Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 13, scan section 54

he has done with all of them), it is to be supposed that he does it for the improvement of the ground ; but if he only made the hills lower, and only at the edges of the hollows he filled these in, then it is to be supposed that he does so with the intention of putting up a temporary barn.] He also said : If he opens a stream of water to this ground, if he does so for the improvement of the earth, title is given to him ; but if with the idea of catch- ing fish, it does not. [And how shall this be proved ? If he opens both sides of the estate, one for the purpose of letting the water enter and the other side for letting it out, it is supposed that he does so with the intention of catching fish ; and if he open only one side, so that the water may enter, it is assumed that he does so for the improvement of the earth.] There was a woman who peeled off on one side trees of the estate of the pro- selyte in question for thirteen years. Another man came who dug a little under the tree ; and the case came before Levi, accord- ing to others before Mar Uqba, and he left it in the possession of the latter. And this woman came and protested, and he said to her : What can I do for you, in that you have not made the hazakah as it ought to be ? There was a woman who had made a partition to that which was already there in the estate of a proselyte. Another man, however, came and digged in the estate ; and when the case came before R. Na'hman, he left the estate with the latter. And this woman came and caused a disturbance, and R. Na'hman answered: What can I do for you, as you have not made a hazakah as people ought to do ? * Rabh said : If one paints in the estate in question a likeness of an animal or a bird, title is acquired. So Rabh himself made such a hazakah at a garden which was near his college, left by a proselyte who died without children. It was taught : A field which was marked out by boundaries on four sides, said R. Huna in the name of Rabh : As soon as one has dug one spadeful of earth he acquires title to the whole field. Samuel, however, maintains that he acquires only the place he has dug. And what is the law concerning a field not marked off by boundaries? Said R. Papa: If he digs in it as much as a team of oxen in one furrow and the return. * This paragraph is transferred from Erubhin, 25(7, as this is the proper place. 132 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. R. Jehudah said in the name of Samuel : The estate of idola- ters, if sold to an Israelite and the latter has not made a haza- kah on it, it is like a desert ; and the first who makes a hazakah on it acquires title. Why so? Because the idolater, as soon as he gets the money, cuts himself off from it ; and as the Israelite has not as yet acquired title to it until he gets the bill of sale, it is therefore like a desert, and every one may tiy to take posses- sion of it (returning the money to the buyer). (The commentator Rasbham, however, maintains that from the expression, " It is like a desert," it is to be understood that the occupant has to pay nothing, and the buyer has to sue the seller if he can do so.) Said Abayi to R. Joseph : Is it possible that Samuel should say so? Did he not declare elsewhere that the law of the government must be respected as the law of the Torah, and the government dictates that title is acquired only by a deed, and not otherwise? Hence the other one who has made a hazakah is also without the deed needed. And he answered : I know it only from ex- perience. As it happened in the village Dura of the shepherds, an Israelite bought an estate of idolaters, and the Israelite came and dug a little on this estate, and, when the case came before R. Jehudah, he left it in the hand of the latter. And Abayi re- joined : Do you want to compare any other cases to the case of the village Dura ? There was a pagus with estates hidden from the government, and the possessors of those estates did not pay taxes for it. And the government dictates that he who pays the taxes owns the land. R. Huna bought an estate from an idolater and another Isra- elite digged in it ; and the case came before R. Na'hman, and he left it in the hands of the latter. Said Huna to him : The basis of your decision is what Samuel said, that the estates which are sold by an idolater are like a desert, and who takes possession thereof acquires title. Why should the master not decide in accordance with the other saying of Samuel, that the digger acquires title only at the place where he dug ? And he answered : In this respect I hold in accordance with Rabh, in whose name R. Huna said : As soon as one has digged one spadeful he acquires title to the whole of it. R. Huna b. Abbin sent a message : If an Israelite buys a field from a Gentile, and another Israelite comes and takes possession of it (before the bill of sale reaches the buyer), the court has no right to take it away from the latter. And to this, R. Abbin, R. Elaa, and all our masters at that time agree. TRACT BABA BATHRA (LAST GATE). 133 Rabba said : I was told by the Exilarch Uqban b. Nehemiah, in the name of Samuel, the following three things : {a) That the law of the government should be respected as the law of the Torah. {b) The hazakah of the Persians is no less than forty years, {c) And the rich farmers who buy land from the officers of the government for the taxes which were not paid by the previous owners, the sales are valid. But this is only when the owners owe to the government taxes. But if the land was taken for poll taxes, the sale is not valid. Why so ? Because the poll taxes rest upon their heads, not upon their land. R. Huna b. Jehoshua, however, maintains that even the barley in the pitcher is mortgaged to the poll taxes {i.e., when the land was taken away for poll taxes, they have a right to sell it). Said R. Ashi : Huna b. Nathan told me that Amemar objected to the decision of R. Huna, saying : According to this theory, the rule prescribed by the Scripture, that a first-born shall take two parts in the inheritance, should be abolished, as if the whole estate is encumbered to the government for poll taxes, the bequeathed estate will be fit only in the future for inheritance, but not as yet. And there is a rule that the first-born has a right to take a share only in that which is already fit. And he answered : Why this objection to poll taxes ? The same can be raised concerning land taxes also. But to this it can be answered that he speaks of when one dies after he paid the land taxes, and the same can be said with poll. R. Ashi said : Huna b. Nathan told me : I asked the scribe of Rabha, and he told me that the Halakha prevails in accord-