Bava Batra 108a (קח.) — the Talmud in English

And

we raised an objection concerning it:

Let it make

only

a trench, and not a narrow trench?

And the Gemara answers: If it were to make only a trench,

since it is wide, the animal can stand inside it and jump [

since the trench is six handbreadths wide, the animal enters it, moves slightly backward, and jumps from it into the field].

And

if you say: If so,

let it make

only

a narrow trench, and not a trench?

Since it is narrow, the animal stands on its edge [

since the narrow trench is small, the animal stands on its edge],

and jumps.

And the beraita concludes:

And how much

space will there be

between one trench and the next? —

A handbreadth.

We will return to you, chapter “A beit kor.”

The subjects of inheritance discussed in our chapter are divided into seven parts:

A.

To explain the types of relatives: which of them are fit to inherit and bequeath, which are fit only to inherit or to bequeath, which are fit for nothing, and which are fit only for some of the laws of inheritance.

B.

To explain the order of relatives: which of them takes precedence over the other.

C.

To explain the laws concerning the firstborn: with regard to which assets he receives his due portion.

D.

To explain in which cases the bequeather can remove the laws of inheritance from the heirs.

E.

To explain how one should relate to the bequeather’s will.

F.

To explain the law concerning one who placed his heirs in control of his assets during his lifetime.

G.

One who left behind young sons and daughters: in what case do some have an advantage over the others with regard to his assets.

The laws of

inheritance are learned from the verses (Numbers 27:8): “...

If a man dies and has no son,

then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.

And if he has no daughter,

then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers.

And if he has no brothers,

then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers.

And if his father has no brothers,

then you shall give his inheritance to his relative who is nearest to him from his family, and he shall inherit it ...”

From here we learn the order of inheritances: a son comes first. If he has no sons, his daughters inherit. If there are no daughters, the deceased’s father inherits. If he has no father, the deceased’s brothers inherit. If he has no brothers, his father’s brothers inherit, as will be explained in the Gemara.

Regarding the definition of the law of inheritance, see

Sefer HaChinukh (

mitzva 400): “... But He informed us that the heir’s right is connected to the assets of his bequeather. As soon as the bequeather’s power over the assets departs at the moment of his death, the heir’s right immediately falls upon them, in the manner of the chainlike succession of created beings that the blessed Creator desired, one after another without interruption.

And our Sages, of blessed memory, refer to the strong right that an heir has in the assets of his bequeather by the term ‘mishmush,’ as they say in many places: ‘The inheritance proceeds through mishmush’; that is, the heir’s right in relation to the bequeather is as though their bodies were attached to one another, so that whatever emerges from one falls upon the other ...” This concludes his words.

Our Mishna lists four types of relatives, learned from these verses, whose laws differ with regard to inheritance.

Our Mishna lists four types of relatives whose laws differ with regard to inheritance:

Mishna:

There are

relatives who

inherit

[that is, inherit] their relatives upon their death,

and

also

bequeath

[that is, bequeath] their assets to them.

And there are

relatives who

inherit

their relatives,

but

if they themselves die,

they do not bequeath

their assets to those relatives.

And there are relatives who

bequeath

their assets to their relatives upon their death,

but do not inherit

those relatives when they themselves die.

And there are those who

do not inherit

their relatives

and do not bequeath

their assets to them.

The Mishna explains:

And these inherit and bequeath: The father

inherits

the sons,

if they die without leaving offspring behind .

And

likewise

the sons

inherit

the father

upon his death .

And the paternal brothers ,

inherit and bequeath

to one another: if one of them dies and leaves no son, daughter, or father, his paternal brothers inherit him .

These inherit but do not bequeath:

The man

inherits

his mother ,

but he does not bequeath his assets to her upon his death; rather, his father’s family inherits them.

And

likewise

the man

inherits

his wife

upon her death , but he does not bequeath his assets to her upon his death; rather, to his sons and his father’s family.

And

likewise

the sons of sisters inherit

their maternal aunt if she dies without a son, daughter, father, or brother.

But they do not bequeath

their assets to her.

These bequeath but do not inherit:

The woman

bequeaths

her

assets to

her sons,

but she does not inherit them.

And

likewise

the woman

bequeaths

her

assets to

her husband,

but she does not inherit him.

And

likewise

maternal uncles bequeath but do not inherit.

As above.

And maternal brothers

but not paternal brothers,

do not inherit and do not bequeath

one another. Rather, their father’s family inherits them .

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: “And these inherit and bequeath: the father the sons, and the sons the father.”

The Gemara asks:

What is different that he teaches ‘the father the sons’ first? Let him teach ‘the sons the father’ first.

There were two reasons why he should have taught it that way:

First, one does not begin with misfortune.

That is, when the father inherits his sons, it emerges that his sons died during his lifetime, and this is a curse for him.

The tanna of the Mishna should therefore have begun: “The son inherits the father,” which is a blessing—that the father should die and be buried by his sons.