Commentary for Bava Batra 8:1
יֵשׁ נוֹחֲלִין וּמַנְחִילִין, וְיֵשׁ נוֹחֲלִין וְלֹא מַנְחִילִין, מַנְחִילִין וְלֹא נוֹחֲלִין, לֹא נוֹחֲלִין וְלֹא מַנְחִילִין. וְאֵלּוּ נוֹחֲלִין וּמַנְחִילִין, הָאָב אֶת הַבָּנִים וְהַבָּנִים אֶת הָאָב וְהָאַחִין מִן הָאָב, נוֹחֲלִין וּמַנְחִילִין. הָאִישׁ אֶת אִמּוֹ וְהָאִישׁ אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ, וּבְנֵי אֲחָיוֹת, נוֹחֲלִין וְלֹא מַנְחִילִין. הָאִשָּׁה אֶת בָּנֶיהָ וְהָאִשָּׁה אֶת בַּעְלָהּ וַאֲחֵי הָאֵם, מַנְחִילִין וְלֹא נוֹחֲלִין. וְהָאַחִים מִן הָאֵם, לֹא נוֹחֲלִין וְלֹא מַנְחִילִין:
There are those [kin] who inherit [other kin] and bequeath inheritance [to them at their death]; inherit, but do not bequeath; bequeath but do not inherit; neither inherit nor bequeath. These inherit and bequeath: A father (inherits) his sons, [viz. (Numbers 27:8): "A man, if he die, and he have no son, then you shall pass his inheritance to his daughter" — Where the deceased has a daughter, you pass the inheritance from the father (of the deceased), but you do not do so where he has (no sons and daughters, but only) brothers.] And sons (inherit) their fathers, [viz. (Ibid.: "A man, if he die, and he have no son," the implication being that if he does have a son, the son takes precedence.] And brothers from the father (inherit each other), [viz. (Ibid. 11): "…by their families, according to the house of their fathers."] These (the above) inherit and bequeath. A man (inherits) his mother, [viz. (Ibid. 36:8): "And every daughter who receives an inheritance from the tribes of the children of Israel." How can a daughter inherit two tribes? She can, in an instance where he father is from one tribe and her mother from a different one, the daughter (in the absence of male heirs) inheriting them. And since it is written "tribes," the tribe of the mother is being likened to the tribe of the father, i.e.: Just as with the tribe of the father the son takes precedence to the daughter, so with the tribe of the mother.] A man inherits his wife, [viz. (Ibid. 27:11): "…his flesh" — this is his wife. The verse is understood as: "And you shall give the inheritance of his wife to him." (We "diminish, and add, and expound.") I might think that she, likewise, inherits him; it is therefore, written (Ibid.): "And he shall inherit it" (lit., "her") — He inherits her, but she does not inherit him.] And the sons of sisters (inherit the deceased where there are no closer kin.) These (the above) inherit, but do not bequeath. A woman, her son; a woman her, husband; and the mother's brothers, (her son) — they bequeath, but do not inherit. And brothers from the mother — they neither inherit nor bequeath (to each other.)
Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Batra
English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Batra
These inherit and bequeath: a father as to his sons and sons as to their father and brothers from the same father, these inherit and bequeath.
A man as to mother, and a man as to his wife, and the sons of sisters, inherit but do not bequeath.
A woman as to her sons, and a wife as to her husband, and brothers of the mother, bequeath but do not inherit.
And brothers from the same mother [but not father] neither inherit nor bequeath.
The eighth and ninth chapters of Bava Batra deal with the laws of inheritance. It states in Numbers 8-11 (JPS translation): “If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall transfer his property to his daughter. If he has no daughter, you shall assign his property to his brothers. If he has no brothers, you shall assign his property to his father’s brothers. If his father had no brothers, you shall assign his property to his nearest relative in his own clan, and he shall inherit it.”
The first two mishnayoth of our chapter deal with the order of inheritance, who inherits from whom and who bequeaths property to whom.
This mishnah lists in four categories all those who inherit from others and all those who, when they die, bequeath property to others.
Category one: The relationships listed in this category both inherit and bequeath. When a father dies, his sons inherit and if they should die without offspring, the father inherits from them. If a man dies and he has no children and his father is already dead his brother will inherit. So too if his brother dies in a similar situation , he bequeaths his property to his brother.
Category two: The relationships listed in this category are ones in which the person inherits but does not bequeath. A man inherits his mother but if he should die first, the mother does not inherit from him. So too, a man inherits his wife but if he should die his property is not bequeathed to her. If a man dies and his sister had children, they may inherit him if he has no closer relative. However, if they die, he does not inherit their property since it will pass to their father’s side and not their mother’s.
Category three: The relationships listed in this category are ones in which the person bequeaths but does not inherit. A woman bequeaths her property to her sons but she does not inherit from them if they should die first. Likewise, a husband inherits his wife’s property, but he does not bequeath his property to her. Finally, if a man dies and his closest relative is his sister’s children his property is bequeathed to them, but if they should die he cannot inherit from them.
Category four: The relationships listed in this category are ones in which the person neither bequeaths nor inherits. If a man dies and he leaves a brother who shares a mother but not a father he does not bequeath his property to him, nor does he inherit his property should the brother die. The inheritance lines go to each man’s father’s family and not to his relatives on his mother’s side.