(Rabah bar bar Chanah): Forty Se'ah of Tefilin were found on the heads of the victims in Beitar.

(R. Yanai b'Rebbi Yishmael): Three crates were found. Each held 40 Se'ah.

(Beraisa): 40 crates were found, each holding three Se'ah.

All agree that they found 40 Se'ah of hand Tefilin and 120 Se'ah of head Tefilin.

(Rav Asi): Forty Se'ah of brain were found on one rock.

(Rav Kahana): An allusion to this is "happy is the one who will repay (to Bavel what they did to us)... and smash your babies on the rock".

Question: What is the meaning of "precious children of Tziyon Mesula'im with Paz (fine gold)"?

Suggestion: They would cover the children with Paz.

Rejection: D'Vei R. Shilo taught that two small measures of Paz descended to the world. Rome received one , and the rest of the world got the other. (There was not enough to cover the children.)

Answer: Rather, their beauty made Paz look bad. (Mesula'im is from Solu, to withdraw).

At first, the most important Romans would have Bi'ah in front of the images on their signet rings (to bear children in that image). Once they took the children of Tziyon, they would tie them to the bed and have Bi'ah in front of them.

One child (to another): Where does the Torah hint to this?

The other: "Also every sickness and affliction that is not written in this Sefer Torah (Hash-m will put upon you)."

(Rav Yehudah, citing R. Shimon ben Gamliel): "My eyes wail for my soul, from all the daughters of my city" - there were 400 Batei Kenesiyos in Beitar. Each had 400 teachers (of children), and each teacher had 400 children. When the enemy entered, they poked them with their quills (Aruch). When the enemy conquered them, they wrapped the children in Seforim and burned them.

(Beraisa): R. Yehoshua ben Chananyah was in Rome. He heard about a beautiful child who was a captive. He stood at the entrance of the prison and said "who caused Yakov to be despoiled, that Yisrael should be to the plunderers"?

The child: "For we have sinned to Hash-m, and did not desire to go in His ways, and did not listen to His Torah."

R. Yehoshua: I am sure that this child will give rulings in Halachah! I will not leave until I redeem him for anything they ask.

He redeemed him there for a large sum of money. After a short time, the child gave a ruling in Halachah.

That child was R. Yishmael ben Elisha.

(Rav Yehudah): The son and daughter of R. Yishmael ben Elisha were captured by different men. The captors met; each boasted of the beauty of his captive. They decided to mate the captives to produce beautiful children, which the captors would split. They put them in a room together.

The children sat in opposite corners. Each thought that the other was a regular slave. Each lamented that he or she, the child (or descendant) of a Kohen Gadol, would be mated with a slave. They cried all night. When morning came, they recognized each other, and died amidst crying.

Yirmeyahu lamented over them "over these I cry. My eye, my eye drips water."

(Reish Lakish): There was a wondrously beautiful woman, the daughter of a Kohen Gadol. Her captor had his way with her at night. The next morning, he dressed her in seven garments, and took her out to sell her.

A particularly repulsive man asked to see her beauty. The captor took off six garments; she tore the seventh and wallowed in the dust.

She beseeched Hash-m - if You will not have compassion on us, why not have compassion on Your great name?!

Yirmeyahu lamented over her "the daughter of My nation, gird yourself with sackcloth and wallow in the dust...suddenly the plunderer will come upon us."

It says "on us", not 'on you', for it is as if the plunderers came upon Hash-m as well.

(Rav Yehudah): "They oppressed a man and his house, a man and his inheritance" refers to a certain apprentice who desired his teacher's wife.

The teacher needed to borrow money. The apprentice told him to send his wife, and he would lend it to her. He sent her; she stayed there three days, and her husband came to look for her.

The apprentice: I gave to her the money, and she left right away! I heard that she had Bi'ah with youths.

The apprentice counseled his teacher to divorce her. He offered to lend to him the money to pay her Kesuvah, for it was large.

He divorced her, and the apprentice married her. The teacher was not able to pay his debt on time; the apprentice asked him to pay the debt by working for him.

The teacher served his ex-wife and the apprentice. While they ate and drank, his tears flowed into the cup. At this time, the Churban was decreed.

Others say, it was decreed due to two men who shared a wife.

(Mishnah): If Reuven bought land from a Sikrikon (and then from Shimon, the original owner, the sale is void).

(Rav): This is only if Shimon told him to acquire the land through Chazakah, but if Shimon wrote a sale document, the sale is valid.

(Shmuel): Even if he wrote a document, the sale is void, unless Shimon writes (that he accepts) Acharayus (to reimburse Reuven if the land is taken from him).

Support (for Shmuel - Beraisa - R. Shimon ben Elazar): If Levi bought land on which there was a lien to pay the Kesuvah of Yehudah's wife Leah:

If he first bought it from Leah and then from Yehudah, the sale is valid. If he first bought it from Yehudah and then from Leah, the sale is void, unless she writes Acharayus.

Suggestion: This refutes Rav!

Rejection: No. Rav explains that 'Acharayus' means a document (i.e. something that prevents her from collecting the land).

(Beraisa): If Reuven bought land from a Sikrikon and used it for (three) years of Chazakah in front of Shimon (the original owner), then sold it to Levi, Shimon has no claim against Levi.

Question: What is the case?

Suggestion: Levi claims that Reuven bought the land from Shimon.

Rejection: If so, the Beraisa should have taught a simpler case: if Reuven never sold it, and he claims that he bought it from Shimon, Shimon has no claim against him!

Suggestion: Levi does not claim that Reuven bought the land from Shimon.

Rejection: If so, (not only Reuven would lose if he didn't claim that he bought it from Shimon,) even Levi does not keep the land!

Answer (Rav Sheshes): Really, Levi does not make this claim. In cases like this, we claim on behalf of one who inherits or buys property;

However, we do not claim on behalf of Reuven, for he knows how he got the land. If he himself does not claim, he loses.

(Beraisa): The law of Sikrikon (that Reuven can buy the land from the Nochri and give Shimon a quarter of the price) does not apply to a Nochri who took Shimon's land for payment of a debt, or through mere extortion (when there was no concern that he would kill Shimon);

Regarding extortion, it must remain with the Nochri for 12 months. (If not, the land belongs to Shimon.)

Question: We said that the law of Sikrikon does not apply to extortion!

Answer: Rather, the Beraisa means that regarding a Sikrikon, the land must stay with the Nochri for 12 months.

(Rav Yosef): There is not extortion in Bavel.

Objection: We see that there is!

Correction: Rather, the law of extortion does not apply in Bavel.

Question: What is the reason?

Answer: There is an official with whom complaints may be filed. If Shimon did not complain, this shows that he allows the Nochri to keep the land.

(A landowner in a valley went away.) Gidal bar Rilai arranged with the neighbors that he would work the land and give the appropriate share of the tax (like the custom). He paid three years of taxes in advance to the king; the owner returned.

The owner: You gave the taxes for the first year and consumed the Peros. Now I will pay the tax and use my field.

Suggestion (Rav Papa): Gidal collects what he paid for the other two years from the neighbors (even though they will have to pay the full tax. Since Gidal is not a landowner in the valley, what he paid will not count.)

Rejection (Rav Huna brei d'Rav Yehoshua): If so, you apply the law of Sikrikon to the king! (You say that Gidal gets back what he paid, like the revised version of the Mishnah when Shimon could have redeemed his own land.) There is no Sikrikon in Bavel (the king merely collects taxes)!

(Mishnah): This is the first version of the Mishnah. Later, it was enacted that when Reuven buys from a Sikrikon, he gives Shimon a quarter of the price.

(Rav): He gives a quarter of the price he paid, in land or in money.

(Shmuel): He gives a quarter of the land. If he pays in money, he gives a third of the price.

Question: What do they argue about?

Answer: Rav holds that a Sikrikon sells for four fifths of the true value. Shmuel holds that he sells for three fourths of the true value. (Therefore, Reuven pays Shimon what he saved.)

Question (against Shmuel - Beraisa): This is the first version of the Mishnah. Later, it was enacted that when Reuven buys from a Sikrikon, he gives Shimon a quarter of the price;

Shimon may demand to be paid in land or in money.

This applies when Shimon could not have redeemed the land himself; if he could have, he may take back his land (and pay Reuven what Reuven paid);

Rebbi convened a Beis Din, who voted and enacted that if the Sikrikon had the land for 12 months, anyone may buy it, just he must give a quarter to Shimon, in land or money.

Answer (for Shmuel - Rav Ashi): The Beraisa calls it a quarter (in money), for one quarter of the total Reuven pays goes to Shimon (i.e. a third of what he paid the Sikrikon).