Study Bava Kamma folio 68A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
is it possible to say that there is any entrenchment in sin? The sale does not take effect, as it occurred before the owner despaired, which means that the thief did not in fact deepen his sin by selling the animal. Rather, it must be that the sale occurred after the owner’s despair. And if it ente
The rabbis say: It is possible to explain the term: Entrenched in sin, in accordance with what Rava said: The thief is liable because he repeated his sin, i.e., he sinned a second time by going through the motions of the sale, regardless of the fact the sale was not legally binding. Here too, on
The Talmud suggests: Come and hear a proof from a baraita: It is written: “If a man steal an ox or a sheep, and slaughter it or sell it” (Exodus 21:37). Just as slaughter is an act that cannot be undone, so too the selling referred to here is an act that cannot be undone.
The Talmud analyzes the baraita: Now, when is a sale irreversible? If we say this sale occurred before the owner’s despair of recovering his stolen animal, why can it not be undone? Since the thief’s sale of the animal before the owner’s despair is ineffective, the sale is easily undone. Rather, t
The Talmud rejects this proof: The explanation for this baraita is as Rav Naḥman said in reference to a different baraita. Rav Naḥman said that when that baraita speaks of a sale that cannot be undone, this excludes one who transferred ownership of the animal to another in a temporary manner, e.g.,