Bava Batra 64 - August 28, 24 Av

Today's daf is sponsored by the Hadran Women of Long Island in honor of the birth of a grandson to our friend and co-learner, Tzippy Wolkenfeld. "May the entire family rejoice as they are zoche to raise the new "daf yomi addition" to Torah, chuppah, and maasim tovim. Mazal tov!" Another attempt is made from our Mishna to support Rav Dimi's position, that when one sells a house, it does not include the airspace above or below unless otherwise specified. However, this attempt is rejected. The Gemara then quotes an opinion of Rav Papa to show that he disagrees with Rav Dimi, but this also is rejected. Selling a house doesn't include a pit or cistern if it is not specified in the agreement. But can we assume that the seller kept an accessway to get there or does the seller need to buy an access route through the house from the buyer? Rabbi Akiva and the rabbis disagree about this. What is the difference between a pit and a cistern? A pit is dug in hard soil and is just dug up into the ground, while a cistern is dug in softer ground and therefore needs to be lined with stone to prevent it from collapsing. The Gemara understands the debate between Rabbi Akiva and the rabbis in the Mishna to be the source of a well-known debate between them. Rabbi Akiva holds that a seller sells with a "good" eye (generously) and therefore does not keep an access route but completely sells the house. The rabbis hold that a seller sells with a "bad" eye (sparingly) and therefore keeps an access route to get to the pit. However, the Gemara suggests that perhaps their opinions in this Mishna are based on different reasoning. Eventually, the Gemara derives the well-known debate from the combination of our Mishna and a Mishna in Bava Batra 71.