Talmud - Bava Batra 98b בבא בתרא צ״ח ב׳

It is taught in a baraita: And where he sold him aged wine, he is responsible to provide wine that will continue to age, i.e., maintain its quality, until the festival of Sukkot.

MISHNA: With regard to one who sells a plot of land to another, with the buyer intending to build a bridal house for his son or a widowhood home for his daughter on that plot, and similarly, with regard to a contractor who receives a plot of land from another under a commission to build for the owner on that land a bridal house for his son, or a widowhood home for his daughter, the terms of the transaction are a matter of dispute. The mishna presents the dispute: In the latter case, the contractor must build a building that is at least four cubits by six cubits in size, and similarly, in the case of the sale, the seller must provide a plot of land that can accommodate a building of that size; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Yishmael says: A structure of this size is a cowshed, and a bridal house or a widowhood home is larger than that.

One who wants to construct a cowshed builds a structure at least four cubits by six cubits in size.

The mishna delineates the standard dimensions for various other structures. A small house is six by eight cubits. A large house is eight by ten cubits. A banquet hall [teraklin] is ten by ten cubits. The standard height for each of these structures is equal to the sum of half its length and half its width. There is a proof of the matter; Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: The proportions are like the building of the Sanctuary; it was forty cubits wide and twenty cubits long and its height was thirty cubits, which is the sum of half the width and half the length.

GEMARA: Why do I need the mishna to teach specifically: A bridal house for his son, and: A widowhood home for his daughter? Instead, let it teach: A bridal house for his son or his daughter, and a widowhood home for his son or his daughter. The Gemara answers: It teaches us a matter in passing, that it is not the proper manner of conduct for a son-in-law to live in his father-in-law’s home. Therefore, it is the father of the groom who generally provides a bridal home for the couple and the bride will return to live near her parents’ house only if she is widowed or divorced.

Support for this is as it is written in the book of ben Sira: I have weighed everything in the pan of a balance scale and I have not found anything inferior to bran; but inferior to bran is a son-in-law who lives in his father-in-law’s house; and inferior to a son-in-law is a guest who brings in a guest; and inferior to a guest is one who answers a matter before he listens. As it is stated: “He that gives an answer before he listens, it is folly for him and a disgrace” (Proverbs 18:13).

§ The mishna teaches: Rabbi Yishmael says: A structure of this size is a cowshed. And then the mishna continues: One who wants to construct a cowshed builds a structure at least four cubits by six cubits in size. The Gemara asks: Who teaches this subsequent clause about a cowshed? There is a Sage who says that Rabbi Yishmael teaches it and it is an elaboration of his statement. And there is a Sage who says that Rabbi Akiva teaches it in response to Rabbi Yishmael’s statement.

The Gemara elaborates: There is a Sage who says that Rabbi Akiva teaches it, and this is what Rabbi Akiva is saying: Even though this structure is of the same dimensions as a cowshed, nevertheless, since there are times when a person constructs his home as small as a cowshed, a contractor has fulfilled his commission if he builds a house to such dimensions. And there is a Sage who says that Rabbi Yishmael teaches it, and this is what Rabbi Yishmael is saying to Rabbi Akiva: The dimensions that you stated are clearly not the correct dimensions for a bridal house or widowhood home, as one who wants to construct a cowshed constructs a structure of four cubits by six cubits. A house for human dwelling is certainly larger than that.

§ The mishna teaches: A banquet hall is ten by ten cubits. The Gemara clarifies: What is a banquet hall? A pavilion of roses.

It is taught in a baraita: The standard size of a kanteir is twelve by twelve cubits. The Gemara clarifies: What is a kanteir? It is a decorative courtyard of a mansion.

The mishna teaches: The standard height for each of these structures is equal to the sum of half its length and half its width. There is a proof of the matter; Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: The proportions are like the building of the Sanctuary. The Gemara asks: Who teaches the phrase: Proof of the matter? There is a Sage who says that Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel teaches it, and this is what he is saying: From where can a proof of the matter be derived? The mishna then cites that Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said that everything is like the building of the Sanctuary.

And there is a Sage who says that the first tanna teaches it, and, understanding that the proof the tanna wished to cite was from the example of the Sanctuary, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel interjected and expressed astonishment at the idea. And this is what Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is saying to the first tanna: From where do you derive a proof? Do you derive it from the building of the Sanctuary? Is that to say that everyone constructs their buildings like the building of the Sanctuary? Why should they do so?

It is taught in a baraita: Aḥerim say: The standard height of each of these structures is equal to the length of its crossbeams. The Gemara suggests: And let us say more simply that its height is equal to its width. The Gemara answers: If you wish, say that formulating the ruling in this way is necessary, because the space inside a house widens at the top, as the walls get thinner toward the top and the crossbeams are actually longer than the width of the floor of the building. And if you wish, say instead that formulating it in this way is necessary because there are indentations in the wall into which the crossbeams are inserted. The crossbeams are consequently longer than the space inside the house.

§ Apropos the building of the Sanctuary, the Gemara relates the following incident: Rabbi Ḥanina once went out to the villages to teach Torah there, and he raised a contradiction between two verses that detail the dimensions of the Sanctuary: It is written: “And the house that King Solomon built for the Lord, was sixty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and its height was thirty cubits” (I Kings 6:2). But it is also written: “And before the partition was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and its height was twenty cubits” (I Kings 6:20). The first verse states that its height was thirty cubits, whereas the second verse states that its height was only twenty cubits. He said to the villagers that the reason for the difference is that when the latter verse calculated the height, it did so from the upper edge of the cherubs and upward, as the cherubs themselves stood ten cubits high.

The Gemara asks: What is the verse teaching us by considering only the area above the cherubs?

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

BavaBatra 98b examines aged wine quality obligations through Sukkot and Mishnaic standards for building dimensions like bridal houses and cowsheds.