For the source text click/tap here: Bava Batra 28
To download, click/tap here: PDF
According to Jewish law, just because someone has possession of property and lives or works it, he cannot claim ownership of it. A person only becomes an owner if he receives that status from the original owner through a sale or by receiving a present, or if he claims an object that is hefker, performing a formal act of possession (a kinyan). Thus, there can be no claim of ownership based on “squatters’ rights” and if someone else comes with proof of ownership, the person living or working the land will have to prove that he bought it.
We explore the groundbreaking work of Prof Dovid West Halivni and his theory of talmud composition using this first Mishnah as an example.