Bava Batra 61a (סא.) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

One who sells the house,

and stated his words generally, without specifying that he was also selling with it the things attached to the house—

he sold the buyer only the house itself, but

did not sell

him, as part of the house, its

gallery

[and the Gemara will explain what the “gallery” is],

even though it

the gallery [which is referred to in the feminine form]

opens into it

the house, and one might have said that it is considered part of the house, since it opens into it and its use is connected with the house.

Rather, since he sold a house without specification, the gallery is not included in the sale of the house.

And

likewise, he

did not

sell the buyer the house

and the room

adjacent to the house, despite the fact

that

the room adjacent to the house is

within it.

That is, although it is impossible to reach the room except through the house, since the room does not open outward but only into the house, nevertheless the room is not considered part of the house, because the use of the room is unlike the use of the house: the room is not intended for dwelling, but only for storing one’s possessions and keeping them there.

And

likewise, he

did not

sell

the roof

of the house

when it has

the roof of the house

a railing ten handbreadths high.

For in that case the roof of the house is considered an important place in its own right and is not subordinate to the house; therefore, it is not included in the sale of an unspecified house.

Rabbi Yehuda says: If it has

the roof

the form of a doorway,

through which one enters from the house to the roof, then

even though it is not high

the roof’s railing

ten handbreadths, it is not sold

the roof. For by virtue of the form of a doorway at its entrance, the roof is considered a place in its own right and is not subordinate to the house.

Gemara:

The Gemara discusses this:

What is the “gallery”?

Here,

here in Babylonia,

they interpreted,

they explained that a gallery is

an afta,

a low structure adjoining the house, at its side or behind it.

Whereas

Rav Yosef said:

A “gallery” is

a badka

halila.

A room adjoining the house, containing many windows, intended for ventilation and cooling, and not for ordinary dwelling. It is called “halila,” from the meaning “hollow,” on account of the many empty spaces of its windows.

The Gemara explains:

According to the one who says

“afta” is not sold,

that the gallery is not sold together with the house, even though it is an enclosed room and its use somewhat resembles that of a house, according to his view,

all the more so “badka halila” is not sold.

It is not sold with the house, since it is a room open through numerous windows, and its use is entirely unlike that of a house. Rather, it is primarily made for adornment and for cooling oneself there, and therefore it is not included in the house—certainly not more than an afta.

However,

according to the one who says

that a gallery is

a badka halila,

only it is not included in the house,

but an afta,

yes,

is sold.

It is included in the sale of the house, since the use of an afta more closely resembles the use of a house [to some degree].

Rav Yosef taught

the following teaching:

It has three names,

“gallery,” “side chamber,” and “room.”

The following explanation follows Rabbeinu Gershom:

In the Temple built by Solomon, many chambers were constructed around the wall of the Sanctuary. They were also called “rooms,” and were chambers used for the needs of the Temple.

The “rooms” were built between the wall of the Sanctuary on one side and another wall on the other side. There were three rows of rooms, on three levels, one above the other, around three of the walls of the Temple [except for the eastern wall, where the entrance to the Temple was located].

Each such row of rooms is called in the biblical text a “side chamber.”

The rooms were, as stated, situated between the exterior side of the Temple wall and another wall parallel to the wall of the Temple. [See illustration 1 from “Living Commentary” on the following page.]

Since the rooms were built in three levels between the two walls, it was necessary to perforate the walls on both sides in order to insert the ends of the ceiling beams into them [on each and every level], since otherwise there would have been nothing for the ceiling beams to rest upon.

However, they did not perforate the wall of the Sanctuary, so that the Sanctuary wall would remain strong and free of holes. Therefore, they built the thickness of the Sanctuary wall in a stepped form, narrowing toward the outside.

That is, the thickness of the Sanctuary wall at its base was six cubits, and it narrowed in three successive “steps” [on its outer side] to five cubits, four cubits, and three cubits.

[unclear: the source contains the isolated word “Ayo”]

Thus, there was a place to lay the ceiling beams of the rooms in the lowest row on the first “step” formed in the thickness of the Sanctuary wall. Similarly, the beams of the ceiling of the rooms on the middle level were laid on the second step formed in the thickness of the Sanctuary wall, while the beams of the ceiling of the rooms on the third level were laid on the third step. [See illustration 2 from “Living Commentary.”]

As stated, the thickness of the Sanctuary wall at the bottom was six cubits, and when it reached the height of the rooms in the first row it narrowed to five cubits, creating a “step” one cubit wide in the Sanctuary wall, so that the ends of the beams of the ceiling of the rooms on the first level could rest on the step,

rather than perforating the wall in order to place them in it. [See the illustrations]. [unclear: the source contains a stray character and an illustration number]

Therefore, the lowest row of the gallery [rooms], which was between the Sanctuary wall and the parallel wall, was five cubits wide, as stated in the following verse.

The ceiling beams of that level were six cubits long, with one cubit of each beam resting on the step created by the reduction in the thickness of the Sanctuary wall.

Above, opposite the middle, or central, gallery, the thickness of the Sanctuary wall was only five cubits, up to the ceiling of the middle gallery. It follows that the rooms in the middle gallery, which were between the Sanctuary wall and the parallel wall, were six cubits wide.

From the ceiling of the middle level upward, the thickness of the wall narrowed to four cubits, creating another step one cubit wide, upon which the ends of the beams of the middle ceiling rested.

The thickness of the wall opposite the upper gallery was four cubits.

It follows that the upper gallery was seven cubits wide.

From the ceiling of the upper level upward, the thickness of the wall was reduced to three cubits, and the ends of the beams of the upper level rested on the cubit by which the wall had been set back.

As stated, all this was done so that there would be a place in the thickness of the Sanctuary wall upon which the ends of the beams supporting the ceilings of the rooms could rest, and they would not need to perforate the walls of the structure and insert the ends of the beams there, lest the wall become unstable.

“Gallery” —

as it is written

[I Kings 6]

“The lowest gallery was five cubits wide.”

“Side chamber” —

as it is written

[Ezekiel 41]

“And the side chambers, one side chamber beside another, were thirty-three times.”

The verse speaks of the Third Temple, may it be built speedily in our days, in which there will be thirty-three “side chambers,” chambers [rooms] built outside the wall of the Sanctuary. Their arrangement is as follows: on the northern side there will be five side chambers, one beside the other; likewise, in the south, five one beside the other; and one in the west—eleven in all. The side chambers will be arranged in three levels in height—lower, middle, and upper—one above the other. Thus, there will be thirty-three side chambers.

“Room” —

as it is written

[Ezekiel 40]

“And the room, one rod in length and one rod in width; and between the rooms, five cubits.”

The measure of a “rod” is six cubits. It follows that the room was six cubits long and likewise six cubits wide. Here the reference is to the middle gallery, which was six by six. The thickness of the wall of the rooms, which separated one from another, was five cubits.

Alternatively, if you wish, say that it can be derived from here,

from the Mishna in tractate Middot [4:6], that it is called a “room.”

As we learned: The thickness of the

Sanctuary wall

behind the Holy of Holies was

six

cubits.

And

the thickness of

the room was six.

This refers to a room in the middle side chamber, which was six cubits wide. And the thickness of the

wall

of the outer wall of

the room was five.

Mar Zutra said:

Regarding what we learned—that the gallery is not sold as part of the house—

and it

refers only to a case

where the

gallery is

four cubits

wide. Only then is it not included as part of the house. But if the gallery is less than four cubits in area, it is not important in its own right and is subordinate to the house.

Ravina said to Mar Zutra: According to you,

according to your view,

who said that it is not until it is

the gallery is at least

four cubits,

but if it is less than this it is indeed sold together with the house,

but now, with regard to a pit, as we learned,

as we learned later in the Mishna [64a]: One who sells a house

does not

sell

the pit

in the house

nor the cistern

[a cistern is like a pit, except that a pit is a cavity dug into the ground, whereas a cistern is a structure built above ground in the form of a pit; see illustration 3 from “Living Commentary”], and this is

even though he wrote for him, “its depth and its height.”

The seller wrote to him, “I am selling you this house, together with its depth and its height”; nevertheless, the pit and cistern are not included in this.

And if so, according to you,

here too, if they are four cubits, yes; if not, no!

Are we to say that this refers specifically to a case in which the pit and cistern are four cubits wide, but if they are narrower they are sold as part of the house? Illustration 3

Surely an ordinary pit is not four cubits wide. It would be forced to say that the Mishna speaks only of a case in which it is four cubits wide.

The Gemara rejects this:

How can these cases be compared?!

What comparison is there between them?!

For

there,

with regard to a pit and cistern,

the one has one use and the other has another use.

The use of a house is entirely unlike that of a pit or cistern: a house is made for dwelling, whereas a pit is made to contain water and the like. Therefore, it is not included in the house even if it is less than four cubits.

Whereas

here,

with regard to a gallery,

both have the same use.

The house and the gallery have the same use, since both are intended for dwelling. Therefore, only

if it is

the gallery

four cubits,

then it is

considered

a place in its own right,

but if not, it is not considered so.

Rather, it is subordinate to the house.

We learned in the Mishna:

“Nor the room that is within it”:

The Gemara discusses this:

Now, if a gallery is not sold,

it is not sold as part of the house even though its use is the same as that of the house, then

a room,

whose use is not the same as that of the house, since the room is intended for storing possessions,

is it necessary to say so?!

It is obvious that it is not sold as part of the house, so why did the tanna need to mention it?