Study Guide Bava Kamma 15. The gemara continues to explain the mishna – who can function as a beit din, who cannot testify, how we know that women are responsible for damages as men, in what way does the one whose property was damaged also have to “pay”?  In a case where an animal damages…

Study Guide Bava Kamma 16. The mishna lists 5 cases of a shor tam and 5 cases of muad and a list of animals who are always considered muad.   There are various problems in the simple reading of the mishna which leads to 4 different interpretations offered in the gemara for understanding it.  A…

The first perek ends with statements about the importance of doing acts of kindness and learning Torah.  The next perek begins with details of regel – damaging with ones feet and the sibcategories of regel.  The law of tzrorot is brought up – indirectly causing damage and there is a debate between the rabbis and…

How do we view indirect damage – is it like keren and does it have all the criteria of keren or is it like regel and it has the criteria of regel  Or does it depend of whether the indirect damage was done in a typical way or an atypical way?

Study Guide Bava Kamma 20. What types of damages fall into the category of eating.  If eating is exempt in public property, what happens if an item rolled from public to private or vice-versa.  If the animal ate food in the public domain, the owner is exempt.  However if he benefited from what he ate,…

The rabbis continue to debate the issue of someone who lives in someone else’s property without his knowledge – does he need to pay him rent or not?  The gemara bring an argument between Rav and Shmuel and debates exactly what their argument is about and whether or not they are arguing about soemthing the…

Study Guide Bava Kamma 22. Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish debate: Is one liable for fire because the fire is like a man shooting an arrow (like the category of man damaging) or is it because the fire is considered his property (like an ox or a pit)?  The gemara attempts unsuccessfully to prove Rabbi Yochanan’s approach,…

Study Guide Bava Kamma 23. Rabbi Yochanan’s approach that fire is like a person shooting arrows is questioned and it is explained that he holds that it is both like arrows and because it’s his property.  When a cow eats someone’s food and brings the food into its mouth, is it considered that it is…

How does an animal become a shor muad  Do the occurances need to be on separate days or can they be all in the same day?  How can we go back to determining that he is no longer dangerous and can be considered as a shor tam. According to one opinion the instances need to be on…

Study Guide Bava Kamma 26. The gemara suggests all sorts of kal vahomer arguments that raise doubts on many of the halachot we have been learning.  However they are all rejected based on inferences from the verses in the Torah.  Is there a ransom payment only by keren type damages or would one also be…