונא ומאן דאמר בפני שלשה אית ליה דרבה בר רב הונא

is not subject to the prohibition of malicious speech, as it is already public knowledge. The Gemara elaborates on the suggestion that the dispute hinges upon this point: The one who says that a protest can be lodged in the presence of two people is not of the opinion that the ruling is in accordance with the opinion of Rabba bar Rav Huna and holds that even if only two people hear of a matter it will become a matter of public knowledge. Therefore, it is sufficient to protest in the presence of two witnesses. And the one who says that a protest must be lodged in the presence of three people is of the opinion that the ruling is in accordance with the opinion of Rabba bar Rav Huna.

לא דכולי עלמא אית להו דרבה בר רב הונא והכא בהא קא מיפלגי מאן דאמר בפני שנים קסבר מחאה שלא בפניו לא הויא מחאה ומאן דאמר בפני שלשה קסבר מחאה שלא בפניו הויא מחאה

The Gemara rejects this suggestion: No, everyone is of the opinion that the ruling is in accordance with the opinion of Rabba bar Rav Huna, and here they disagree with regard to this: The one who says that a protest can be lodged in the presence of two people holds that a protest that is lodged not in his presence is not a valid protest. Therefore, two witnesses suffice, as they are needed to attest only to the fact that the owner protested. And the one who says that a protest must be lodged in the presence of three people holds that a protest that is lodged not in his presence is a valid protest. Since the protest can be lodged not in the possessor’s presence, three people are needed to ensure that word of the protest will reach him.

אי בעית אימא דכולי עלמא מחאה שלא בפניו הויא מחאה והכא בהא קמיפלגי מאן דאמר בפני שנים סבר סהדותא בעינן ומאן דאמר בפני שלשה קסבר גלויי מילתא בעינן

If you wish, say instead that everyone holds that a protest that is lodged not in his presence is a valid protest, and here they disagree with regard to this: The one who says that a protest can be lodged in the presence of only two people holds that we require testimony, and two are sufficient for testimony. And the one who says that a protest must be lodged in the presence of three people holds that we require that the matter of the protest be revealed, and for that purpose three people are needed.

גידל בר מניומי הוה ליה מחויאתה למחויי אשכחינהו לרב הונא ולחייא בר רב ולרב חלקיה בר טובי דהוו יתבי ומחה קמייהו לשנה הדר אתא למחויי אמרו ליה לא צריכת הכי אמר רב כיון שמיחה שנה ראשונה שוב אינו צריך למחות ואיכא דאמרי אמר ליה חייא בר רב כיון שמיחה שנה ראשונה שוב אין צריך למחות

§ The Gemara relates: Giddel bar Minyumi had a protest to lodge with regard to his property. He found Rav Huna and Ḥiyya bar Rav and Rav Ḥilkiya bar Tuvi, who were sitting, and he protested before them. After a year, he came to them again to protest. They said to him: You do not need to do so; this is what Rav says: Once the owner protested in the first year, he no longer needs to protest. And there are those who say that Ḥiyya bar Rav said to him, not in the name of Rav: Once the owner protested in the first year, he no longer needs to protest.

אמר ריש לקיש משום בר קפרא וצריך למחות בסוף כל שלש ושלש תהי בה רבי יוחנן וכי גזלן יש לו חזקה גזלן סלקא דעתך אלא כגזלן יש לו חזקה

Reish Lakish says in the name of bar Kappara: And he needs to protest at the end of each and every period of three years, so that the possessor will not hold his property for three consecutive years uncontested. Rabbi Yoḥanan expressed surprise at this ruling of Reish Lakish and said: But does a robber have the ability to establish the presumption of ownership? Once the owner lodged one protest, he demonstrated that the possessor occupied his land unlawfully. Therefore, the possessor should never be able to establish the presumption of ownership. The Gemara clarifies: Does it enter your mind that the possessor is actually a robber? There is no evidence that he robbed, there is only a protest by the prior owner. Rather, emend his question as follows: Does one who is akin to a robber have the ability to establish the presumption of ownership?

אמר רבא הלכתא צריך למחות בסוף כל שלש ושלש תני בר קפרא ערער חזר וערער חזר וערער אם מחמת טענה ראשונה ערער אין לו חזקה ואם לאו יש לו חזקה

Rava says that the halakha is: The owner needs to protest at the end of each and every period of three years. Bar Kappara teaches: If the owner protested, returned and protested, and then returned and protested, if, when he protested the later times, his protest was based on the same claim as the initial claim, the possessor has no presumptive ownership. But if the later protests were not based on the same claim as the initial protest, the possessor has presumptive ownership since each time the owner advanced a new claim, he thereby nullified his earlier claims.

אמר רבא אמר רב נחמן מחאה בפני שנים

§ Rava says that Rav Naḥman says: A protest can be lodged in the presence of two witnesses,