Bava Batra 113b — the Talmud in English

And the Gemara asks:

For what halakhic matter?

For surely the daughters of a sister inherit their maternal uncles if there are no sons?

Rav Sheshet said:

There is a practical difference

with regard to precedence.

That is to say, even in an inheritance that comes through mishmush, such as this one, in which they inherit through their mother, nevertheless sons precede daughters.

As explained in the following statement:

Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzhak taught before Rav Huna:

It is written,

“And he shall inherit

it,” and we expound: the letter “vav” adds to the preceding matter, to teach us,

it compares the second inheritance

that is, the other inheritances mentioned in the passage ,

to the first inheritance,

the inheritance of the son, which precedes all of them.

Just as with the first inheritance, a son precedes a daughter, so too with the second inheritance, a son precedes a daughter.

And the same applies to a tenth inheritance.

It follows that a son precedes a daughter, and brothers precede sisters, and likewise the father’s brothers precede the father’s sisters, and the sons of the father’s brothers precede the daughters of the father’s brothers , and so on.

Further, concerning the laws of inheritance:

Rabba bar Hanina taught before Rav Nahman:

It is written,

“And it shall be on the day when he causes his sons to inherit.”

And we expound:

By day you cause inheritances to fall, but you do not cause inheritances to fall at night.

Abaye said to him: If so, the one who died during the day is the one whose sons inherit from him, but the one who died at night his sons do not inherit from him

who dies during the day bequeaths his property to his sons, and one who dies at night does not bequeath

?!

Perhaps you said “the judgment of inheritances,”

that they are judged only by day, like other monetary cases ?

And from where do we know that the division of inheritances is like monetary cases

For it was taught:

At the end of the passage of inheritances,

“And it shall be for the Children of Israel a statute of judgment,” it occurred

was completed

the entire

passage in its entirety to be a judgment.

We learn from here that the inheritance must be through three [judges], as a judgment.

And likewise we learn from here concerning all monetary cases, that their beginning must be judged by day, like inheritances, concerning which it is written, “And it shall be on the day when he causes his sons to inherit” .

And in accordance with Rav Yehuda.

For Rav Yehuda said: Three who entered to visit

the sick person, if they wish, they write

the testimony as they heard it from the sick person’s mouth, how he causes his property to be inherited,

if they wish, they render judgment,

for they are three, and they can judge and say: this is the law, that so-and-so shall take this portion, and so-and-so this portion, whose values are equally matched, and the like .

And they write for them a judgment document, so that they can no longer contest one another.

But if there were

two, they write

testimony,

but do not render judgment.

For a court has no fewer than three [judges] .

And Rav Hisda said: They taught this only

when they entered to visit him

by day.