Mesorat%20hashas for Bava Kamma 1:1

אַרְבָּעָה אֲבוֹת נְזִיקִין, הַשּׁוֹר וְהַבּוֹר וְהַמַּבְעֶה וְהַהֶבְעֵר. לֹא הֲרֵי הַשּׁוֹר כַּהֲרֵי הַמַּבְעֶה, וְלֹא הֲרֵי הַמַּבְעֶה כַּהֲרֵי הַשּׁוֹר. וְלֹא זֶה וָזֶה, שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶן רוּחַ חַיִּים, כַּהֲרֵי הָאֵשׁ, שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ רוּחַ חַיִּים. וְלֹא זֶה וָזֶה, שֶׁדַּרְכָּן לֵילֵךְ וּלְהַזִּיק, כַּהֲרֵי הַבּוֹר, שֶׁאֵין דַּרְכּוֹ לֵילֵךְ וּלְהַזִּיק. הַצַּד הַשָּׁוֶה שֶׁבָּהֶן, שֶׁדַּרְכָּן לְהַזִּיק וּשְׁמִירָתָן עָלֶיךָ. וּכְשֶׁהִזִּיק, חָב הַמַּזִּיק לְשַׁלֵּם תַּשְׁלוּמֵי נֶזֶק בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ:

There are four avoth (prototypes) of nezikin (damages) [Because each one of them has toldoth (derivatives), they (the prototypes) are called avoth.]: shor (lit., "ox") [This is regel ("foot"), i.e., what the beast damages with its feet as it walks, viz. (Exodus 22:4): "And he sends his beast," and (Isaiah 32:20): "senders of the foot of the ox and the ass." A toldah of regel is (the beast's) damaging with its body as it walks, or with its hair as it walks (vessels becoming attached to its hair and being dragged and broken), or with the shalif that is upon it (the load in its saddlebag or its pack-bags), or with the bell upon its neck.], bor (pit) [one's opening a pit in the public domain and an ox or an ass falling therein and dying, if the pit is ten tefachim (handbreadths) deep; or being injured, if it is less than ten tefachim, viz. (Exodus 21:33): "If a man open a pit, etc." A toldah of bor is one's phlegm or mucus causing damage after falling in the public domain.], maveh [This is shen ("tooth"), his beast's eating in his neighbor's field, viz. (Ibid. 22:4): "…and it eat in another's field." Shen is called "maveh" because it (the tooth is sometimes hidden, sometimes revealed, viz. (Ovadiah 1:6): "niv'u matzpunav," the targum of which is "itgalyan matmorohi" ("His hidden things are revealed.") And a toldah of shen is (the beast's rubbing itself against a wall for relief (of its itching), as is common with beasts, and breaking the wall in doing so, or sullying fruits in rubbing itself against them for relief.], hever [fire going forth and damaging, viz. (Exodus 22:5): "If fire go out … and there be consumed sheaves, or the standing corn, or the field, etc." A toldah of esh (fire) is one's stone, knife, or burden, which he placed on top of his roof falling in a normal wind and causing damage, like fire, which is driven by the wind. The reason that our tanna does not reckon keren ("horn") among the avoth nezikin is that only the nezikin that are muadim ab initio (i.e., which pay full damages from the beginning) are being discussed not those which are first tamin (paying half damages), and then muadim.] The instance of shor is not like that of maveh, and that of maveh is not like that of shor. And neither the one nor the other, which have a spirit of life, is like esh, which does not have a spirit of life. And neither the one nor the other, whose way it is to go and cause damage, is like bor, whose way it is not to go and cause damage. [That is, if the Torah had written (only) shor, maveh could not be derived from it. For I would say that regel, for which it is common to cause damage, was made liable by the Torah; shen, for which it is not common to cause damage, was not made liable by the Torah. And if the Torah had written (only) shen, I would say that shen, where there is enjoyment in damaging, is liable; regel, where there is no enjoyment in damaging, is not liable. And if the Torah had written shen and regel, and had not written esh, I would say that shen and regel, which have a spirit of life — that is, which come from the force of a living creature — are liable; but esh, which does not have a spirit of life, should not be liable. And if the Torah had written those three and not bor, I would say that those should be liable, for it is their way to go and cause damage; but bor, which does not go and cause damage, should not be liable — for which reason all must be written. The gemara concludes that if bor and one of the others were written, all the others could be derived (with the exception of keren), through their common factor, viz. it being their way to cause damage. All had to be written only because they are distinct in their halachoth, there obtaining with the one what does not obtain with the other: Shen and regel are exempt in the public domain, as opposed to bor and esh. Scripture exempted bor from (liability for) men and vessels, viz. (Exodus 21:33): "…and there fall into it an ox or an ass," which is expounded: "an ox," and not a man; "an ass," and not vessels, as opposed to the other avoth nezikin. Esh is exempt from (liability for) what is hidden; so that if clothing were hidden in a stack (of corn), the starter of the fire is exempt, it being written (Ibid. 22:5): "…or the standing corn" — Just as standing corn is in the open, so (there is liability for) all that is in the open (as opposed to what is hidden). And with the other avoth nezikin, there is no exemption for what is hidden.] What is common to all of them — it is their way to cause damage and it devolves upon you to guard them, [so I shall include all things whose way it is to cause damage and the guarding of which devolves upon you], and if it (one of those things) caused damage, the mazik (the causer of the damage) must pay for the damage with the best of his property, [from the highest quality, if he comes to give land in payment for the damage, it being written (Ibid. 4): "The best of his field and the best of his vineyard shall he pay." But if he wishes to pay metaltelin ("movables"), the ruling is that all things are 'best'"; for if it cannot be sold in this place, it can be sold in another, and he can give whatever he wishes, even bran. This, with damages. But with a debtor, if he has money, he is obliged to give money, and if not, he gives whatever metaltelin he wishes, and if land is claimed, he gives him beinonith (middle-quality). And, with a hired laborer, even if the hirer has no money (of his own), he must give him money as his wage, and he is obliged to sell his property so that he has enough to pay him.]

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