Language:
Hebrew
Year of publication:
2020
Titel der Quelle:
מורשת ישראל; כתב-עת ליהדות לציונות ולארץ ישראל
Angaben zur Quelle:
18,2 (תשף) 213-234
Keywords:
Talmud Yerushalmi. Commentaries
;
Talmud Bavli. Commentaries
;
Mishnah. Commentaries
;
Tosefta Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Adjoining landowners (Jewish law)
;
Property (Jewish law)
Abstract:
The Mishnah (Bava Batra 1:4) rules that a person who shares a courtyard with another may obligate his neighbor to contribute to the rebuilding of a fallen dividing wall, but only up to a height of four amot. However, should the neighbor display seeming intent to make use of the dividing wall (higher than four amot) by constructing a wall on his side whose use requires use of the dividing wall, onemay obligate him to contribute to the expenses of the dividing wall even above four amot.According to the simple meaning of the Mishnah, one who builds a wall higher than four amot is assumed to have a vested interest in his neighbor’s acquiring ownership of the wall. When the neighbor displays intent to make use of the wall by constructing a wall on his side, he reveals his interest in acquiring ownership of the wall. In doing so, he acquires the wall by virtue of its being in his property.Both the Tosefta and the Palestinian Talmud discuss this latter case; however, they are difficult to understand, and commentators and academics have attempted to clarify their meaning. In this essay, I suggest a new interpretation of these texts according to which they assume that the builder of the wall intends for his neighbor to acquire it only after paying for its construction. As explained previously, this does not seem to be the case in the Mishnah. Instead the neighbor acquires the dividing wall when he expresses interest in doing so even though he has not yet paid for its construction. Because of this difference, the Palestinian Talmud explains the Mishnah through an ukimta. Though the Babylonian Talmud does not deal with this question directly, through in-depth study of the sugya I concludedthat the Babylonian Talmud assumes the dividing wall is acquired by the neighbor even before payment is made. This dispute has important implications with regard to the legal ramifications of entering another’s field without permission.
Note:
With an English abstract.
URL:
אתר את הפרסום בקטלוג המאוחד של ספריות ישראל
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