Une maison et un étage appartenant à deux —Si l'étage supérieur était «réduit» [Si l'on louait à un autre l'étage supérieur de sa maison, en lui disant: «Je te loue l'étage supérieur de cette maison», et l'étage supérieur était réduit de quatre par quatre largeurs de main, alors que si l'autre souhaite utiliser l'étage supérieur, il doit le faire partie en haut et partie en dessous], et le propriétaire de la maison n'a pas voulu la réparer, l'habitant de l'étage supérieur descend et vit en dessous [entièrement] jusqu'à ce qu'il répare ça pour lui. [Car le propriétaire a lié sa maison à l'étage supérieur, et nous n'obligeons pas le locataire à vivre une partie au-dessus et une partie en dessous.] R. Yossi dit: "Le bas fournit les poutres du plafond, et le supérieur, le pavage [d'argile] , [qui est placé sur les poutres du plafond. R. Yossi soutient que le pavage est un «trou-égalisateur», pour lequel l'habitant de l'étage supérieur doit prévoir. Et les rabbins soutiennent que le pavage est un redresseur de plafond, pour lequel le le conteur doit fournir. La halakha est conforme aux sages.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Metzia
הבית והעליה – He who leases out the upper story that is on top of his house to his fellow and says to him: “the upper story that is on top of this house, I lease to you, and the upper story opened up [a hole] of four handbreadths by four handbreadths (according to Shmuel – Bava Metzia 116b) for now, if this one (i.e., the one who has been leased the upper story) needs to use the upper story, he must use half of it above and half of it below.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Metzia
If there was a house (the first and an upper room (the second belonging to two people, and the [floor of the] upper room broke and the owner of the house (the bottom did not want to fix it, the owner of the upper room may come down and dwell below, until the owner [of the bottom story] fixes [the floor of the] upper room. Rabbi Yose says: “He that dwells below should provide the beams and he that dwells above the plastering. As in the previous mishnah, in mishnah two one person owns the bottom story and another owns the top story. However, here, instead of the whole building collapsing as occurred in mishnah one, the ceiling of the bottom story, which also serves as the floor of the top story collapses. According to the first opinion in the mishnah the owner of the bottom story is obligated to fix the ceiling/floor and until he does so the owner of the top story may occupy the bottom story. Rabbi Yose disagrees and states that the two partners must share in the building of the ceiling/floor. The owner of the bottom story provides the wooden beams and the owner of the top provides the plaster.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Metzia
ואין בעל הבית רוצה לתקן – the upper story.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Metzia
Questions for Further Thought: • Mishnah two: What is the basis of Rabbi Yose’s disagreement with the first opinion? Why doesn’t Rabbi Yose think that the owner of the bottom floor should be responsible for providing the entire ceiling/floor?
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Metzia
הרי בעל העליה יורד ודר למטה – completely [lives downstairs] , for he had prepared the house for the upper story. And we do not force him to live half above and half below.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Metzia
מעזיבה – plaster of mud/clay that they place on the ceiling. Rabbi Yose holds (Bava Metzia 117a) that the concrete of stone chippings and clay serves to level the depressions, and it levels the depressions of the upper story floor. But the Rabbis hold that the concrete of stone chippings strengths the ceiling, and the strengthening of the ceiling is required to be done by the lower dweller. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.
