Course Description: Gemara Baba Metzia – Eilu Metziot
Course Name: Baba Metzia – Perek Eilu Metziot
Teacher: Rabbi Reuven Spolter
Text Studied: Gemara Baba Metzia
Chapter 2, Pages 21a – 22b
For Grades: 7-9
General Course Description:
The second chapter of Baba Metzia is a foundational text for the beginning Gemara student. The chapter deals specifically with issues of ownership, property and “lost and found” – topics relevant to students in their daily lives. Students begin to think in a legal framework: Why is your bicycle “yours”? What does it mean to own something? When is it considered lost, so that someone who finds it can keep it? These questions introduce the student not only to the topic of the Gemara, but also to the way that the Gemara teaches us to think about ideas, issues and concepts.
The student will learn the following skills during this course:
- How to read and translate the Mishnah and Gemara texts
- How to identify different source texts that appear in the Gemara
- The difference between Tanaim and Amoraim, and how they interact in the Gemara
- The flow and logic of a Gemara text
- How to chart the flow of questions and answers in a Gemara text
- Basic fundamental Talmud terminology and vocabulary
The student will learn the following Judaic knowledge:
- The Mitzvah of Hashavat Aveidah – returning lost items
- Aspects of ownership in Jewish legal thought
- What is yiush and when does it happen?
- The famous argument about yiush shelo mida’at – and the extensive sugya that deals with the debate between Abaye and Rava
- What is a siman and how does it work?
- The debate about a temporary siman
The student will understand:
- How to relate to their own property
- How to care for the property of others
- The importance of returning lost items to their original owners
Number of lessons: 20
Sample Lesson: You can progress through the lesson to get a sense of how we present and organize Kitah materials. To access the sample lesson click here.