Bava Batra 96a — the Talmud in English

For it was taught: One who examines the barrel

of wine and tastes it to see that it has not turned to vinegar, so as

to be able to separate teruma from it, and proceeds.

So that he will always be able to separate teruma and tithe from it for other untithed wine that he wishes to drink.

And afterward it was found

that the barrel, when he examined it and saw that it had become

vinegar,

and it was no longer fit to separate from it for other wine, because vinegar and wine are two species, and one does not separate teruma from one species for that which is not its species. And since it is not known when it turned to vinegar, we must judge retroactively concerning all the wines for which teruma and tithe were separated from this barrel since the previous examination—

Every three days, certainly. From here onward—

in doubt.

And we raise it:

What is he saying?

And we answer:

Rabbi Yohanan said: This is what he is saying: During all the first three days

after the previous examination, the barrel is established as

certainly wine,

for it has not yet turned to vinegar, and all the untithed produce for which he separated from it during those days is presumed to have been corrected.

From here onward,

until it was found to be vinegar, it is in doubt, and all the untithed produce for which he separated from it is

doubtful

untithed produce, and he must correct it again.

What is the reason?

Because

wine begins from above.

When wine turns to vinegar, it begins to turn to vinegar from above downward.

And this one, he tasted it, but it had not begun.

When he tasted it the previous time from above, it had still not begun to turn to vinegar.

And

if you should say: After he tasted it, it began.

Even if we say that immediately after he tasted it the wine began to turn to vinegar, it still does not become vinegar until three days have passed. For the manner of wine that is turning to vinegar is that at first

its smell is vinegar and its taste is wine,

only its smell is that of vinegar, whereas its taste is still wine, until at the end of three days its taste, too, becomes that of vinegar.

And all

wine whose

smell is

that of

vinegar and whose taste is wine is wine.

All wine whose smell is vinegar and whose taste is wine has the status of wine, because we follow the taste.

Therefore, during all the first three days, when its taste is still that of wine, it is certainly wine, and only from here onward is it in doubt. And even during the last three days it is only doubtful vinegar, because perhaps it began to turn to vinegar only three days ago, and until now its taste was that of wine, and only now has its taste, too, become that of vinegar, giving it the status of vinegar.

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

The intention of the beraita is to say that

all the last three days

before the current examination, at which the barrel was found to be vinegar, it has the status of

certainly vinegar,

and the teruma that was separated from it for other wine did not take effect, and it is permitted to an Israelite [after he tithes it].

From here and onward

retroactively, until the previous examination, it is

doubtful

vinegar, and he must tithe the untithed produce again; but the teruma itself is forbidden to an Israelite because of the doubt.

What is the reason?

Because

wine begins from below.

The wine turns to vinegar from below upward,

and say: It began, but he was unaware of it.

It is possible that when he tasted the barrel the previous time from above, it had already begun to turn to vinegar from below, and he did not notice it.

And if you should say that it begins from above,

even if we say that the wine turns to vinegar from above downward,

and he tasted it, but it had not begun,

and he tasted it from above and did not notice that it had turned to vinegar, which is a sign that at that time it had not yet begun to turn to vinegar, nevertheless, one must be concerned

that perhaps after he tasted it, it began.

Perhaps immediately after he tasted it, it began to turn to vinegar and acquired the smell of vinegar. And although its taste was still that of wine—

its smell was vinegar, and its taste was wine.

And every wine whose

smell is vinegar and whose taste is wine—

vinegar.

Its status is that of vinegar.

Therefore, it is doubtful vinegar throughout all the time since the previous examination, except for the last three days, when it is certainly vinegar, since when he found it now, its taste had already turned to vinegar, it is certain that it had begun to acquire the smell of vinegar three days earlier. And everything whose smell is vinegar has the status of vinegar.

The southerners,

the Sages of the South,

taught in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi,

that this is the interpretation of the beraita:

Three

first

days after the previous examination:

certainly wine.

Three

last

days before the current examination:

certainly vinegar.

And what is stated in the beraita, “Every three days, certainly,” refers both to the first three days and to the last three days.

But all the

middle

days are

in doubt.

This itself is difficult.

For according to the Sages of the South, the beraita contradicts itself.

You said

that three days are

certainly wine,

because even if it began to turn to vinegar immediately after the tasting, it is still wine although its smell has already become that of vinegar.

Evidently: its smell is vinegar and its taste is wine—

wine.

And then you said that three

days are

certainly

vinegar, because by then it had already acquired the smell of vinegar.

Evidently: its smell is vinegar and its taste is wine—

vinegar!

And we answer: The beraita always holds that we follow the taste, and therefore during the first three days it is still wine. And what is stated concerning the last three days—that it is certainly vinegar—refers

to a case where pungent vinegar was found.

At the current examination he found that it had become very strong vinegar,

for if it had not begun three days earlier, pungent vinegar would not have been found.

For unless it had already been vinegar for three days, it would not have reached such a strong degree of vinegar. Rather, it is certain that it began to turn to vinegar six days earlier, and after three days it became vinegar, and from then it grew stronger and stronger until it reached its present degree.

The Gemara now returns to explaining Rav Yosef’s answer to Abaye, that from this beraita one can resolve the question concerning wine sold in a shop: does it have the status of wine, and do we recite over it, “Who creates the fruit of the vine,” or not?

Wine sold in a shop is inferior wine, whose smell is vinegar while only its taste is wine, and its status is explained in this beraita according to each of the amoraim, as he interprets the beraita.

And the Gemara asks:

According to whom did he resolve it for him?

According to which of these amoraim did Rav Yosef resolve it for Abaye? If he interprets the beraita according to Rabbi Yohanan, he resolved for him that wine sold in a shop has the status of wine. And if he interprets it according to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi [according to the first interpretation], he resolved for him that its status is that of vinegar.

Rav Mari and Rav Zevid disagree about it—

One said:

He resolved it for him

according to Rabbi Yohanan.

And one said:

He resolved it for him

according to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi.

It was stated: One who sells a barrel of wine to another, and it turns to vinegar

in the buyer’s domain, while it is still inside the seller’s barrel—

Rav said: During all the first three days,

if it turns to vinegar during them, it is

in the seller’s domain

and the sale was in error, for it is certain that already at the time of the sale it had begun to turn to vinegar and had the smell of vinegar. It is as though he sold him vinegar in place of wine.

From here onward,

if it turns to vinegar, it is

in the buyer’s domain.

For it is possible that it began to turn to vinegar only in his domain.