Comentário sobre Baba Batra 5:14

המוכר את הספינה – undefined.

Introduction Mishnah one deals with what is included in the sale of a boat, a wagon pulled by mules or oxen.

מכר את התורן – (see Talmud Bava Batra 73a) a tall [piece of] wood upon which they suspend the banner/flag. And the banner is a kind of curtain that they suspend on the mast towards the wind.

If a man sold a ship, he has also sold the mast, the sail, the anchor, and all the means of steering it. But he has not sold the slaves, the packing-bags, or the lading. But if he had said, “It and all that is in it”, all these are sold also. If a man sells a ship without specifying what is included in the sale, all of the fixed parts of the ship are included in the sale. However, the slaves and the bags used for packaging the merchandise on the ship are not included in the sale, unless he were to specify that they were. This law is similar to many of the laws we learned in the previous chapter.

עוגין – iron that they tie with rope and throw it into the depths of the water to detain and to anchor the ship.

If a man sold a wagon, he has not sold the mules, and if he sold the mules, he has not sold the wagon. If he sold the yoke, he has not sold the oxen, and if he sold the oxen, he has not sold the yoke. Rabbi Judah says: “The price tells all. How is this so? If one said to him, “Sell me your yoke for 200 zuz, it is known that no yoke costs 200 zuz.” But the sages say: “The price is not proof.” Even though a wagon is pulled by mules, if a man sold a wagon the mules are not automatically included in the sale. Likewise, if he sold the mules, he has not automatically sold the wagon. The same is true with regards to oxen and the yoke used to steer them. If a person sold one, he has not necessarily sold the other. Rabbi Judah disagrees and he thinks that the price should be able to determine what was included in the sale. If a person sold a yoke for an exorbitantly high price, it is patently obvious that the oxen were part of the sale. However, the sages do not believe that the price is proof. If a buyer pays a high amount for a yoke and then wishes to claim that he bought the oxen as well as the yoke he must bring proof.

מנהיגים – These are oars that through them they lead the ship to the place that they desire.

מרצופין – large sacks that they place goods into.

אנתיקי – [the funds and stores connected with the business – see Talmud Bava Batra 77b] the practical things that are within the ship, and all of these are considered here that are in the sale, he did not sell if he gave or dedicated the ship [to the Temple]. These are not included in the gift and the dedication to the Temple, and are not similar to a cistern or a subterranean masoned storeroom or a winepress [mentioned] in the chapter above (Chapter 4, Mishnah 2), for all of them are in land and are made void regarding a field regarding sanctification [to the Temple] and gifting. But these are not made void at all.

פרדות – [mules], animals that pull the wagon, but they are not attached to it (i.e., the wagon) at the time of the sale. But there are those who explain פרדות as wood that is separate from the wagon that on pulls the wagon with them, but they are not attached to the it at the time of the sale.

צמד – it is the yoke that they attach and tie [the] bulls together with.

אין הדמים ראיה – for that which he said that one-sixth [overcharge] he purchased [the object], and he (i.e., the seller) returns the overcharge; more than one-sixth, the purchase is void; these words are incidental that the mind errs as the purchaser thinks that it is worth such. And this is an errant purchase, but in order that the mind doesn’t error, such as the example that he purchased a yoke that was worth a Zuz for two hundred, we say that it was given to him as a gift, and there is no voiding of the transaction here. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

לא מכר אל כליו – the utensils that are made for riding such as the saddle and pack-saddle, no one would argue that he purchased it, even if they were not upon it (i.e., the animal) at the time of the sale. What they do dispute about are the utensils of burden, such as the sack and the bag with two pouches (see Talmud Bava Batra 78a). The first Tanna/teacher [of the Mishnah] holds that he did not sell the utensils of burden that are upon it (i.e., the animal). But Nahum HaMadi holds that he sold the utensils of burden that are upon it. But the Halakha is according to the first Tanna/teacher, and he did not acquire the utensils of burden, and even if they were upon it (i.e., the animal) at the time of the sale.

Introduction Mishnah two deals with what is included in the sale of a donkey.

חמורך זה – implying as it is with its utensils.

If a man sold a donkey he has not sold its trappings. Nahuma of Madi says: “He has sold its trappings.” Rabbi Judah says: “Sometimes they are sold and sometimes they are not sold. How is this so? If the donkey was before him with its trappings on it and he said, ‘Sell me this donkey of yours’, the trappings are sold (with the. If he said, ‘Sell me that donkey of yours’, the trappings are not sold.” A donkey is usually packed with several bags used to carry the donkeys load. These are the “trappings” referred to in the mishnah. According to the first opinion, if a man sold a donkey, the trappings are not sold. Nahum of Madi dissents and declares that they are sold. Rabbi Judah states that one can determine if the trappings were sold by the circumstances and by the language used in the sale. If the donkey was standing in front of the seller with its trappings on it and the seller specified that he wants to buy this donkey, then he has bought the trappings as well. Since he saw the trappings we can assume that his intention was to buy them with the donkey. However, if he just tells him to sell “that donkey of yours” we cannot be sure that his intention was to buy the donkey standing in front of him. Since we cannot determine what he intended to buy or what the seller intended to sell, the trappings are not included in the sale.

חמורך [הוא] – it is like he is asking him: “Is this your donkey? Sell it to me.” It is like he is selling a donkey, undefined, and the utensils are not sold, even if they are upon it at the time of the sale. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

Questions for Further Thought:
• How is Rabbi Judah’s opinion in this mishnah similar to his opinion in mishnah one?

המוכר את החמור מכר את הסייח – the offspring of the donkey and in the Gemara (Talmud Bava Batra 78b) it establishes that he (i.e., the seller) said to him (i.e., the purchaser): This nursing donkey I am selling [to you],” for the milk of the she-ass, of what benefit Is it? But absolutely, she and her offspring are spoken of to him. And the concluding part [of our Mishnah] where he stated: “I am selling to you a nursing cow.” He did not acquire her offspring, for a cow exists for its milk, and he mentioned to him: “a cow for its milk.”

Introduction Mishnah three deals with what is included in the sale of various items such as donkeys, cows, and beehives. Mishnah four deals with the a person who buys trees in another person's field and whether or not the buyer has acquired the land on which the trees grow.

מכר אשפה – a tall place of three handbreadths or more, or three [handbreadths] deep or more, for it is normal to place there the manure of his cattle.

If a man sold a donkey he has sold its foal. If a man sold a cow he has not sold its calf. The question in this section is whether or not a person has sold the young child of a mother animal, when he has sold the mother. According to the mishnah when he sells a donkey he has sold the foal but when he sells a cow he has not sold the calf. The Talmud explains that the mishnah is dealing with a case where the seller says that he is selling a nursing donkey or cow. Since people do not use donkeys for milk, it can be assumed that when he said nursing donkey he intended to sell the donkey and its young, who may be nursing from its mother. However, since people do use cows for milk, it may be that he was selling the cow on its own, without the young, and the reason why he called it a nursing cow was to let the buyer know that this cow produces milk.

מכר בור מכר מימיו – Our Mishnah is the opinion of a single authority, but the Rabbis dispute it and state that if one sold a cistern, one did not sell its water, and the Halakha is according to the Sages.

If he sold a dungheap, he has sold the dung on it. If he sold a cistern, he has sold the water in it. If he sold a bee-hive he has sold the bees. If he sold a dovecote he has sold the pigeons. In this section four things are listed, which if the outer container is sold, the contents are sold with it. Since the sole purpose of the container is to hold the contents, we can assume that when the sale was made, the intent of both the buyer and the seller was to include the contents.

הלוקח פירות שובך – what the doves gave birth to all year.

If a man bought the fruit of a dovecote from his fellow he must let go the first pair that are hatched. [If he bought], the fruit of a beehive he may take three swarms and then [the seller] may make the rest sterile. If a person buys the young pigeons that will be born in a dovecote (where pigeons are raised), then he return to the seller the first pair that are born. This is in order for the parents, who are still owned by the seller, to have a pair of young to take care of, so that the parents won't fly away. If one buys the bees that will be born in a beehive, he may take three swarms. After taking the three swarms, the seller may cause the bees to be sterile so that their energy will be devoted to making honey and not to making young. Alternatively, the last phrase of this section of the mishnah may state that after taking the first three swarms, the buyer takes alternative swarms. The lack of clarity in the mishnah is due to the dual meaning of the Hebrew word.

מפריח – the purchaser [must let the first brood fly away].

[If he bought] honeycombs he must leave two honeycombs. [If he bought] olive trees to cut down the branches, he must leave two shoots. When a person buys honeycombs from another person’s beehive, he must leave at least two honeycombs behind, in order to feed the bees that are left. Similarly, when a person buys an olive tree with the intent to cut down the branches he must leave two branches so the tree can regenerate.

בריכה ראשונה – and leave it for the seller and every two offspring are called a בריכה/brood and he leaves them with its mother in order to be in the company of their mother so that they don’t fly away.

פירות כוורת – bees that are born from this beehive this year. The purchaser takes three swarms, three groups from the bees born that first go out from the beehive and brings them into his own beehive. The first ones are important/valuable, whereas the last of the last is the worst. From there, he (i.e., the owner) makes the bees impotent, meaning to say, he takes one, and leaves one for the seller in order that they can grow and become attached with the parents so that the beehive will be refreshed and similarly forever.

חלות דבש – the honey with the wax together are combined to make honeycombs.

מניח שתי חלות – that the bees are supported from them all the rainy days.

גרופיות – boughs, and they grow once again.

הקונה שני אילנות – undefined, he did not purchase the land surrounding it at all.

Introduction Mishnah four deals with the a person who buys trees in another person’s field and whether or not the buyer has acquired the land on which the trees grow.

הגדילו – the boughs became wider.

Our mishnah begins with a dispute between Rabbi Meir and the Sages. According to the Sages when a person buys two trees he has not bought the ground they are on, and according to Rabbi Meir he has bought the ground. The remainder of section one goes according to the Sages. Section 1b states that if the trees grow branches the seller, who still owns the land, may not trim them. Although these branches now cover land that he did not sell, and when he sold the tree these branches were not there, by selling the tree he tacitly gives permission to the buyer to let the branches grow. Section 1c states that anything that grows from the tree above ground belongs to the buyer and anything below ground still belongs to the seller/landowner. Finally, if the trees die, the buyer may not plant there new trees. Since he didn’t buy the land, when the trees die he has totally lost his acquisition.

לא ישפה – the owner of the land should not cut them, even though their shade is destroying his land, for since the owner of the trees has no land, the owner of the land mortgaged to him (i.e., the owner of the trees) for all their needs all the while that they are existing.

If he bought three trees, he has bought the ground [between them]. When they grow he may trim them, And what comes up whether from the stem or from the roots belongs to him (the. And if they die the ground is his. In section two we learn that the laws are different when one acquires three trees. In that case the person has acquired the land. If the trees should grown branches that overhang into the seller’s property he may trim them. Anything that grows from the tree, even below the ground, belongs to the buyer. Furthermore, if the trees die he may plant there new trees.

גזע – whatever is above the ground and sees the face of the sun.

Questions for Further Thought:
• Why may the seller trim the trees if he sold three to the buyer but not if he sold two?

שרשין – whatever is below the ground [level].

שלו – of the owner of the tree, and he should leave it there and let it grow, for we suspect lest the ground rise until it covers the tree coming out of the stump, part of which is in the ground, and they will see something like three trees and the purchase will say: “You sold me three trees and I have land” but he should cut it and burn it.

ואם מתו – the tree dried up.

אין לו קרקע – where he is able to plant another [tree] in its place.

קנה קרקע – for they are considered to be an orchard and he bought the land that is between one tree and another tree. But under them and outside of them is the fulness of fig collector and his basket, in order that he can stand, he can harvest his fruits with his basket. And these words [apply] when there is between one tree and another tree no less than four cubits, but no more than sixteen cubits. Then, he purchased the land between each tree and what is under them. And outside of it, as we have stated, but if there is less than four cubits between each tree, or more than sixteen cubits, he did not purchase the land.

לא מכר את הרגלים – In the Tosefta (Tosefta Bava Metzia, Chapter 4, Halakha 8; Lieberman edition and Tosefta Kifshuta, Tractate Bava Batra, page 376, note 29), it is taught: What are we speaking about? In a place where they did not have the practice, but in a place where they did have the practice, everything is according to the customs of the country.

He who has sold the head of a large animal, has not sold the feet. If he sold the feet, he has not sold the head. If he sold the lungs he has not sold the liver. If he sold the liver he has not sold the lungs.
But in the case of a small animal: If he sold the head he has sold the feet. If he sold the feet he has not sold the head. If he sold the lungs he has sold the liver. If he sold the liver he has not sold the lungs.
Mishnah five deals with what is included in the sale of large and small animals.
This mishnah draws a distinction between large animals, such as cows, and small animals such as sheep or goats. In section one we learn that each part of a large animal is significant enough to be sold separately. In other words, if one sells one part of a large animal, he has not necessarily sold another part of the animal with it. However, with small animals some parts are sold with others and some parts are sold alone. For instance, if one bought the head, the feet are automatically included. Likewise if one bought the lungs, the liver is automatically included. However, the opposites are not true. If one bought the feet he has not automatically bought the head. If one bought the liver he has not automatically bought the lungs.

מכר את הקנה – the lungs, and it is called by this name because of its windpipe.

ד' מידות – laws divided one from the other.

There are four rules with regards to those who sell:
If one has sold good wheat and it turns out to be bad, the buyer can retract.
If he sold bad wheat and it is found to be good, the seller can retract.
[But if one sold] bad wheat and it is found to be bad, or good wheat and it is found to be good, neither may retract.
[If one has sold] dark wheat and it turned out to be white; Or white and it turned out to be dark; Or [if he sold] olive wood and it turned out to be sycamore wood; Or sycamore wood and it turned out to be olive wood; Or [if he sold] wine and it turned out to be vinegar; Or vinegar and it turned out to be wine; Either of them may retract.
Mishnah six begins to discuss certain ethical principles in the laws of selling and buying and their consequences on the validity of the sale. This is a topic which will be discussed through the middle of chapter six.
As stated at the beginning of the mishnah, there are four rules with regards to retracting a sale. These rules are contained in sections 1-4. (1) If a person sold something that was supposed to be good and it turned out to be bad, the buyer can retract. (2) If a person sold something that was supposed to be bad and it turned out to be good, the seller can retract. (3) If a person sold something and it turned out to be what he sold, the sale is final and no one may retract. (4) Finally, if a person sold something and it turned out to be different from what he sold, not necessarily better or necessarily worse, either of them may retract.

מכר לו חטים יפות – he made a stipulation with him that he should give him nice wheat and they were found to be bad. It is like overreaching/אונאה ; therefore, he (i.e., the buyer) can retract – whomever feels imposed upon/one’s self overreached alone, which is the purchaser, but the seller is not able to retract, and even if the wheat increased greatly in value.

אין אחד מהן יכול לחזור בו – even if they increased in value or became cheaper, for the purchaser is not able to say: “I intended for the beautiful ones, and this one who might say they are bad, because the purchaser tells him: “what is bad is bad.” And similarly, the opposite, that the seller is not able to state that I intended for the bad ones. And this one that I might say are good, it is the manner of the seller to state the bad ones become good ones.

שחמתית – reddish (Genesis 30:35): “and all the dark-colored [sheep], which we translate in Aramaic as שחום/dark, black (or brown).

ונמצאת לבנה – there are those for whom it is pleasant with this, and there are those for whom it is pleasant with that. But in this manner, it is an errant transaction for both of them, and both of them can retract, for if it was supposed to “nice ones,” and it turned out to be “bad ones,’ everyone enjoys “good ones.”

יין ונמצא חומץ – there are those who are pleased with wine, and there are those who are pleased with vinegar.

משך – from the public domain in a recess adjoining an open place to which merchants retire to transact business/market-stand under a colonnade or in a courtyard of both of them, he has acquired it. But taking possession by drawing towards one’s self the object to be acquired in the public domain has no effect.

Introduction Mishnah seven defines the precise moment when a sale occurs and is therefore not retractable.

אע"פ שלא מדד – and such as he case where he fixed a price from the outset for such and then he gives him the measurement, but if he did not fix the price [even though] he measured and drew it towards himself, he did not acquire it, because he did not rely upon the fact that the seller is able to raise the price as he wants and the buyer says: “I won’t purchase it other than at a cheap price.”

If a man sold produce to his fellow and the buyer drew it towards him but did not measure it, [the buyer] has acquired [the produce]. If [the seller] had measured it but [the buyer] did not draw it towards him, he has not acquired [the produce]. If [the buyer] is clever he will rent the place [in which the produce is located]. According to Jewish law, movable items (as opposed to real estate) are acquired by taking hold of them (either by lifting them or by drawing them near) and not through the transfer of money. In other words, if Reuven gives Shimon money for his television set, the deal is not final until Reuven takes possession of the television set. If the set should break after Reuven has given the money, but still in Shimon’s possession, Shimon will have to return the money. If, on the other hand, Reuven took the television and did not pay the money, and then the set broke, Reuven will still owe Shimon the money. Our mishnah teaches that when a person buys produce, the moment he takes the produce is when the sale is final and not retractable. If the buyer wishes to ensure that the seller does not change his mind, he can rent the place where the produce is located. Thus when the buyer gives the money it is as if the produce is already in his possession and the seller may not retract the sale.

מדד – the seller to the purchaser in the public domain, even in the utensils of the purchaser, he did not acquire it, for the utensils of a person do not purchase things for him in the public domain, but if the purchaser himself measured it, even in the public domain, he acquired it through lifting it up.

If a man bought flax from his fellow he has not acquired it until he has moved it from one place to another. If it was still attached to the ground, and he plucked any small quantity of it, he has acquired possession. With regards to flax, according to the mishnah it is not enough that he draw the flax towards him, he must carry it from place to place. Alternatively, if he purchased flax still attached to the ground, he can acquire the flax by plucking it.

אם היה פקח – the purchaser.

שוכר את מקומו – if he is in the domain of the owners, and hs place acquires for him. And we are speaking about large burdens where it was not the manner to lift it up, therefore, he acquires it through pulling it.

עד שיטלטלנו – that is through lifting, and it (i.e, the Mishnah) took the way of things – that the way of lifting to carry from one place to another place.

אם היה מחובר לקרקע – In the Gemara (Tractate Bava Batra 87a and see Rashi’s explanation and the reference to Tractate Bava Batra 54a) it is established it as in the case where the seller says to the purchaser: “go and take possession of a small piece of the land and you will acquire everything that is upon it,” for since he had been hired to do work on his (i.e., the owner’s) land, and worked on it a little bit, his being hired acquired it for him, and he acquired also that thing which he had wanted to acquire for himself with his being hired. Therefore, if he tore out a little bit, he acquired/bought it.

עד של נתמלאה המדה – it (i.e., the Mishnah) is speaking about the measure [of a middleman] that is not either of theirs, and the lender lent to both of them, it is borrowed by the seller; therefore, before the measure was filled up, the utensil is lent to the seller, and the burying did not acquire it. Once the measure was filled up, the utensil is lent to the buyer; the buyer has acquired it, for he has acquired it. And we are speaking of a market-stand underneath a colonnade or in the domain of the purchaser.

Introduction Mishnah eight continues to define the precise moment when a sale occurs. The last section of the mishnah teaches the procedure for measuring out sold liquids.

היה סרסור ביניהם ונשברה החבית – the utensil was his (i.e., the agent’s/middleman’s).

If a man sold wine or oil to his fellow, and its value rose or fell, if [the price rose or fell] before the measure was filled up, it belongs to the seller, [and he may refuse to sell except at the higher price]. But if [the price rose or fell] after the measure was filled up, it belongs to the buyer [and he may refuse to buy except at the lower price]. With regards to the selling of wine and oil, the point in which the sale is final is the point at which the measuring container fills up. If the price of the wine or oil should rise before it fills up, the seller can demand the higher rate. If the price fluctuated after it was full, the buyer need only pay the lower rate.

נשברה לסרסור – and we don’t say that he is the agent of the purchaser and it was broken by the purchaser.

If there was a middleman between them, and the jar broke, it is broken to [the loss of] the middleman. If a middleman acted as an agent for the buyer and seller and the measuring cup should break thereby causing the loss of the wine or oil, the middleman is responsible to recompense for the loss.

וחייב להטיף לו ג' טפין – the seller to the purchaser from the what cleaved to the walls of the measure after he had emptied out the wine or the oil.

[After emptying the measure] the seller must let three more drops drip [for the buyer]. If he then turned the measure over and drained it off, what flows out belongs to the seller. The shopkeeper is not obligated to let three more drops drip. Rabbi Judah says: “[Only] on the eve of Shabbath as it becomes dark is he exempt.” When the seller pours the oil from the measuring cup into the vessel of the buyer, he must wait until three drops have spilled out. After this point, any oil that is stuck to the sides of the vessel belong to the seller. Since a shopkeeper is busy with many customers, he need not wait after pouring to ensure that three drops come out of the container. According to Rabbi Judah, this law is true only before the Shabbath, which is a time when the shopkeeper would be especially busy. At other times during the week, he too must wait for three drops to drip out of the measuring container.

הרכינה ומיצת – he turned it the measure over on its side after he emptied the oil or the wine and let it drip three drops and what was drained of the measure was gathered at the rim of the utensil to one place, and they belong to the seller, for the purchaser had despaired of it.

Questions for Further Thought:
• Must the seller sell at the lower rate if the price went down before the measuring cup was full??
• Section three: Why might one have thought that the middleman would not be responsible if the measuring cup broke? If he was not responsible who would be?

והחנוני אינו חייב להטיף ג' טפין – because he is preoccupied that he is selling every hour.

ר' יהודה אומר – they did not say that the storekeeper is exempt from letting three drops drip out, but rather, it was the Eve of the Sabbath near dusk. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

השולח בנו – minor [child] with the storekeeper and in his hand was a Duponium/a Roman coin equal to two Asses which are two Issarim to bring to him an Issar of oil. And he will give him another Issar. And this is what he did. But the young child broke the flask and the oil spilled and he lost the Issar that the storekeeper gave him. The storekeeper is liable for oil, and for the flask and for the Issar, for the father did not send his minor-age child to the storekeeper other than to inform him that he needs oil, not that he should send the oil through his (i.e., the child’s) hand. And in the Gemara (Tractate Bava Batra 87b-88a), it raises the question: why is the storekeeper liable for the flask? It is a loss with consent. For he himself (i.e., the father) sent it in the hand of his son, and [the Gemara] answers for example that the storekeeper took it to measure oil for others. Therefore, he became a thief concerning it. And it exists in his domain until he returns it to the mater. And even though he returned it to the young child, he is not exempt from it.

Introduction Mishnah nine deals with a father who sends his small child to buy oil from a shopkeeper and on the way home the son drops the flask of oil.

רבי יהודה פוטר שעל מנת כן שלחו – for just as the storekeeper sent it in the hand of his son

If a man sent his child to a shopkeeper with a pondion (a in his hand and he measured him out an issar’s (a coin worth half a worth of oil and gave him an issar in change and the child broke the flask and lost the issar, the shopkeeper is liable. Rabbi Judah declares him exempt, since the father sent the child for this purpose. And the Sages agree with Rabbi Judah that if the flask was in the child’s hand, and the shopkeeper measured the oil into it, the shopkeeper is exempt. In the scenario in our mishnah a father sends his child to a store to buy him some oil. The shopkeeper hands him a flask containing the requested oil and the change from the sale. According to the Sages, if the child should lose the oil or the coin on his return home, the shopkeeper is liable to pay back the father. Since a child is not responsible for his actions, the shopkeeper should have found a safer way of returning the oil and coin to the father. Rabbi Judah disagrees. According to him, since the father sent the child on such a mission, the father agreed to allow his child to deliver the oil and the change. The Sages agree with Rabbi Judah that the shopkeeper is not liable only in the case where the child came to the store with a flask in his hand. In such a case it is clear that the father intended that the child should deliver the oil, and therefore the shopkeeper will be exempt.

שהוא פטןר – from the cost of the flask, but the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

הסיטון – a business man that purchases a lot together, and then goes back and sells to storekeepers bit by bit (i.e., wholesale provision dealer).

The wholesaler must clean out his measures once every thirty days and the householder once every twelve months. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: “The rule is just the opposite.”
The shopkeeper must clean out his measures twice in the week and polish his weights once a week and clean out his scales after every weighing.
Mishnah ten deals with the proper maintenance of weights and measures to ensure that the purchaser does not receive less than he bought.
The Torah (Leviticus 19:35-36) forbids falsifying weights and commands a person to keep properly weighed and maintained weights and measures. Our mishnah is concerned with the proper maintenance of weights and measures. According to the anonymous opinion in section one, a wholesaler who uses his measures frequently must clean them out once every thirty days. This is to prevent the buildup on the sides of the containers which will reduce the amount purchased. A householder, who uses his measure less frequently, need clean them out only once a year. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel holds that the opposite is true. According to him the more frequently one uses the measures, the less buildup will accumulate. Therefore, a householder must clean them out once every thirty days and a wholesaler only once a year. A shopkeeper, who uses his weights frequently, must clean them out twice a week. In addition he must once a week polish his weights so that they don’t grow heavier and clean out his scales after every use so that they don’t accumulate buildup.

מקנח מדיותיו – for the wine and/or the oil hat became congealed in them and the measurement is lessened.

ובעל הבית – that doesn’t sell frequently like a wholesale provision dealer, cleanses them once a year.

פעמים בשבת – the storekeeper is not liable to drip three drops as the wholesale provision dealer and the owner as it remains in the utensil and cleaves to it.

וממחה – he cleanses the stones of his scales that he weighs on them a moist/liquid thing.

על כל משקל ומשקל – every time that he weighs something, he cleanses it/wipes it down.

וחייב להכריע טפח – from the weight a liter and beyond, but less than a liter, he doesn’t need the customary additional weight in retail of a handbreadth (see Tractate Bava Batra 89a).

Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel said: “When is this so (that one needs to clean out? With regards to liquid measures, but with regards to dry measures it is not necessary.
[And a shopkeeper] must let the scales sink down a handbreadth [to the buyer’s advantage]. If he gave him an exact measure, he must give him his overweight, a tenth for liquid measures and a twentieth for dry measures.
Where the custom is to measure with small measures they should not measure with large measures and where the custom is to measure with large measures they should not measure with small measures.
Where the custom is to smooth down [what is in the measure] they should not heap it up, and [where the custom is] to heap it up, they should not smooth it down.
Mishnah eleven continues to deal with the weighing of produce.
Section one: Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel qualifies the statements in the previous mishnah regarding cleaning out measures. These statements applied to measuring liquids, but measures used for dry goods need not be cleaned out with regular frequency, since the dry goods do not stick to the sides.
Section two: The custom was to let the buyer’s side of the scale, which contained the goods, sink one handbreadth lower than the seller’s side. If, however, one did not follow this custom, then the shopkeeper would be obligated to give the buyer either a tenth or a twentieth more than he purchased, depending on the nature of the produce.
Sections three and four: The last two sections teach that one must follow the customs that are typical in one’s place. This is true with regards to the size of the weights as well as the smoothing out or heaping up of the dry goods in the measuring cup. As long as people are consistent in their customs, buyers and sellers will know what they are doing and one will not cheat each other.

היה שוקל עין בעין – as for example, in a place where they did not have the practice of the customary additional weight in retail of a handbreadth and he restores the reed of the balance equally.

נותן לו את הגירומין – his customary additional weight in retailing for every ten liters, he adds one-tenth of a liter which is 1/100 when he sells liquid/moist, and with dry [products], he adds [one-half] of one tenth of a liter to every twenty liters.

למוד בדקה – with a small measure.

לא ימוד בגסה – with a large measure, for there is loss to the purchaser as he doesn’t give him anything other than the one customary additional weight in retailing. But he should need to give him many customary additional weights in retailing.

למחוק – to remove what goes upon the rim of the measure.

לא יגדוש – and even though he adds cost to him.

ימחוק – and even though he lessens for him from the payment.