Bava Batra 75

קניגיא עם לויתן שנאמר התמשך לויתן בחכה ובחבל תשקיע לשנו ואלמלא הקדוש ברוך הוא עוזרו אין יכול לו שנאמר העשו יגש חרבו

a hunt of the leviathan, as it is stated: “Can you draw out leviathan with a fish hook? Or press down his tongue with a cord?” (Job 40:25). And were the Holy One, Blessed be He, not assisting Gabriel, he would not be able to hunt it, as it is stated: “Only He Who made him can use His sword to approach him” (Job 40:19).

כי אתא רב דימי אמר רבי יוחנן בשעה שלויתן רעב מוציא הבל מפיו ומרתיח כל מימות שבמצולה שנאמר ירתיח כסיר מצולה ואלמלא מכניס ראשו לגן עדן אין כל בריה יכולה לעמוד בריחו שנאמר ים ישים כמרקחה

When Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: When the leviathan is hungry, he produces breath from his mouth and thereby boils all of the waters in the depths of the sea. As it is stated: “He makes the deep boil like a pot” (Job 41:23). And if the leviathan did not place its head in the Garden of Eden, no creature could withstand his foul smell, as it is stated: “He makes the sea like a seething mixture [merkaḥa]” (Job 41:23), and the term merkaḥa is also used to describe something with a smell (see Exodus 30:25).

ובשעה שצמא עושה תלמים תלמים בים שנאמר אחריו יאיר נתיב אמר רב אחא בר יעקב אין תהום חוזר לאיתנו עד שבעים שנה שנאמר יחשב תהום לשיבה ואין שיבה פחותה משבעים

And when he is thirsty, he makes many furrows in the sea, as it is stated: “He makes a path to shine after him” (Job 41:24). Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov says: After the leviathan drinks from the sea, the depth of the sea does not return to its normal condition until seventy years have passed, as it is stated: “One would think the deep to be hoary” (Job 41:24), and hoary indicates a person who is no less than seventy years old.

אמר רבה אמר רבי יוחנן עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא לעשות סעודה לצדיקים מבשרו של לויתן שנאמר יכרו עליו חברים ואין כרה אלא סעודה שנאמר ויכרה להם כרה גדולה ויאכלו וישתו ואין חברים אלא תלמידי חכמים שנאמר היושבת בגנים חברים מקשיבים לקולך השמיעני

Rabba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will make a feast for the righteous from the flesh of the leviathan, as it is stated: “The ḥabbarim will make a feast [yikhru] of him” (Job 40:30). And kera means nothing other than a feast, as it is stated: “And he prepared [va’yikhreh] for them a great feast [kera]; and they ate and drank” (II Kings 6:23). And ḥabbarim means nothing other than Torah scholars, as it is stated: “You that dwell in the gardens, the companions [ḥaverim] hearken for your voice: Cause me to hear it” (Song of Songs 8:13). This verse is interpreted as referring to Torah scholars, who listen to God’s voice.

והשאר מחלקין אותו ועושין בו סחורה בשוקי ירושלים שנאמר יחצוהו בין כנענים ואין כנענים אלא תגרים שנאמר כנען בידו מאזני מרמה לעשק אהב ואי בעית אימא מהכא אשר סחריה שרים כנעניה נכבדי ארץ

And with regard to the remainder of the leviathan, they will divide it and use it for commerce in the markets of Jerusalem, as it is stated: “They will part him among the kena’anim” (Job 40:30). And kena’anim means nothing other than merchants, as it is stated: “As for the merchant [kena’an], the balances of deceit are in his hand. He loves to oppress” (Hosea 12:8). And if you wish, say that the proof is from here: “Whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers [kinaneha] are the honorable of the earth” (Isaiah 23:8).

ואמר רבה אמר רבי יוחנן עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא לעשות סוכה לצדיקים מעורו של לויתן שנאמר התמלא בשכות עורו זכה עושין לו סוכה לא זכה עושין לו צלצל שנאמר ובצלצל דגים ראשו

And Rabba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will prepare a sukka for the righteous from the skin of the leviathan, as it is stated: “Can you fill his skin with barbed irons [besukkot]” (Job 40:31). If one is deserving of being called righteous, an entire sukka is prepared for him from the skin of the leviathan; if one is not deserving of this honor, a covering is prepared for his head, as it is stated: “Or his head with fish-spears” (Job 40:31).

זכה עושין לו צלצל לא זכה עושין לו ענק שנאמר וענקים לגרגרתיך זכה עושין לו ענק לא זכה עושין לו קמיע שנאמר ותקשרנו לנערותיך

If one is deserving at least of this reward, a covering is prepared for him, and if one is not deserving, a necklace is prepared for him, as it is stated: “And necklaces about your neck” (Proverbs 1:9). If one is somewhat deserving, a necklace is prepared for him, and if one is not deserving even of this, only an amu-let is prepared for him from the skin of the leviathan, as it is stated: “Or will you bind him for your maidens” (Job 40:29), i.e., a small amulet is prepared for him, like the amulets tied on children’s necks.

והשאר פורסו הקדוש ברוך הוא על חומות ירושלים וזיוו מבהיק מסוף העולם ועד סופו שנאמר והלכו גוים לאורך ומלכים לנגה זרחך

And with regard to the remaining part of the skin of the leviathan, the Holy One, Blessed be He, spreads it on the walls of Jerusalem, and its glory radiates from one end of the world until the other end. As it is stated: “And nations shall walk in your light, and kings at the brightness of your rising” (Isaiah 60:3).

ושמתי כדכד שמשתיך אמר רבי שמואל בר נחמני פליגי תרי מלאכי ברקיעא גבריאל ומיכאל ואמרי לה תרי אמוראי במערבא ומאן אינון יהודה וחזקיה בני רבי חייא חד אמר שוהם וחד אמר ישפה אמר להו הקדוש ברוך הוא להוי כדין וכדין

§ With regard to the future glory of Jerusalem, the Gemara interprets the verse: “And I will make your pinnacles of kadkhod” (Isaiah 54:12). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: Two angels in heaven, Gabriel and Michael, disagree with regard to the material that will be used to form the walls of Jerusalem. And some say that this dispute is between two amora’im in the West, i.e., Eretz Yisrael. And who are they? They are Yehuda and Ḥizkiyya, the sons of Rabbi Ḥiyya. One said they will be made of onyx, and one said of jasper. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: Let it be like this [kedein] and like that [ukhedein], i.e., let them be formed from both together. This compromise is indicated by the word kadkhod, a combination of this [kedein] and that [ukhedein].

ושעריך לאבני אקדח כי הא דיתיב רבי יוחנן וקא דריש עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא להביא אבנים טובות ומרגליות שהם שלשים על שלשים וחוקק בהן עשר על עשרים ומעמידן בשערי ירושלים לגלג עליו אותו תלמיד השתא כביעתא דציצלא לא משכחינן כולי האי משכחינן

The Gemara analyzes the rest of that verse: “And your gates of precious stones” (Isaiah 54:12). This should be understood in light of that incident where Rabbi Yoḥanan sat and taught: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will bring precious stones and pearls that are thirty by thirty cubits, and He will hollow out in them a hole of ten by twenty cubits and set them in the gates of Jerusalem. A certain unnamed student sneered at him, saying: Now we do not find precious stones even of the size of an egg of a dove, and yet all of this we will find?

לימים הפליגה ספינתו בים חזא מלאכי השרת דיתבי וקא מינסרי אבנים טובות ומרגליות שהם שלשים על שלשים וחקוק בהן עשר ברום עשרים אמר להו הני למאן אמרו ליה שעתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא להעמידן בשערי ירושלים אתא לקמיה דרבי יוחנן אמר ליה דרוש רבי לך נאה לדרוש כאשר אמרת כן ראיתי אמר לו ריקא אלמלא לא ראית לא האמנת מלגלג על דברי חכמים אתה נתן עיניו בו ונעשה גל של עצמות

After a period of time that student’s ship went to sea, where he saw ministering angels sitting and sawing precious stones and pearls that were thirty by thirty cubits, and hollowed out in them were holes of ten by twenty cubits. He said to the angels: For whom are these? They said to him that in the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will place them in the gates of Jerusalem. Later, the student came before Rabbi Yoḥanan and said to him: Continue to interpret, my teacher, it is fitting for you to interpret, as I saw just as you said. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: Worthless man, if you had not seen, you would not have believed; clearly, you are mocking the statement of the Sages. Rabbi Yoḥanan set his eyes upon him, and the student was instantly killed and turned into a pile of bones.

מיתיבי ואולך אתכם קוממיות רבי מאיר אומר מאתים אמה כשתי קומות של אדם הראשון

The Gemara raises an objection against Rabbi Yoḥanan’s statement, based on a baraita. The verse states: “And I will make you go upright [komemiyyut]” (Leviticus 26:13). Rabbi Meir says: In the future, the Jewish people will have the stature of two hundred cubits, equivalent to two times the height [komot] of Adam the first man, whose height was one hundred cubits. Rabbi Meir interprets the word komemiyyut as two komot.

רבי יהודה אומר מאה אמה כנגד היכל וכתליו שנאמר אשר בנינו כנטעים מגדלים בנעוריהם בנותינו כזוית מחטבות תבנית היכל כי קאמר רבי יוחנן לכווי דבי זיקא

Rabbi Yehuda says: They will have the stature of one hundred cubits, corresponding to the Sanctuary and its walls, as it is stated: “We whose sons are as plants grown up in their youth; whose daughters are as corner-pillars carved after the fashion of the Sanctuary” (Psalms 144:12). But if they are each one hundred cubits tall, how could the Jews enter the gates of Jerusalem, whose entrance gate will be ten by twenty cubits, as claimed by Rabbi Yoḥanan? The Gemara answers: When Rabbi Yoḥanan stated that idea, he was not referring to the gates themselves but to the windows that allow wind to enter.

ואמר רבה אמר רבי יוחנן עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא לעשות שבע חופות לכל צדיק וצדיק שנאמר וברא ה׳ על כל מכון הר ציון ועל מקראה ענן יומם ועשן ונגה אש להבה לילה כי על כל כבוד חפה מלמד שכל אחד ואחד עושה לו הקדוש ברוך הוא חופה לפי כבודו

§ And Rabba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will fashion seven canopies for each and every righteous individual, as it is stated: “And the Lord will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over those who are invited to it, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a canopy” (Isaiah 4:5). This teaches that for each and every righteous individual, the Holy One, Blessed be He, fashions for him a canopy seven times over, in accordance with his honor, i.e., greater individuals receive grander and larger canopies.

עשן בחופה למה אמר רבי חנינא שכל מי שעיניו צרות בתלמידי חכמים בעולם הזה מתמלאות עיניו עשן לעולם הבא ואש בחופה למה אמר רבי חנינא מלמד שכל אחד ואחד נכוה מחופתו של חבירו אוי לה לאותה בושה אוי לה לאותה כלימה

The Gemara asks a question with regard to the above verse: Why should there be smoke in a canopy? Rabbi Ḥanina said: It is because anyone whose eyes are narrow, i.e., is stingy, toward Torah scholars in this world, his eyes fill with smoke in the World-to-Come. And why should there be fire in a canopy? Rabbi Ḥanina said: This teaches that each and every one is burned from embarrassment at the size of the canopy of the other, and says: Woe for this embarrassment, woe for this disgrace, that I did not merit a canopy as large as his.

כיוצא בדבר אתה אומר ונתתה מהודך עליו ולא כל הודך זקנים שבאותו הדור אמרו פני משה כפני חמה פני יהושע כפני לבנה אוי לה לאותה בושה אוי לה לאותה כלימה

In a similar manner, you can say that God said to Moses about Joshua: “And you shall put of your honor upon him” (Numbers 27:20), which indicates that you should put some of your honor, but not all of your honor. The elders of that generation said: The face of Moses was as bright as the face of the sun; the face of Joshua was like the face of the moon. Woe for this embarrassment, woe for this disgrace, that we did not merit another leader of the stature of Moses.

אמר רבי חמא בר חנינא עשר חופות עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא לאדם הראשון בגן עדן שנאמר בעדן גן אלהים היית כל אבן יקרה וגו׳ מר זוטרא אמר אחת עשרה שנאמר כל אבן יקרה אמר רבי יוחנן וגרוע שבכולן זהב דקא חשיב ליה לבסוף

Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina says: The Holy One, Blessed be He, fashioned ten canopies for Adam the first man, in the Garden of Eden; as it is stated to Hiram, king of Tyre: “You were in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the carnelian, the topaz, and the emerald, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the carbuncle, and the smaragd, and gold; the workmanship of your drums and of your holes was in you; they were prepared on the day that you were created” (Ezekiel 28:13). This verse mentions ten items, from carnelian to gold. Mar Zutra said: There were eleven canopies, as it states: “Every precious stone,” which is also part of the tally. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: And the worst of all of them was gold, as it is counted last, which indicates that the other items are more valuable.

מאי מלאכת תפיך ונקביך בך אמר רב יהודה אמר רב אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא לחירם מלך צור בך נסתכלתי ובראתי נקבים נקבים באדם ואיכא דאמרי הכי קאמר בך נסתכלתי

The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the phrase: “The workmanship of your drums and of your holes [nekavekha]” (Ezekiel 28:13)? Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Hiram, king of Tyre: Were you in the Garden of Eden when I created all of this for you? I looked at you, saw that you would one day claim divinity for yourself, and created many orifices [nekavim] in man, i.e., the excretory system, so that you would know that you are human and not a god. And there are those who say that this is what God said to Hiram: I looked at you

וקנסתי מיתה על אדם הראשון

and I decreed death on Adam the first man, to demonstrate that he was human and not a god.

מאי ועל מקראה אמר רבה אמר רבי יוחנן לא כירושלים של עולם הזה ירושלים של עולם הבא ירושלים של עולם הזה כל הרוצה לעלות עולה של עולם הבא אין עולין אלא המזומנין לה

§ The Gemara returns to the aforementioned verse: “And the Lord will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over those who are invited to it, a cloud and smoke by day” (Isaiah 4:5). What is the meaning of the phrase: “And over those who are invited to it”? Rabba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Jerusalem of the World-to-Come is not like Jerusalem of this world. With regard to Jerusalem of this world, anyone who wants to ascend there can ascend. With regard to Jerusalem of the World-to-Come, only those who are invited to it can ascend.

ואמר רבה אמר רבי יוחנן עתידין צדיקים שנקראין על שמו של הקדוש ברוך הוא שנאמר כל הנקרא בשמי ולכבודי בראתיו יצרתיו אף עשיתיו ואמר רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר רבי יוחנן שלשה נקראו על שמו של הקדוש ברוך הוא ואלו הן צדיקים ומשיח וירושלים

And Rabba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: In the future, the righteous will be called by the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He; as it is stated: “Every one that is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him” (Isaiah 43:7). This indicates that one who was created by God and causes Him glory is called by His name. And Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Three were called by the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and they are: The righteous, and the Messiah, and Jerusalem.

צדיקים הא דאמרן משיח דכתיב וזה שמו אשר יקראו ה׳ צדקנו ירושלים דכתיב סביב שמנה עשר אלף ושם העיר מיום ה׳ שמה אל תקרי שמה אלא שמה אמר רבי אלעזר עתידין צדיקים שאומרים לפניהן קדוש כדרך שאומרים לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא שנאמר והיה הנשאר בציון והנותר בירושלם קדוש יאמר לו

With regard to the righteous, this is as we have just said. With regard to the Messiah, this is as it is written: “And this is his name whereby he shall be called, the Lord is our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6). With regard to Jerusalem, this is as it is writ-ten: “It shall be eighteen thousand reeds round about. And the name of the city from that day shall be, the Lord is there [shamma]” (Ezekiel 48:35). Do not read the word as “there” [shamma]; rather, read it as: The Lord is its name [shemah]. Rabbi Elazar says: In the future, the righteous will have the name: Holy, recited before them, as one recites before the Holy One, Blessed be He; as it is stated: “And it shall come to pass, that he who is left in Zion, and he who remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy” (Isaiah 4:3).

ואמר רבה אמר רבי יוחנן עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא להגביה את ירושלים שלש פרסאות למעלה שנאמר וראמה וישבה תחתיה מאי תחתיה כתחתיה וממאי דהאי תחתיה תלתא פרסי הויא אמר רבה אמר לי ההוא סבא לדידי חזי לי ירושלים קמייתא ותלתא פרסי הויא

And Rabba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will raise Jerusalem three parasangs upward; as it is stated: “And it shall be lifted up and inhabited in its place” (Zechariah 14:10). What is the meaning of the phrase “in its place”? It means equivalent to its place, i.e., Jerusalem will be raised to a height whose measure in parasangs corresponds to the measure of its area in square parasangs. The Gemara asks: And from where is it derived that the place of Jerusalem was an area of three square parasangs? Rabba said that a certain elder said to me: I saw the initial Jerusalem, when it was still extant, and its area was three square parasangs.

ושמא תאמר יש צער לעלות תלמוד לומר מי אלה כעב תעופינה וכיונים אל ארבתיהם אמר רב פפא שמע מינה האי עיבא תלתא פרסי מידלי

The Gemara continues to discuss the statement of Rabbi Yoḥanan: And lest you say that there is discomfort in ascending to a place so high, the verse states in a prophecy depicting the return of the Jewish people to Jerusalem: “Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their cotes” (Isaiah 60:8). This indicates that they can easily ascend to Jerusalem, as though they were clouds or doves. Rav Pappa said: Incidentally, one can learn from that statement that this cloud mentioned in the verse is three parasangs high, as it reaches Jerusalem, which will be raised three parasangs.

אמר רבי חנינא בר פפא בקש הקדוש ברוך הוא לתת את ירושלים במדה שנאמר ואמר אנה אתה הלך ויאמר אלי למד את ירושלם לראות כמה רחבה וכמה ארכה

Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa says: The Holy One, Blessed be He, wished to give a set measure for Jerusalem, as it is stated in a prophecy of Zechariah: “And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then I said: Where are you going? And he said to me: To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth, and what is its length” (Zechariah 2:5–6).

אמרו מלאכי השרת לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא רבונו של עולם הרבה כרכים בראת בעולמך של אומות העולם ולא נתת מדת ארכן ומדת רחבן ירושלים ששמך בתוכה ומקדשך בתוכה וצדיקים בתוכה אתה נותן בה מדה מיד ויאמר אלו רץ דבר אל הנער הלז לאמר פרזות תשב ירושלם מרב אדם ובהמה בתוכה

The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, You have created many cities in Your world for the nations of the world, and You did not give the measure of their length or the measure of their width, i.e., they are not limited by any set measure, but expand as they develop. With regard to Jerusalem, which has Your name in it, and Your Temple in it, and righteous people in it, will You give it a measure? Immediately: “And, behold, the angel that spoke with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said to him: Run, speak to this young man, saying: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls for the multitude of men and cattle within it” (Zechariah 2:7–8).

אמר ריש לקיש עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא להוסיף על ירושלם אלף טפף גינואות אלף קפל מגדלים אלף ליצוי בירניות אלף ושני שילה טוטפראות וכל אחת ואחת הויא כצפורי בשלוותה

Reish Lakish says: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will add to Jerusalem one thousand times the numerical value of tefaf of gardens; one thousand times the numerical value of kefel of towers; one thousand times the value of litzoy of fortifications; and one thousand and two times the value of shilo of small houses [totpera’ot]. And each and every one of these additions will be like the great city of Tzippori in its prosperity.

תניא אמר רבי יוסי אני ראיתי צפורי בשלוותה והיו בה מאה ושמונים אלף שווקים של מוכרי ציקי קדירה

The Gemara clarifies the size of the city of Tzippori. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei said: I saw Tzippori in its prosperity, and there were one hundred and eighty thousand markets of sellers of meat sauces in it. On this basis, one can estimate the future size of Jerusalem.

והצלעות צלע אל צלע שלוש ושלשים פעמים מאי שלוש ושלשים פעמים אמר רבי לוי אמר רב פפי משום רבי יהושע דסכני אם שלש ירושלים הן כל אחת ואחת יש בה שלשים מדורין למעלה אם שלשים ירושלים הן כל אחת ואחת יש בה שלשה מדורין למעלה

In a similar manner, the Gemara interprets the verse: “And the side-chambers were one over another, three and thirty times” (Ezekiel 41:6). What is the meaning of: “Three and thirty times”? Rabbi Levi says that Rav Pappi says in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnei: If in the future Jerusalem will triple in size, so that it occupies three times its former area, then each and every dwelling will contain thirty stories upward. If the area of Jerusalem will be multiplied by thirty, each and every dwelling will contain three stories above every house.

איתמר ספינה רב אמר כיון שמשך כל שהוא קנה ושמואל אמר לא קנה עד שימשוך את כולה

§ The Gemara returns to discuss the mishna, which discusses the acquisition of a ship. It was stated that there was a dispute among amora’im with regard to the manner in which a ship is acquired. Rav says: Once the buyer has pulled the ship and moved it by any amount, he has acquired it. And Shmuel says: He does not acquire it until he pulls the entire ship to the extent that the end of the ship has at least reached the place previously occupied by its front.

לימא כתנאי כיצד במסירה אחזה בטלפה בשערה באוכף שעליה בשליף שעליה בפרומביא שבפיה בזוג שבצוארה קנאה כיצד במשיכה קורא לה והיא באה או שהכישה במקל ורצתה לפניו כיון שעקרה יד ורגל קנאה רבי אחי ואמרי לה רבי אחא אומר עד שתהלך מלא קומתה

The Gemara suggests: Let us say that this dispute is parallel to a dispute between tanna’im, as it is taught in a baraita: How is an animal acquired through passing? If the buyer grasped it by its hoof, or by its hair, or by the saddle that is on it, or by the load that is on it, or by the bit [perumbiyya] in its mouth, or by the bell on its neck, he has acquired it. How is an animal acquired through pulling? If he calls it and it comes, or if he hits it with a stick and it runs before him, once it lifts a foreleg and a hind leg from where it was standing, he has acquired it. Rabbi Aḥai, and some say Rabbi Aḥa, says: It is not enough if the animal lifts its hooves. Rather, one does not acquire it until it walks its full length, i.e., it moves both of its forelegs and both of its hindlegs.

לימא רב דאמר כתנא קמא ושמואל דאמר כרבי אחא אמר לך רב אנא דאמרי אפילו לרבי אחא עד כאן לא קאמר רבי אחא אלא בבעלי חיים דאף על גב דעקרה יד ורגל בדוכתה קיימא אבל ספינה כיון דנדה בה פורתא נדה לה כולה

Shall we say that Rav, who holds that a buyer can acquire the ship even by moving it only a minimal distance, states his ruling in accordance with the opinion of the first tanna that it is enough for the animal to lift two legs; and Shmuel, who holds that the entire ship must be moved, states his ruling in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Aḥa that the animal must move its full length? The Gemara rejects this suggestion: Rav could have said to you: I state my ruling even in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Aḥa, since Rabbi Aḥa states his opinion only with regard to animals, as although it lifted a foreleg and a hind leg, it stands in its place. But in the case of a ship, once a bit of it moves, all of it moves, and therefore the buyer acquires it.

ושמואל אמר אנא דאמרי אפילו כתנא קמא עד כאן לא קאמר תנא קמא אלא בבעלי חיים דכיון דמיעקרא יד ורגל אידך למיעקר קיימא אבל ספינה אי משיך לה כולה אין אי לא לא

And Shmuel could say: I stated my ruling even in accordance with the opinion of the first tanna. The first tanna states his opinion only with regard to animals, as once an animal has lifted a foreleg and a hind leg, the other legs stand ready to be lifted. But with regard to a ship, if he pulls the entire ship, yes, he acquires it, but if he does not pull the whole ship, he does not acquire it.

לימא כהני תנאי דתניא ספינה נקנית במשיכה רבי נתן אומר ספינה ואותיות נקנות במשיכה

The Gemara offers another suggestion: Let us say that the dispute of Rav and Shmuel is parallel to the dispute between these tanna’im, as it is taught in a baraita: A ship is acquired by pulling. Rabbi Natan says: A ship and letters, i.e., the content of a promissory note, are acquired by pulling the document