[42a - 49 lines; 42b - 50 lines]
1)[line 1]עפציAFTZEI- gallnuts
2)[line 1]דקיימי בשיתא שיתאD'KAIMEI B'SHISA SHISA- that were each worth 6 Zuz
3)[line 2]סהדיSAHADEI- witnesses
4)[line 6]קצותא דתרעא מידכר דכירי אינשיKETZUSA D'TAR'A MIDKAR DECHIRI INSHEI- the exact market price people remember (and, therefore, he is presumed to be a liar, Huchzak Kafran)
5)[line 9]סיטראיSITRA'EI- (lit. things coming from the side) that [payment] was another loan that was outstanding (but not for the loan recorded in this contract)
6)[line 10]איתרע שטראISRA SHTARA- the document is tainted [by Reuven's admission that he received money]
7)[line 13]אתורי יהבת ליA'TOREI YAHAVAS LI- you gave it (the money) to me to by oxen
8)[line 13]ואתית ואיתיבת אמסחתא וקבילת זוזךV'ASIS V'ISYAVES A'MASCHATA V'KABILAS ZUZCHA- and you came and sat down by the butcher and you received your money
9)[line 21]דפרעיה באפי סהדיD'PAR'EI B'APEI SAHADEI- that he paid him in front of witnesses
10)[line 26]מהימנת ליMEHEIMNAS LI- believe me
11)[line 33]דאזלינן בתר רוב דעותD'AZLINAN BASAR ROV DE'OS- that we follow the majority opinion
12)[line 34]אומדנאUMDENA- an estimation of property value
13)[line 34]עדות מאה כתרי ותרי כמאהEDUS ME'AH K'TREI V'TREI K'ME'AH- the testimony of 100 witnesses is [valid] like two, and two like 100
14)[line 39]דנחית לדעות נחית לדעותD'NACHIS L'DE'OS NACHIS L'DE'OS- since he specified three witnesses, he showed that he considers more witnesses to be more reliable
15)[line 45]פרסPERAS- a half (the defendant says, "I returned to you half"; for the half that remains, he is obligated to make a Shevu'ah)
42b----------------------------------------42b
16)[line 4]אין אדם מעיז פניו בפני בעל חובוEIN ADAM ME'IZ PANAV BIFNEI BA'AL CHOVO- a person is not brazen [to deny the claim] in the face of his creditor
17)[line 8]אישתמוטי הוא דקא משתמיט מיניהISHTEMUTEI HU D'KA MISHTAMIT MINEI- he is merely pushing him off [until he gets the money to pay]
18)[line 19]ברי ליBARI LI- "it is clear to me" (the litigant is certain about his claim)
19)[line 23]כדאביי קשישאKED'ABAYE KESHISA- like the opinion of Abaye the Elder
20)[line 26]לזיבוריתL'ZIBURIS (ZIBURIS / BEINONIS / IDIS)
When one must pay money to another, any object of value may be substituted in its place. If one wishes to transfer ownership of land in place of money, the minimum quality of the land that he may use depends upon the type of payment he is making. Damages (Nezikin) must be reimbursed only with Idis (high quality land). Loans (Halva'os) may be repaid with Beinonis (average quality land). Any debt owed by an orphan and the value of a Kesuvah may be paid even with Ziburis (poor quality land). The Gemara explains the reason for these differences (Mishnah Gitin 48b, and Gemara ibid.).
21)[line 30]קנוניאKENUNYA- a scheme. The borrower is scheming with the creditor to unlawfully take the property from the buyer (because the loan was already paid).
22)[line 31]שכיב מרעSHECHIV MERA
(a)A Shechiv Mera is a person lying on his deathbed. Normally, in order to transfer one's possessions to someone else, a proper Kinyan must be executed (see Background to Kidushin 48:3:a), which will later be written in a Shtar. The Chachamim instituted that a Shechiv Mera may effect a Kinyan and transfer his property by simply requesting verbally that the transfer take place. If he recovers, the Kinyan is not valid, because it is clear that he executed the Kinyan only because he thought that he was going to die.
(b)However, if the Shechiv Mera gives as a gift only a portion of his property ("Matanah b'Miktzas"), then the transaction does not take effect until he makes a formal Kinyan. The reason is because by keeping some of his property to himself, he shows that he expects to live and is not giving away his property because he anticipates dying, and thus his gift has the status as that of a healthy person and it requires a Kinyan to take effect.
23)[line 33]אין אדם חוטא ולא לוEIN ADAM CHOTEI V'LO LO- a person will not transgress an Aveirah when he derives no benefit from it
24)[line 35]תשלומי כפלTASHLUMEI CHEFEL
(a)If a thief surreptitiously steals an object from a fellow Jew, and is found guilty of the theft in court based on the testimony of valid witnesses, he must return the object (if it is still in its original state) or its value (if it is not) to its owner (Vayikra 5:23). In addition, the thief is obligated to pay the victim of the theft the value of the stolen object a second time. Restitution of the value of the stolen object is called "Keren," and the additional payment is known as "Kefel."
(b)Only a thief ("Ganav"), who steals surreptitiously, pays Kefel, and not a robber ("Gazlan"), who brazenly burglarizes and takes the possessions of others by force. Chazal explain that the Torah punishes a thief more stringently than a robber because of the disrespect he shows for the Creator by taking care to avoid the eyes of man, while not being bothered in the least by the eye of the One Above that is constantly watching (Bava Kama 79b).
(c)A thief does not pay Kefel unless he makes a "Kinyan," an act of acquisition, on the object that he steals (e.g. by lifting it up, bringing it into his own property, drawing it towards himself in a semi-secluded area, etc.). If he simply broke or ruined another person's object without making a Kinyan on it first, he is not considered to be a "Ganav" but a "Mazik" ("one who causes damage"), and he does not pay Kefel.
(d)A thief does not pay Kefel if he steals Shetaros (bills of ownership or promissory notes). Most Tana'im hold that a thief does not pay Kefel if he steals land or slaves (Bava Kama 117b).
(e)Kefel, like any other payment that involves over-compensation for a monetary loss, is considered a "Kenas" (penalty) rather than "Mamon" (compensation). As is true of every Kenas, a thief does not have to pay Kefel if he admits to his theft of his own accord. Only if witnesses testify to his guilt in court must he pay. If he admits to the theft of his own accord, and later witnesses testify to his guilt in court, the Amora'im argue as to whether or not he must pay the Kefel (Bava Kama 74b-75a - he is exempted from payment, according to the lenient opinion, only if his admission took place under specific circumstances). Until he is obligated to pay the Kefel in court, the thief is fully exempt from paying Kefel, and does not even have a moral obligation to pay it on his own accord (RASHBA Bava Kama 74b, see also RAMBAN in Milchamos at the end of the third Perek of Kesuvos).
25)[line 35]תשלומי ארבעה וחמישהTASHLUMEI ARBA'AH VA'CHAMISHAH
(a)If a thief surreptitiously steals an object from a fellow Jew, and is found guilty of the theft in court based on the testimony of valid witnesses, he must return the object (if it is still in its original state) or its value (if it is not) to its owner (Vayikra 5:23). In addition, the thief is obligated to pay the victim of the theft the value of the stolen object a second time. Restitution of the value of the stolen object is called "Keren," and the additional payment is known as "Kefel" (See previous entry).
(b)If the object that was stolen was a live sheep or ox, and the thief either slaughtered or sold it, the Torah places an even stiffer fine on the thief. In the case of a stolen sheep (or goat) that was slaughtered or sold, the thief must compensate the owner a total of four times its actual value ("Arba'ah"), while in the case of a stolen ox that was slaughtered or sold the thief must compensate the owner a total of five times its actual value ("Chamishah"). This law does not apply to any other object or animal that is stolen. Chazal (Bava Kama 79b) explain that the Torah was more lenient with a person who steals a sheep than with one who steals an ox, since he already suffered a somewhat demeaning experience of walking with a sheep on his shoulders (as opposed to the ox-thief, who presumably led the ox on foot before him).
(c)A thief does not pay Arba'ah va'Chamishah for slaughtering a sheep or ox unless he, or a person he appoints, performs a proper ritual slaughter (i.e. a Shechitah of the type that normally permits an animal to be eaten). According to some Amora'im (Bava Kama 68a), a thief does not pay Arba'ah va'Chamishah for selling a sheep or ox unless he sold it after "Ye'ush Be'alim" (i.e. the owner lost all hope of recovering the sheep or ox, see Background to Sukah 30:2), while according to others he only pays Arba'ah va'Chamishah if he sells it before Ye'ush Be'alim.
(d)Arba'ah va'Chamishah, like any other payment that involves over-compensation for a monetary loss, is considered a "Kenas" (penalty) rather than "Mamon" (compensation). As is true of every Kenas, a thief does not have to pay Arba'ah va'Chamishah if he admits to his guilt of his own accord. Only if witnesses testify to his guilt in court must he pay. If he admits to his guilt of his own accord, and later witnesses testify to his guilt in court, the Amora'im argue as to whether or not he must pay Arba'ah va'Chamishah (Bava Kama 74b-75a - he is exempted from payment, according to the lenient opinion, only if his admission took place under specific circumstances). Until he is obligated to pay the Arba'ah va'Chamishah in court, the thief is fully exempt from payment and does not even have a moral obligation to pay it on his own accord (RASHBA Bava Kama 74b, see also RAMBAN in Milchamos at the end of the third Perek of Kesuvos).
26)[line 36]שומר חינםSHOMER CHINAM- one who guards an item and receives no compensation. He is liable to pay for damages only in the case of Peshi'ah. He is exempt in the case of Geneivah or Aveidah, and certainly in that of Ones. A Shomer Chinam has no permission to use the item that he is guarding; if he does so, he is responsible even for Onsim.
27)[line 36]נושא שכרNOSEI SACHAR- also called "Shomer Sachar," one who receives compensation for guarding an item. He is liable to pay for damages in cases of Peshi'ah and Geneivah or Aveidah, but not in a case of Ones. A Shomer Sachar has no permission to use the item that he is guarding; if he does so, he is responsible even for Onsim.
28)[line 43]הזיזHA'ZIZ- [usually] a piece of wood that projects from a wall
29)[line 45]כלל ופרט וכלל אי אתה דן אלא כעין הפרטKLAL U'FRAT U'CHLAL, IY ATAH DAN ELA K'EIN HA'PERAT
(a)In the Introduction to the Sifra (the Halachic Midrash to Vayikra), Rebbi Yishmael, who is Doresh Kelalei and Peratei (see Background to Nazir 34:9), lists thirteen methods that Chazal use for extracting the Halachah from the verses of the Torah. One of them is Klal u'Perat u'Chlal Iy Atah Dan Ela k'Ein ha'Perat.
(b)When a Klal (generalization) is followed by a Perat (specification), which is followed in turn by another Klal, then everything belonging to the general category that is similar to the Perat is included. Anything that is not in the general category of the limiting Perat is not included.
(c)In the case of the Gemara here, land is excluded since it cannot be moved. Slaves are also excluded, because the Torah equates them to land.