More Discussions for this daf
1. Making your self a sinner 2. Shanei Chazakah 3. Thirty Days
4. מאי בעית בהאי ביתא 5. שני חזקה טובא קאמינא 6. אמר רבא דינא קא"ל
DAF DISCUSSIONS - BAVA BASRA 30

Adam Offman asks:

The gemara at the end of Amud Beis establishes that if the challenger produces witnesses that he had a chazaka for a total of 7 years he is awarded the land since this gives him a 3 year chazaka before the occupier claims to have been on the land for 4 years. If however the challenger had witnesses that say he was occupying the field for 6 years he is not awarded the land? Why is this so? His eidem should be stronger than the occupant who only has a claim that he occupied the most recent 4 years without eidim!

Adam Offman, Monsey, NY

The Kollel replies:

1) We should be careful to clarify who is the occupier and who is the challenger. The occupier (Mr. A) is the person who produces witnesses that he has used the field for the last 7 years. It is the challenger (Mr. B) who shows us a deed of purchase that was written 4 years ago. Mr. B conceeds that he has not been occupying the land for at least 7 years, but he argues that since he possesses the deed, this means that Mr. A is unjustly occupying a field which belongs to him, Mr. B. In the above scenario, Mr. A wins, because the deed of sale is worthless. This is because Mr. A had 7 - 4 = 3 years of Chazakah before a third party (Mr. C) sold the field to Mr. B. Therefore, the sale of Mr. C is invalid, because Mr. A had already gained 3 years of Chazakah by the time the field was sold. This means that Mr. A already owned the field before it was "sold" by Mr. C, so the sale is void.

2) However, if Mr. A has been there for only 6 years, this means that when the field was sold 4 years ago to Mr. B, Mr. A did not yet possess a Chazakah of 3 years. Therefore, the sale of Mr. C to Mr. B is the strongest possible protest that Mr. C could make against Mr. A's occupation; selling a field is a very powerful way of indicating that up to now one owned the field. Since Mr. C made this protest before Mr. A had gained 3 years of Chazakah, this means that Mr. A must always keep hold of his deed, even when later on he gains 3 years of Chazakah. If he cannot show us the deed, Mr. A loses the land.

Kol Tuv,

Dovid Bloom