Bava Metzia 50a — the Talmud in English

The second manner: if

he sold him ![](pamud.bmp "

exact page location")

an item worth six for five,

then

who was wronged?

Certainly the one who was wronged was the

seller. Therefore,

Therefore,

the seller's hand is uppermost:

If he wishes

the seller to cancel the sale,

he says to him

the buyer who wronged him:

Give me my purchase

back!

Or

if the seller wishes to uphold the sale, he says to the buyer who wronged him:

Give me what you wronged me by!

And it is proved from the words of this beraita that the law of overreaching applies both to a sixth of the sale and to a sixth of the money. For one who purchased an item worth six for five: this is a sixth of the sale, since the zuz that he did not pay is one-sixth of the value of the sale. Whereas one who sold an item worth five for six: necessarily this is a sixth of the money, since with regard to the value of the sale [which is five], the zuz that he added to the true value is one-fifth of its value.

The discussion before us is called the “discussion of the merchants of Lod,” and in it the Gemara discusses two fundamental questions:

We learned in the Mishna and in the beraita that if the measure of the overreaching was a sixth, the one who was wronged may retract from the sale or demand the return of his overreaching, and all this until he shows it to a merchant or to his relative. However, it was not clarified in them what the law is concerning waiver in a case of less than a sixth: whether the waiver takes effect immediately, or only after the time has passed that is sufficient for him to show it to a merchant or to his relative.

Likewise, it was not clarified in them what the law is concerning cancellation of the sale in a case of more than a sixth: whether the one who was wronged may cancel it whenever he wishes, forever, or perhaps he has the right to cancel it only until the time that is sufficient for him to show it to a merchant or to his relative.

The Gemara now discusses these two questions:

The first question:

They raised a dilemma before them: In a case of less than a sixth, according to the Rabbis,

does

the waiver take effect immediately, or

is this not a waiver unless the time has passed

that is sufficient for him to show it to a merchant or to his relative.

And if you would say,

that is, perhaps you will say: certainly the waiver takes effect immediately, because the position that there is no waiver unless the time has passed

that is sufficient for him to show it to a merchant or to his relative would present a difficulty:

if so,

what is there,

what is the difference

between a sixth and less than a sixth,

for in both of them, before the time has passed that is sufficient for him to show it to a merchant or to his relative, it is not a waiver, whereas after the time has passed, in both of them it is a waiver!?

You cannot say this, for it can be answered:

There is,

there is a difference between them:

for whereas

in a

sixth, his hand

the hand of the one who was wronged is

uppermost

absolutely, so that he may demand even cancellation of the sale, for thus we learned in a beraita:

If he wishes, he retracts

completely from the sale,

if he wishes, he purchases

the item,

and he returns

the one who wronged him the

overreaching.

Whereas

in

less than a sixth,

the one who was wronged cannot retract completely from the sale, but only

he purchases, and he returns

the one who wronged him the

overreaching.

And therefore, the question is:

what,

how should one rule in this dilemma?

Come and hear

a proof from our Mishna, to resolve the dilemma from it:

For we learned at its conclusion:

They returned

the merchants of Lod

to the words of the Sages,

for it was more convenient for them to follow their words—that the measure of overreaching is a sixth, but that the one who was wronged may retract only until he shows it to a merchant or to his relative—than to follow Rabbi Meir, according to whom the measure of overreaching is up to a third, but the one who was wronged may retract throughout the entire day.

They assumed,

the Sages who came to resolve the dilemma from here assumed that the law of

less than a third according to Rabbi Tarfon is

like

the law of

less than a sixth according to the Rabbis, it is similar

to it.

And now,

if you say, it is well,

if we say in accordance with the one side of the dilemma that

less than a sixth according to the Rabbis

does not involve a waiver immediately, but only once the time has passed

that is sufficient for him to show it to a merchant or to his relative, and

similarly

according to Rabbi Tarfon, the entire day

does not involve a waiver in a case of less than a third, but he may demand the return of the overreaching of less than a third throughout the entire day,

for this reason they returned

the merchants of Lod to conduct themselves according to the Rabbis and not according to Rabbi Tarfon.

And this is what happened initially: when Rabbi Tarfon told them that the measure of overreaching is a third and not a sixth, the merchants of Lod rejoiced, because according to Rabbi Tarfon's statement they gained all the overreaching from a sixth and more than a sixth, up to a third. For according to the Rabbis, in the case of a sixth he returns the overreaching, and in the case of more than a sixth the one who was wronged may retract from the sale, whereas according to Rabbi Tarfon he cannot retract, but he purchases and returns the overreaching, until the time that is sufficient for him to show it to a merchant or to his relative [as according to the Rabbis in a case of less than a sixth].

But when Rabbi Tarfon added to them that he may retract throughout the entire day and request the money of his overreaching, from one peruta up to a third, it became clear to them that according to his statement they were losing more than according to the words of the Rabbis.

For according to the words of the Rabbis, the overreaching of a sixth and less than a sixth, after the time has passed that is sufficient for him to show it to a merchant or to his relative, is a complete waiver. Whereas according to the words of Rabbi Tarfon, the one who was wronged may continue to demand payment of this overreaching throughout the entire day.