Bava Batra 155b — the Talmud in English

This is what they came,

therefore they came to Rabbi Akiva,

and said to him,

and asked him,

what is [the purpose of] examining him

whether he has signs of maturity, for if they do not find signs of maturity in him, the sale will be nullified.

Rather, if you say

but if you say that only

from the age of twenty,

when he has completed twenty years can he sell,

for what would examining him accomplish!?

What benefit would the examination provide? For even if they do not find signs of maturity in him, he is an adult, and his sale stands.

For

but

behold

we learned

in a Mishna in tractate Niddah [47b]:

One who is twenty years old and has not produced two hairs,

which are signs of maturity,

must bring proof that he is twenty years old, and he is a eunuch.

He has the status of a eunuch and is considered to have reached maturity, because this is his nature, that he has no hairs, and therefore he has the status of an adult. And since he is established as a eunuch, he

neither performs halitza nor levirate marriage

with the wife of his brother who fell before him for levirate marriage, because one who is not fit to procreate neither performs halitza nor levirate marriage.

And from here Rabbi Zeira raises a difficulty to Rav Huna, who holds that a son sells his father's property only from the age of twenty years: according to his view, there is no benefit at all in examining the signs of maturity, for in any event his sale is a sale at this age.

The Gemara answers:

Was it not stated concerning it

and did we not learn concerning this Mishna,

Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzhak said in the name of Rav

that it is not sufficient for him to bring proof that he is twenty years old and has no two hairs in order to make him an adult by the law of a eunuch, but rather,

and he

is one in whom signs of a eunuch have developed.

He requires additional signs in his body, as explained there, in order to determine that he is a eunuch. But if he merely has not produced two hairs, that is not sufficient proof. Therefore, it is understandable that they wanted to examine him, whether he had the other signs, for if they were not present, he was still a minor.

Rava said: It is also precise,

you should infer that the Gemara's answer is correct from the fact

that it teaches,

as it is stated in this statement,

“and he is the eunuch,”

with the definite article, indicating that he is known as a eunuch; that is, he has additional signs of a eunuch.

Learn from it

that this is the reason for making him a eunuch, and not merely the fact that he has no hairs.

And now the Gemara discusses:

And if signs of a eunuch have not developed in him,

if signs of a eunuch have not developed in him and he has no hairs,

until when

do we retain him as a minor?

Rabbi Hiyya taught: Until most of his years.

When he reaches thirty-six years, which are most of a person's years, as a person generally lives seventy years. And then, even if he has no additional signs, we regard him as a eunuch, and he is an adult.

When people came before Rabbi Hiyya,

when men who had not produced signs of maturity, namely two hairs, came before Rabbi Hiyya,

if he was lean,

if they were thin in flesh,

he said to them,

he would say to them,

“Let him become healthy.”

Let him make himself healthy, and then the signs will appear.

And if he became healthy,

if men who were healthy in flesh came before him,

he said to them: “Let him become lean.”

He told them to make themselves lean.

And the Gemara explains:

For these signs,

these signs,

sometimes develop because of leanness,

sometimes they appear when a person is lean.

Sometimes they develop because of healthiness.

And sometimes they appear when a person is healthy in flesh. Therefore, this is what he advised them.

They raised a dilemma before them:

the members of the academy were uncertain: From when may a son sell land that he inherited from his father?

Is it

within the period,

during the eighteenth year or during the twentieth year,

, like before the period

that he is considered still not to have reached the age of maturity with regard to selling his father's property, until eighteen full years or twenty full years have passed?

Or like after the period.

At the beginning of the eighteenth year he is considered to have reached his time as an adult with regard to being able to sell land.

Rava said in the name of Rav Nahman: Within the period is like before the period.

And he is still considered a minor and cannot sell until the year has passed.

Rava bar Rav Shila said in the name of Rav Nahman: Within the period is like after the period

. Within the year he is considered an adult

and can already sell.

And the Gemara explains:

And this ruling of Rava,

the ruling of Rava,

was not stated explicitly,

it was not stated explicitly,

but was stated by implication.

We learned it from an incident that occurred:

There was a certain person within the period,

there was a person who was within his eighteenth year,

who went and sold property,

he went and sold property.

And he came before Rava,

and they came to ask Rava whether the sale stood or not.

He said to them: “It is nothing!”

He told them that the sale was nullified.

One who saw [this],

one who saw Rava's ruling,

thought: Because within the period is like before the period,

and his time had not yet arrived. This is the Gemara's intention: from this incident we learned Rava's statement.

But the Gemara rejects this:

That is not so!

That was not the reason; rather,

there, he saw excessive foolishness in him.

He saw excessive foolishness in him, in that

he was freeing his slaves,

for he freed his slaves. From this Rava saw that one could not rely on his judgment, and therefore he nullified the sale, and not because his time had not yet arrived.

Giddel ben Menashya sent to

a question

to Rava: “Let our master teach us: A girl who is fourteen years and one day old,

who has not reached the age of eighteen, but she

understands the nature of business transactions,

she is especially sharp in matters of commerce,

what is [the law]?

Can she sell even her father's property, since there is no concern that she will sell for less than its true value, as she possesses understanding?

He sent to him,

he replied to him:

“If she understands the nature of business transactions, her purchase is a purchase and her sale is a sale.”

Even though she has not reached the age of eighteen or twenty.

But let him send to him [a question about] a boy,

why did Giddel ben Menashya ask Rava only about a girl, and not ask him about a boy?

The Gemara explains:

“The incident that occurred, that is how it was.”

This was not merely a question about the status of a girl, but a question concerning a specific incident that happened with a girl.

But let him send to him: “A girl who is twelve years and one day old,”

why did he ask about a girl of fourteen years and not about one of twelve, since from then she becomes an adult?

And concerning this as well the Gemara answers:

“The incident that occurred, that is how it was.”

There was a certain person younger than twenty,

there was an incident involving a person younger than twenty,

who went and sold his father's property,

who went and sold property of his father,

like Giddel bar Menashya,

in accordance with the ruling of Giddel bar Menashya, that if he understands the nature of business transactions, his sale is a sale.

He came before Rava,

he came before Rava in order to retract from the sale, since he was younger than twenty.

His relatives said to him,

his relatives advised him,

“Go eat your dates,

eat dates,

and throw their pits

and throw the pits

in Rava's academy,

in Rava's academy, so that he would consider you a fool and nullify the sale.

He did so.

He did this.

He said to them: “Your sale is not a sale!”

Rava told them that the sale was void, since he was behaving like a fool. But

when they wrote for him

a document,

when they wrote for him a court document stating that the sale was void,

the purchasers said to him,

the purchasers said to the seller:

“Go say to Rava,

go tell Rava a wise statement [their intention was that Rava would see that he was intelligent and the sale would stand], and ask Rava as follows: Is it possible that

the Scroll of Esther costs one zuz,

and also

the master's document costs one zuz!?”

How can it be that the scribe takes one zuz as his fee for writing a Scroll of Esther, and also takes one zuz as his fee for writing the master's court document, when writing the document is much shorter!?

He went and said to him,

he went and said this to Rava.

He said to them,

Rava said to the purchasers,

“His sale is a sale!”

The sale was not void.

His relatives said to him,

the seller's relatives said to Rava:

“The purchasers taught him!”

He is not intelligent; rather, the purchasers taught him to say this.

He said to them: “They explained it to him, and he understood.”

They explained it to him, and he understood.

“And since they explained it to him and he understood, he certainly knows.”

Since he understands when something is explained to him, he understands the nature of business transactions, and his sale is a sale.

“And this that he did so,

and this that he threw the pits

was excessive insolence that he possessed.”

This was because of the insolence that he possessed, and not because of foolishness.

Rav Huna son of Rav Yehoshua said:

Even though they said that he may sell his father's property only from the age of twenty,

but with regard to testimony, his testimony is testimony.

He is fit to testify from the age of thirteen, when he produces signs of maturity.

Mar Zutra said,

Mar Zutra adds and says:

“We said this”

that he can testify from the age of thirteen

only with regard to movable property,

only with regard to movable property,

but with regard to real property, no.

He is disqualified from testifying concerning land until he reaches twenty.

Rav Ashi said to Mar Zutra: “What is different about movable property,

why can he testify concerning movable property? It is because

his sale is a sale,

he can sell it, and therefore he is also fit to testify concerning it.

But if that is so,

if we say that testimony depends upon the possibility of sale, there is a difficulty:

but we learned,

behold, we learned in a Mishna:

“The young children: their purchase is a purchase, and their sale is a sale.”

Minors can buy and sell movable property from the age of six or seven.

Here too, is their testimony testimony!?

Are we to say that they can testify from this age?

He said to him

Mar Zutra explained to him:

“There,

with minors before the age of thirteen, there is another deficiency, for

we require

that the words of the verse be fulfilled,

‘And the two men shall stand,’ and there is none!

He must be a man, as it is stated in the verse concerning testimony, and a minor is not considered a man.

Ameimar said: “And his gift” -

“is a gift.”

Ameimar adds that although he may sell only from the age of twenty, he may give a gift already when he is thirteen years old, even from his father's property, despite the fact that he does not understand the nature of business transactions.

Rav Ashi said to Ameimar:

Rav Ashi raised a difficulty to him:

“Now, and if in a sale,

and if in a sale,

where he receives money,

where he receives money for it, which demonstrates that he is behaving intelligently,

you said that he may not

sell because

perhaps he will sell cheaply,

perhaps he will sell for too little,

all the more so

certainly

with a gift, from which nothing reaches him,

he does not receive

anything at all,

surely it should be that his gift is not a gift.”