If one says to his neighbor: "I am selling you half a field," they "fatten" between themselves, and he (the buyer) takes his half of field. [They designate the "fat spot" in the field and the seller takes it, the buyer having the lower hand. And, corresponding to it, he gives the buyer inferior land amounting to the value of the "fat spot" taken by the seller. For when he said: "I am selling you half a field," his intent was the value of half a field. So that (for example) if it (the field) were one hundred cubits for one hundred dinars, and there were in it a "fat spot" of thirty cubits worth fifty dinars, the seller takes it and gives the buyer seventy cubits of the (relatively) inferior ground for fifty dinars. The (practical) difference — A man prefers one measure of superior soil to two measures of inferior, though the price be the same.] (If he said:) "I am selling you half in the south, they "fatten" between themselves, and he takes his half in the south. [The entire field is not assessed as (it is) in the first instance, but the value of half the field in the south is assessed, whether superior or inferior, and corresponding to the value of the half in the south, the seller gives the buyer (land of) inferior quality wherever he wishes (in that field). For the buyer has the lower hand, and his (the seller's) intent might have been: "I am selling you the value of the southern half wherever I wish in my land."] And he [the seller] takes it upon himself [to allocate] space [in the half-field that he bought] for a fence, a rut and a small rut, [both of them behind the fence on the outside, so that an animal not jump (over the fence) into the field. For if he made (just) a rut, and not a small rut, since the rut is wide, it could back off in it and jump to the other side. And if he made (just) a small rut and not a rut, since it is small, it could stand on its edge and jump. And what is (the distance) between a rut and a small rut? A handbreadth.] How large is a rut? Six handbreadths. And a small rut? Three.
Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Batra
משמנין ביניהן – they see the place of the fatter/better part of the field, and the seller takes that part, for the hand of the purchaser is at a disadvantage, and corresponding to it, he (i.e., the seller) gives to the boundarTalmud Bava Batra 107b). For when he (i.e., the seller) said to him (i.e., the purchaser): “I am selling you one-half of the field,” according to the worth of the half of the field, he said to him. And if it was one-hundred cubits [in total] for one hundred denars, but within it are thirty cubits which is the fatter/better part worth fifty denars, the seller takes that, and gives to the purchaser the seventy cubits which are the from the worst part for fifty denars. And the practical difference is that a person wants a Kab of the best took hold of the first language or the latter language, and the purchaser takes the less of the
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Batra
Introduction
Mishnah four continue to deal with the measurement of fields for purposes of selling.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Batra
חציה שבדרום אני מוכר לך – we do not compromise to average all of the field as it is in the first part [of the Mishnah], but rather, we estimate what half of the field in the South is worth, whether good or bad, and corresponding to what one-half of the field is in the South, the seller gives to the purchaser in any direction what he desires from the worst that he has, for the hand of the purchaser is at a disadvantage, and perhaps, this is what he said to him: “What is worth half that is in the South, I sell you from my land in any place that I desire.”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Batra
If a man said to his fellow, “I will sell you half of the field”, it must be divided between them into portions of equal value, and the buyer takes half of the field [which the other allots to him]. When a man sells half a field to another, they must divide the field into equal portions of monetary value. In a one hundred square meters field worth one hundred dollar, there may be a thirty square meter portion which is worth 50 dollars and a seventy square meter portion that is worth 50 dollars. In such a case the seller has a choice which piece of the field to keep. If he wishes he may keep the smaller, better field, or he may keep the larger, but of lesser quality field.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Batra
ומקבל עליו – the purchaser with his one-half field that he purchased to make a fence, and/or a large ditch or a small ditch. Both of them are behind the fence from the outside, in order that no wildlife not jump in and enter the field, for if he made a large ditch, he does not make a small ditch, for since the ditch is wide, it enters into it and jumps above its second rim, but if he made a small ditch and did not make a large ditch, since it is small, there exists garbage and it jumps. And how much is the distance between one small ditch and another small ditch? A handbreadth.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Batra
[If he said, “I will sell you] the southern half”, the field must be divided between them into portions of equal value, and the buyer takes the southern half. If, however, the seller stated which portion of the field he was selling, then they again divide the field into two, but this time the seller must give the specified portion. Since he specified which portion he was selling, he loses the right to decide which portion to give to the buyer.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Batra
He accepts responsibility for [providing the ground] for the dividing wall and the large and small ditches. How large is the large ditch? Six handbreadths. And the small ditch? Three handbreadths. The buyer is responsible for providing part of his land to make a dividing fence (as we learned in the first mishnah in Bava Batra) as well as part of his land to build ditches. These ditches would have surrounded the fence and would have prevented animals from jumping over the fence. The buyer’s part of land given for fences and ditches should be equal to the part given by the seller.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Batra
Questions for Further Thought: • Section three: If the mishnah had not stated that the buyer must provide a share of his land on which to build the fence and dishes what might you have thought? In other words, is there grounds to think that the seller must solely provide the ground?
