Yerushalmi Bava Kamma 6:2 ירושלמי בבא קמא ו׳:ב׳

MISHNAH: If he left it²⁴Even though Mishnah 1 is formulated for a flock, Mishnah two always refers to a single animal. in the sun²⁵If the corral has no shade, the animal can be expected to try to break out to find shade somewhere. Since the owner causes the break, he is liable for all consequences. or handed it over to a deaf-and-dumb, an insane, or an underage person²⁶These three categories are the paradigm of irresponsible persons. Appointing these as shepherds is the equivalent of letting the animals roam freely without supervision., he is liable. If he handed it over to a shepherd, the shepherd takes his place. If it fell²⁷By accident. into a garden and caused damage²⁸In most Babli and Mishnah mss., “and profited”, by eating the produce around it. A “garden” is an irrigated plot., it²⁹In the Halakhah and some Mishnah and Alfassi mss., in the entire Mishnah one reads מְשַׁלֵּם “he (the owner) pays”, instead of מְשַׁלֶּמֶת “it (the animal) pays”. pays for what it profited³⁰The animal’s owner does not have to pay the high-priced vegetables which his animal ate but only the value of animal feed of corresponding nutritional content.. If it entered in due course³¹Under the control of the owner, not by accident., it pays for what it damaged. How does it pay for what it damaged? One estimates a bet se’ah³²2’500 square cubits, the standard size of a field; cf. Peah 2:1, Note 31. of the field; how much was it worth and how much is it worth³³The animal’s owner only pays the diminution in value of the crop as if the damaged parcel had been part of a standard field whose yield is sold wholesale.. Rebbi Simeon says, if it ate ripe produce it pays for ripe produce³⁴The exact retail value of what it destroyed., whether one or two se’ah.

HALAKHAH: It was stated³⁵Tosephta 6:20.: “If a shepherd handed his flock over to another shepherd, the first is liable, the second is not liable.³⁶If the owner did not give prior authorization for the change of control; cf. Qiddušin 1:4, Note 449; Ketubot 9:5, Notes 127–146. The first shepherd remains liable to the owner; he might sue the second shepherd once he paid the owner. The Babli, 56b, makes an exception if the second shepherd is employed by the first as his helper since then one may assume an implied consent for the transfer of control.” Rav and Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish both said, since he handed it over to a responsible person, he is not liable³⁷Since the Mishnah insists that the owner remain liable if he hands over control to an irresponsible person, one may infer that any change of control between responsible persons implies a change of liability..

“If he handed it over to a shepherd, the shepherd takes his place. If it fell into a garden and caused damage, he²⁹In the Halakhah and some Mishnah and Alfassi mss., in the entire Mishnah one reads מְשַׁלֵּם “he (the owner) pays”, instead of מְשַׁלֶּמֶת “it (the animal) pays”. pays for what it profited.” Rav Huna³⁸In the Babli, 57b/58a, “Rav”. said, if it fell on vegetables³⁹“Paying for the benefit” may be more than “paying for the damage”. If the animal would have had broken bones if the fall had not been cushioned by the vegetation, the benefit to the owner is quite large.. But if it stood up and grazed, he pays for what it damaged⁴⁰If the shepherd does not immediately remove the animal from the field, the subsequent damage is not considered caused by the accident but under the shepherd’s control..

“If it entered in due course, he²⁹In the Halakhah and some Mishnah and Alfassi mss., in the entire Mishnah one reads מְשַׁלֵּם “he (the owner) pays”, instead of מְשַׁלֶּמֶת “it (the animal) pays”. pays for what it damaged.”⁴⁰If the shepherd does not immediately remove the animal from the field, the subsequent damage is not considered caused by the accident but under the shepherd’s control. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Ḥanina said, on that field itself he is not liable, but for another field he is liable⁴¹He disagrees with Rav Huna and holds that for all damages caused by an animal falling into a growing area by accident, only the corresponding value of animal feed is due. In the Babli. 58a, this position is attributed to Rav Cahana.
In the entire paragraph, “liable” means “liable for the full value of the destroyed produce”.. Rebbi Joḥanan and Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish both said, even if it grazed on that entire field he is not liable; he only is liable if it left the field for the public domain and from the public domain entered another field⁴²In the Babli, 58a, R. Joḥanan holds that a change in the status of liability occurs as soon as the person responsible realizes that the animal left the field into which it had fallen.. But what is the rule if it fell into a garden and then entered another garden? In the opinion of Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Ḥanina who said, on that field itself he is not liable, here he will be liable⁴³Since he imposes full liability as soon as the animal leaves the field of the accident.. In the opinion of Rebbi Joḥanan and Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish who both said, even if it grazed on that entire field he is not liable; he only is liable if it left the field for the public domain and from the public domain entered another field. But if it fell into a place which it could have entered, or it entered a place into which it could have fallen?⁴⁴In a case which could be classified in two different ways, which section of the Mishnah is applicable? Rebbi Yose bar Ḥanina said, that is the Mishnah; it fell into a place into which it only could have fallen⁴⁵A genuine accident. The leniency of the Mishnah only applies to a case in which the animal fell into a plot not accessible to it by walking.. But if it fell into a place which it could have entered? Each case is problematic for one of them⁴⁶R. Yose ben Ḥanina and R. Joḥanan.. One needs the first case, that he pays what it profited⁴⁵A genuine accident. The leniency of the Mishnah only applies to a case in which the animal fell into a plot not accessible to it by walking.; the other⁴⁷Even R. Joḥanan will agree that an animal falling into a field accessible to it by walking is judged by the rules of entering, not falling. needs the other case, that he pays what it damaged.

It was stated⁴⁸Tosephta 6:21 (partially with different tradents); Mekhilta dR. Simeon ben Ioḥai p. 195. Parts are quoted in the Babli, 58b/59a, as Amoraic statements.: “One does not estimate a bet kor⁴⁹30 bet se’ah = 75’000 square cubits. At this wholesale level, the damage done by the animal would be considered minimal and the farmer deprived of just compensation. because it would diminish, nor a bet qab⁵⁰One sixth of a bet se’ah. In a plot of this size the damage would be complete and the farmer overpaid. because it would inflate. But one estimates a bet se’ah³²2’500 square cubits, the standard size of a field; cf. Peah 2:1, Note 31. of the field in question, how much it was worth and how much is it worth now. Rebbi Jehudah said, when? If it ate shoots of the fig tree or plucked shoots of vines. But if it ate unripe grapes or unripe figs, one estimates them as fully grown fruits. Rebbi Jehudah said in the name of Rebbi Aqiba: If it ate fully grown produce, he pays for fully grown produce, [fruits of]⁵¹Reading of the Genizah text. trees, one estimates trees for him. Trees one estimates by the bet se’ah⁵²In a minimal orchard, ten trees grow on a bet se’ah (cf. Ševi’it 1:2, Note 18). One has to estimate the diminution of value in the wholesale price of the yield of ten trees.. Rebbi Simeon ben Jehudah said in the name of Rebbi Aqiba: Produce not yet one-third ripe is estimated under the rules of trees.⁵³To be estimated on a field the size of a bet se’ah.” In the House of Rebbi Yannai they said, one estimates a three-qab in sixty three-qabs⁵⁴A damaged plot the size of half a bet se’ah is estimated in 30 bet se’ah, not 60.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Ḥanina said, one estimates a stalk in sixty stalks⁵⁵A similar statement is in the Babli, 58b..

A person stole a hard date⁵⁶Which is barely edible.. The case came before Samuel who said to him⁵⁷Probably to his student and aide, Rav Jehudah, to determine the amount of restitution due., go and estimate for him at the top of the date palm⁵⁸The place most exposed to the sun, which produces the sweetest and most expensive dates.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, it was a preserve of unripe dates⁵⁹The treatment turned an almost wooden fruit into a delicacy for which a comparison with the sweetest kind of fresh date might be appropriate..