Mishnah.org Logo
Perek 10

Mishnayos Bava Kamma Perek 10 Mishnah 4

בבא קמא פרק י׳ משנה ד׳

4
In a situation where this individual came with his barrel of wine, and that individual came with his jug of honey, if the barrel of honey cracked and this first individual poured out his wine and salvaged the other’s honey, which is worth more than the wine, by collecting it into his wine barrel, the owner of the wine has the right to collect only his wage, i.e., compensation for the effort he put into salvaging the honey. He is not, however, entitled to compensation for the wine itself. But if the owner of the wine said: I will salvage your honey and you will pay me the value of my wine, the owner of the honey is obligated to pay him compensation for the wine. Similarly, if a river washed away his donkey and the donkey of another, and his donkey was worth one hundred dinars and the donkey of the other was worth two hundred, and the individual with the less valuable donkey abandoned his donkey and instead salvaged the donkey of the other, he has the right to collect only his wage, i.e., compensation for the effort he put into salvaging his fellow’s donkey. But if he said to the owner of the more valuable donkey: I will salvage your donkey and you will pay me the monetary value of mine in exchange, the owner of the more valuable donkey is obligated to pay the rescuer compensation for his donkey.

זֶה בָּא בְחָבִיתוֹ שֶׁל יַיִן וְזֶה בָּא בְכַדּוֹ שֶׁל דְּבַשׁ. נִסְדְּקָה חָבִית שֶׁל דְּבַשׁ, וְשָׁפַךְ זֶה אֶת יֵינוֹ וְהִצִּיל אֶת הַדְּבַשׁ לְתוֹכוֹ, אֵין לוֹ אֶלָּא שְׂכָרוֹ. וְאִם אָמַר, אַצִּיל אֶת שֶׁלְּךָ וְאַתָּה נוֹתֵן לִי דְּמֵי שֶׁלִּי, חַיָּב לִתֵּן לוֹ. שָׁטַף נָהָר חֲמוֹרוֹ וַחֲמוֹר חֲבֵרוֹ, שֶׁלּוֹ יָפֶה מָנֶה וְשֶׁל חֲבֵרוֹ מָאתַיִם, הִנִּיחַ זֶה אֶת שֶׁלּוֹ וְהִצִּיל אֶת שֶׁל חֲבֵרוֹ, אֵין לוֹ אֶלָּא שְׂכָרוֹ. וְאִם אָמַר לוֹ, אֲנִי אַצִּיל אֶת שֶׁלְּךָ וְאַתָּה נוֹתֵן לִי אֶת שֶׁלִּי, חַיָּב לִתֵּן לוֹ:

ד׳

אין לו אלא שכרו – payment for the utensil and payment for the labor (of preserving the other’s honey).

שטף נהר חמורו – it is necessary to teach two segments of our Mishnah, for it (i.e., the Mishnah) had taught [only] the first part, I would think that it is there when he specifies, that they give him the cost of everything, because that which is in his hands, he loses when he spills his wine by his own hands for him. But in the concluding part [of the Mishnah] that of itself, I would say that he has nothing other than his salary/pay , but if we were to teach only the concluding section [of the Mishnah], here when it is undefined, he would have nothing other than his salary/payment of itself, but there (in the first part of the Mishnah dealing with a jar of wine and pitcher of honey) when it is in their hands, I would say, even when undefined, he should give him the cost of everything, Hence it is necessary [to teach both].

אין לו אלא שכרו. שכר כלי ושכר פעולה:

שטף נהר חמורו. צריכא למיתני תרי בבי דמתניתין. דאי תנא רישא הוה אמינא התם הוא דכי פירש יהיב ליה דמי כולה משום דבידים קא פסיד, ששפך את יינו בידים בשבילו, אבל סיפא דממילא, אימא אין לו אלא שכרו, ואי אשמועינן סיפא, הכא הוא דבסתמא אין לו אלא שכרו משום דממילא, אבל התם דבידים, אימא אפילו בסתמא יהיב ליה דמי כולה. צריכא: