Saturday, December 12, 2009

Halachos on the Daf - Bava Basra 80

(Choshen Mishpat Siman 220)

When one sells a dovecote, the birds are included in the sale. If one sold the birds, the dovecote is included in the sale, only in a case where the seller specified that he’s “selling the entire production (all the birds offspring) of the dovecote, without excluding anything.” By way of introduction, doves lay two eggs, male and female, once a month (except for the month of Adar). After two months, the second generation doves, they too lay eggs once a month.

In an instance where the seller sold the production of the dovecote, without specifying, then the dovecote is not included in the sale. Furthermore, the buyer is not entitled to all of the future offspring, rather he must leave over three pairs of newly born doves. This means as follows. At the time of sale, in the dovecote there were a pair of doves (first generation), and their offspring – a pair of doves (second generation). The buyer must wait until the first generation lays another pair, and the second generation lays two pairs.

The reason being, that in order not to depopulate the dovecote, there has to be two pairs to each of the first two generations. For if the doves do not have companionship, they will leave. Therefore, at the time of sale, the first generation already had one pair, and only one additional pair is required, and the second generation didn’t have any pairs, so the buyer must wait until they have two pairs. Although this is not the way the Rashbam and other Rishoinim learned the Gemora, rather they understood the gemara, that the buyer must wait until the first generation has a pair (second generation) and the second generation has a pair (third generation). Nevertheless, this is how the Shulchan Aruch (as clarified by the S’ma) and the Rambam (as clarified by the Maggid Mishnah), understood the Gemora.

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