Bava Batra 54b — the Talmud in English

And if he plowed in a field

if he plowed in a field

that is not demarcated by its boundaries

but rather it stands in a large valley and is open to other fields or to the public domain,

to what extent

must he plow—according to Rav—— in order that he acquire all of it?

Rav Pappa said:

Like the ox-team goes and returns [

when he plows with a pair of oxen going and returning], that is, if he plowed two rows in the field—one while going and one while returning—from the beginning to the end of the field, from east to west, then he acquired all of it from north to south.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel:

The property of a gentile,

that is, if a gentile sold land to a Jew and the gentile received from the Jew only money, without a document, and the Jew did not establish possession of it,

they are

the lands

like a desert

which is ownerless, and

whoever establishes possession of them

before the Jew who gave the money established possession of them,

acquires them.

And we explain:

What is the reason?

Because

once the money reaches the gentile’s hand, he withdraws [

the gentile, whose acquisition is only through money, withdraws his ownership once he receives his money], whereas

a Jew does not acquire

them through money

until the document reaches his hand [

whereas a Jew does not acquire either from a Jew or from a gentile through money without a document],

therefore

until the Jew establishes possession of it

they are like a desert

which is ownerless,

and whoever establishes possession of them acquires them.

Написал в «Новеллах рабби Шимона» параграф 29: следует рассмотреть: ведь нееврей намеревался передать землю еврею, и если бы еврей полагался на приобретение без документа или установления владения, он приобрёл бы её за деньги. Значит, передача, совершённая неевреем, подобна передаче, совершённой евреем. Как же земля стала бесхозной без намерения нееврея? На первый взгляд можно было бы сказать, что в каждом акте приобретения есть две составляющие: а) выведение вещи из владения прежнего владельца; б) введение её во владение нового владельца. Поскольку нееврей намеревался передать землю, а еврей её не приобрёл, акт введения во владение оказался недействительным, тогда как акт выведения из владения сохранился. Поэтому земля осталась выведенной из прежнего владения, но не введённой в новое владение, и это означает, что она стала бесхозной. Но это далёкое объяснение, поскольку если сказать, что при каждом приобретении прежний владелец должен сначала вывести вещь из своего владения, это вообще непонятно: как владельцы могут сначала совершить акт приобретения, чтобы вывести вещь из своего владения, а затем ввести её во владение другого? [См. там, где этот вопрос разрешается.] Тем более это невозможно при приобретении за деньги: деньги ведь даются именно за перевод вещи из владения продавца во владение покупателя. Если же сказать, как объяснено выше, получится, что при каждой покупке вещь переходит не из владения продавца, а из бесхозного состояния ; см. объяснение там. И также в «Собрании уроков» параграф 242 поставлен вопрос: кто сделал землю бесхозной? Ведь нееврей не сделал её бесхозной, а продал её; а поскольку приобретение не состоялось, он вообще ничего не сделал?! Подобное возражение Тосафот выдвинули ниже, на листе 138, относительно человека, получившего подарок и сказавшего «я не желаю её» до того, как подарок поступил к нему в руки; это требует дальнейшего изучения.

He said,

astonished

Abaye said to Rav Yosef: Did Shmuel say this?,

that Shmuel said that the second person acquires the land through establishment of possession alone, even though he has no document from the gentile!?

But Shmuel said

himself: “

the law of the kingdom is law,”

and the king

indeed

said [

and this is the law of the kingdom]:

one does not acquire land except through a document [

a person does not acquire land except through a document], and since the second person has no document from the gentile, he did not acquire, and the first person is the one who will acquire because of “the law of the kingdom is law” when the document comes into his hand!?

He said to him,

Rav Yosef to Abaye:

I do not know,

but there was an incident in Dura de-Ra’uta, involving a Jew who purchased land from a gentile

with money without a document,

and another Jew came and plowed it a little

in order to acquire it,

he came before Rav Yehuda,

and

he established it

Rav Yehuda, who was Shmuel’s student,

in the hands of the second person. [

I do not know; but I do know that there was an incident of this kind in a place called “Dura de-Ra’uta,”

where a Jew purchased from a gentile with money without a document, and another Jew came and plowed it a little, and Rav Yehuda—who performed most of his actions according to his teacher Shmuel—ruled that the land should remain in the hands of the second person].

It is thus explained that although Shmuel holds that “the law of the kingdom is law,” nevertheless the property of gentiles is like a desert.

Abaye said to him,

Abaye to Rav Yosef:

Are you speaking of Dura de-Ra’uta [

you are bringing proof from Dura de-Ra’uta]!?

There, they were concealed fields, for they themselves did not pay the land tax to the king, and the king

indeed

said: Whoever pays the land tax may consume the land! [

The fields that were there were “concealed fields”: they hid them from the king’s eyes and did not pay tax to the king. And the law of the kingdom is: whoever pays the tax, the land is his. Those who did not pay the tax did not have the power, according to the law of the kingdom, to sell them; rather, the second purchaser, who established possession on the condition that he would pay the tax to the king, acquires the land according to the law of the kingdom through establishment of possession, without a document].

But concerning land that the gentile inherited from his fathers, and he sold it, I will always say to you: if another person came and established possession of it, it is removed from his possession and returned to the first purchaser when he has a document from the seller.

An incident involving

Rav Huna

who

purchased land from a gentile; another Jew came and plowed it a little

in order to acquire it,

he came,

that other person,

before Rav Naḥman, and he established it

Rav Naḥman

in his hands. [

An incident involving Rav Huna, who gave money to a gentile without a document, and another Jew came and plowed the field a little. That second person came before Rav Naḥman, and Rav Naḥman placed the field in the hands of the second person].

He said,

astonished

to him,

Rav Huna to Rav Naḥman:

What is your reasoning [

for what reason did you rule this way]!? Because

Shmuel said: The property of a gentile is like a desert, and whoever establishes possession of it acquires it!?