Friday 31 March 2017

Thursday 30 March 2017

bava batra 67

selling property or the use of the property. 
like glass made of grains of sand, 
courtyards, olive-presses, and bathhouses, are comprised of different parts. 
Some essential to use. and some not.

what is and isn't implicitly included in the sale of courtyards, olive-presses, and bathhouses. The space themselves? fixed items attached to the ground? or the things that give that space it's function?

Wednesday 29 March 2017

bava batra 66

the forest & the hive

There is a question about items that are attached to the ground, if they are considered fixed, and therefore like the ground, or not. This discussion began with what is included when one sells a house, to what piping would be considered "drawing water" for a mikvah, and now the status of beehives. If they are attached to the ground then removing honey on shabbat would make one as liable as extracting plants from the ground. Or picking fruit from a tree. because there is a pun at play. the word for forest is the same word for beehive. Bava Batra is currently a little dull, but drawing honeycomb trees is rather pleasant. 

Tuesday 28 March 2017

Monday 27 March 2017

bava batra 64



the pit, the path & the parapet. 

why retain ownership without ensuring access? 

and why buy something that isn't completely yours? 

Sunday 26 March 2017

Thursday 23 March 2017

bava batra 60

no protrusions,
no over-arching authorities.

be wary not to excessively impose on the public,

or create a dark void within which the public can fall in their grief.

Tuesday 21 March 2017

bava batra 58

beware of disturbing the resting places,
you might get your beard caught,
discover that you are a bastard,
or disturb the loving couple.

Monday 20 March 2017

bava batra 57

respectable women don't do their dirty laundry in public,
and respectable men don't expose themselves.

Saturday 18 March 2017

bava batra 55


  if a fragile plant can have a function 
then the bums and idlers can support the society that they are in.

Friday 17 March 2017

bava batra 54

the laws of acquisition are derived by how men work & improve the property. 

But if you work in your own way, 

or pay for it, 

beware of those who stick their token hoe in. 

They've been part of the conversation and know what they are doing.

Thursday 16 March 2017

Wednesday 15 March 2017

bava batra 52

when tensions in the family tree creates arguments about the family home. 

who is credible? 

the one who is using it to trade, 

or those who want to?

Tuesday 14 March 2017

bava batra 51

pretending to sell her some land that she can all her own.
but it is a ruse to expose money that he thinks should call his own.

(sometimes I really worry about the power games within these marriages. those poor wives)

Monday 13 March 2017

bava batra 50

the complexities of 2 owners,
the one who brought the slave,
and the one who still has authority over the slave.
- if the slave dies, who is the dead man walking?

Sunday 12 March 2017

bava batra 49

she has the power to keep her property hers, and stop him claiming ownership.
because she has no power, and everyone knows that she needs to say untrue things just to please him.

Saturday 11 March 2017

bava batra 48

who is being coerced into selling their property?
their body?
and who can legitimately coerce others?

Friday 10 March 2017

Thursday 9 March 2017

bava batra 46

Comparing houses of celebration & mourning with artists' houses. 

Both have lots of coming and going. 

But artists who work with other people's things, items have uncertain ownership, 

and can be used by all.

Wednesday 8 March 2017

Tuesday 7 March 2017

bava batra 44

buying things without clear ownership. 

can't claim from a dead thief' heirs. 

but can claim from an indebted landowner.

Monday 6 March 2017

bava batra 43

can partners ever truly separate? 

or the city from its poor? 

or from its Torah, 

to whom all must stand, 

rich & poor, 

debtor & creditor.


This page discusses if business partners can be unbiased to testify about each other, even if they sell their share of the property to the other, so there is no longer any joint ownership. But there buyers and sellers are still tied together in a beneficial relationship so that there is still a possibility of bias. This is compared to a stolen city's Torah scroll, that cannot be judged by judges from that city, for even though they remove themselves from that joint ownership, the whole city stands for the public Torah reading, and this the whole city benefits. This is also compared to a gift given to a city for it's poor cannot be adjudicated by judges of that city, as the whole city benefits if the poor are better off. Welfare works for all....

Saturday 4 March 2017

bava batra 41

not knowing who lives in your loft for 4 years. 

but being aware of who is in your house for a day

Friday 3 March 2017

Thursday 2 March 2017

bava batra 39

is protesting to make something public knowledge, 

or 

to lodge a legal claim in the courts as testimony?


this page discusses what is the proper way to lodge a protest about property that someone else has taken possession of. It is not enough to call them a thief, but also have to declare that you will be pursuing your claim in the courts. So, if it is a legal process, is protest like witness testimony - which needs to be done in front of 2 people. Or is protest a matter of putting one's claim in the public knowledge so everyone will know that the possessor has stolen the land. For something to be considered public knowledge, then that takes 3 people. 

Wednesday 1 March 2017

bava batra 38

protest from a distance. 

or is protest only effective if it's up close and in person.