About this episode
Today's daf is dedicated by the Hadran Zoom family to Catriella in memory of her sister, Rebecca Miria Work z"l. "With a tefilla that through your learning and ours you will find comfort. With love, from Hadran Zoom family." If brothers split their inheritance and a creditor of the father comes and seizes the land of one of them, can that brother demand half the land of the other brother? Three opinions are brought - Rav says the land is redivided, as when brothers divide land, they are viewed as heirs, meaning they share responsibility for their father's debts. Shmuel holds that the brother whose property was seized loses out and cannot demand anything from the other brother, as brothers who divide property are considered as if they bought their portion from the other without a guarantee. Rav Asi rules that the other brother must give a quarter of his portion to the other (as per Sumchus's position that money that is in doubt is divided by the two parties), but he can decide if to give it in land or in cash, meaning, he has the upper hand, as Rav Asi is not sure if brothers are considered like heirs or purchasers. If three judges assess land at different amounts, by which judge do we hold? Tana Kamma holds that we follow the median position. Rabbi Eliezer b'Rabbi Tzadok follows the average between the lower two amounts. Others hold that one calculates the difference between the highest and lowest assessments, divides it by three and adds that amount to the lowest assessment. The Gemara explains the logic of each of these positions. Tana Kamma holds that we don't assume that all of the judges erred and therefore assume that the middle opinion is the correct one. The other two opinions hold that everyone erred but disagree about whether the highest assessment is taken into consideration when calculating the error. Both these positions give heavier weight to the lower two assessments. If one sold half one's land to another, the seller can give the buyer lean land and keep the better land but the seller must give the buyer land that is valued at half the entire property.