Commento su Bava Metzia 10:6

שתי גינות – of two people who are near one another. The one – his ground/plot is higher and the one near him, his ground/plot is lower.

Introduction The final mishnah of Bava Metziah deals with two people who own adjacent gardens, one garden being at a higher level than the other. In other words the gardens were terraced. The following illustration should help. Upper Garden Wall Lower Garden The mishnah deals with the issue of ownership over vegetables that grows from the wall separating the gardens.

והירק בינתים – in the rising of the elevation, that this one is higher than that one.

If there were two gardens [in terraces] one above the other and vegetables grew between them: Rabbi Meir says: “They belong to the upper garden.” Rabbi Judah says: “They belong to the lower garden.” Rabbi Meir said: “If [the owner of] the upper garden wished to remove his soil there would be no vegetables.” Rabbi Judah said: “If [the owner of] the lower garden wished to fill up his garden [with soil] there would be no vegetables. (1) Rabbi Meir said: “Since each is able to thwart the other, we should consider from where these vegetables derive their life.” Rabbi Shimon said: “Whatever [the owner of ] the upper garden can take by stretching out his hand belongs to him, and the rest belongs to [the owner of] the lower garden. In our mishnah both owners claim that the vegetables that grow on the wall between the two gardens belongs to them. Rabbi Meir says that the vegetables belong to the owner of the upper garden and Rabbi Judah says that they go to the owner of the lower garden. According to Rabbi Meir, since the owner of the upper garden could remove the soil and thereby remove the vegetables they must belong to him. According to Rabbi Judah, since the owner of the lower garden could fill his garden with soil and thereby kill the vegetables, they must belong to him. In clause (1) Rabbi Meir agrees with Rabbi Judah that each side could thwart the other side. Nevertheless, Rabbi Meir sticks to his opinion, that the vegetables belong to the owner of the upper garden, since they derive their life from his soil and not from the air of the lower garden. The end of the mishnah contains the opinion of Rabbi Shimon, who reaches a compromise. If the owner of the upper garden could reach out his hand and grab the vegetables they belong to him. If not they belong to the owner of the lower garden.

של עליון – for it is his dust and it is from his that it absorbs.

Questions for Further Thought:
• How is Rabbi Meir’s argument in section 1a) different from his subsequent argument in section (1)?Congratulations! We have finished Tractate Bava Metziah!It is a tradition at this point to thank God for helping us to finish learning the tractate and to commit ourselves to going back and relearning it, so that we may not forget it and so that its lessons will stay with us for all of our lives.For those of you who have learned with us the entire tractate and the entire previous tractate, Bava Kamma, a hearty Yasher Koach (congratulations). You have accomplished a great deal in a short time and you should be proud of yourselves. Of course, we still have a lot of mishnah ahead of us. We will begin Bava Batra tomorrow!

של תחתון – that upon his empty space it is placed.

מאחר ששניהם יכולין למחות – so that there will not be these vegetables here, the upper one takes the dust, and the lower one to fill up his garden.

רואין מהיכן ירק זה חי – from the place that it absorbs and grows, to this one, it should be given.

כל שעליון יכול לפשוט ידו וליטול הרי אלו שלו – as Rabbi Meir stated, since it is from his dust that it lives.

והשאר של תחתון – for the upper [garden] itself has renounced ownership of it, regarding the bottom, for it is a disgrace for him to take permission to enter into [the garden] of his fellow and to take it. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Shimon.