Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia
Jews around the world study the same page of Talmud each day as part of the 7-year cycle of the Daf Yomi. Join Rabbanit Dr. Tamara Spitz each week as she reviews the key topics of the previous week’s seven pages, gaining an overview of the entire Talmud while also doing a deeper analysis of one of the core issues in that week’s text. We will combine breadth and depth to gain insights into each Tractate being studied, and enjoy the benefits of moving through topics at a quicker pace.
Whatever your background in Talmud, this shiur will allow you to connect to the worldwide phenomenon of Daf Yomi study, whether you learn the daf each day or just want to gain an overview of the entire Gemara.
For the previous tractate, masechet Bava Kamma, please visit HERE. For the next tractate, Bava Batra, click HERE.
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 1: Intro 2-7
Masechet Bava Metzia deals with civil laws, particularly lost and found items, different types of custodians, sales and acquisitions. As we begin the Masechet, we will learn the case of 2 people who found a garment and both claim they found it first. Who do we believe? Who gets what? This and more in the first week’s daf…
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 2: Daf 8-14
This week we will continue discussing various cases of found objects and how one can acquire them. If someone asks his friend to pick up an object for him, can the friend acquire it for himself? Can a person acquire an animal that is running through his field? All this and more….
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 3: Daf 15-21
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 4: Daf 22-28
This week we will learn that if you find the following things, you must announce that you have found them and return them to their owner: produce in a vessel or just a vessel, money in a purse or just a purse, and piles of produce or money. All these things have a unique identifying marker (siman) that the owner can prove that it belongs to him.
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 5: Daf 29-35
If one finds holy scrolls, one needs to unroll them and read from them every 30 days to maintain them till he can return them. This week the Gemara will define what a lost object is, and how we know it is really lost and not just placed there by the owner. We will then start the third chapter and begin our discussion about the 4 types of custodians and their responsibilities to the objects they are watching.
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 6: Daf 36-42
This week we will learn how a person needs to guard an item that was deposited by him for safekeeping. The Gemara teaches that one is not allowed to use or even move an item that was deposited for one’s benefit but may be able to move it for the benefit of the item.
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 7: Daf 43-49
This week we will learn about cases where money is deposited at a moneychanger and when he has the right to use the money and when he can’t. If a Shomer, guardian, misappropriated the item he is watching, he is responsible for any damage the item incurs. This week we will begin the fourth chapter of Baba Metziah and learn about the laws of acquisition. We will learn when a sale is final and when one or both parties can renege on the deal.
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 8: Daf 50-56
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 9: Daf 57-63
This week we will learn the concept of Ona’a for speech and the power of words. A person is not allowed to wrong someone through speech. We will learn the famous story of the “coiled serpent” oven. We will then begin the fifth chapter and learn about the prohibition of charging and paying interest.
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 10: Daf 64-70
This week we will continue exploring the laws of interest. A borrower can’t rent property from the lender at a lower cost because this is seen as interest on the loan he took. We will learn about different business deals that are permitted and others that are forbidden due to interest payments.
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 11: Daf 71-77
This week we will learn about selling produce and the current market value. One may not set the price for produce till the market price is established. If you make a deal to sell produce, you must have it in stock or be able to acquire it in the market. After finishing the chapter on interest, we will begin the sixth chapter and learn about hiring workers and the laws between the employer and the employees.
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 12: Daf 78-84
This week we will learn that if you change the conditions of a rental agreement, you are liable for any damage that was caused due to the change. We will also define the level of responsibility a craftsman has for the item he crafted. We will also begin the seventh chapter and learn about the guidelines for hiring workers to work for you.
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 13: Daf 85-91
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 14: Daf 92-98
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 15: Daf 99-105
This week we will learn about the responsibilities of a borrower and a lender. We will also learn that if a person rents a house, the landlord has certain responsibilities to maintain the house for the renter. We will then begin the ninth chapter and learn the rights and responsibilities of someone who leases a field.
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 16: Daf 106-112
This week we will learn that if you leased a field and natural causes destroyed the crop, the tenant farmer can deduct from the fee. We will also learn the law of Bar Metzrah, the law of a neighbor’s first right to buy adjacent property to his field. The Gemara will also discuss the law that one must pay his workers on the day they finish working, and not delay the payment.
Daf Yomi One Week at a Time: Bava Metzia: Lesson 17: Daf 113-119 + Siyum
This week we will learn that a lender cannot enter the borrower’s home to take a security for the loan. Rather, he must wait outside for the borrower to bring it out. If the borrower is poor, the lender must return the security item every day so he can use it. We will then learn the last chapter of Bava Metzia which deals with the rights and responsibilities of people living or using shared space.
Mazal tov on finishing Bava Metzia!
Rabbanit Dr. Tamara Spitz is the Rosh Beit Midrash and Mashgicha Ruchanit of Midreshet Torah v'Avodah. She lectures on various topics in Gemara, including Daf Yomi, Halacha, and Tefilah. Dr. Spitz has held academic and administrative positions at various Midrashot and served as the Jewish Studies Principal of Instituto Yavne, one of the main Jewish day schools of Montevideo, Uruguay. She also runs a Chiropractic practice specializing in Women’s Health in Gush Etzion and is a Hip-Hop dance teacher.