Bava Batra 46: Craftspeople, Sharecroppers, and Testimony

A brief review of today's daf:

• We are taught that a craftsperson does not get a chazaka but others might.  Even if witnesses did not see that the garment or utensil was taken, the craftsperson does not get a chazaka.

• We learn that a person may use a garment given to him by a craftsperson, even if the garment belongs to someone else, until the owner claims it.  However, it is not permitted to use that same garment if it was found in a mourner's house or a drinking house.  Why the difference? A craftsperson is often asked to sell items.  The craftsperson might accidentally return the wrong items.  This is permitted only if the wording is non-specific, and it applies only to the craftsperson (and not his wife or child). 

• Aren't there craftspeople who lie about receiving items?  The rabbis whether or not it is necessary to view the missing garment.  One can only get one's claimed garment back if witnesses saw it as the owner's possession with the craftsperson.  One can cleverly insist that the craftsperson show the item by saying that it must be appraised.  

• We were told in the Mishna that sharecroppers are also denied chazaka.  The rabbis explain possible reasons for this.  These include the fact that one might have taken shares of the field for three years, proving ownership; that one's family has always been  sharecroppers.  If he has hired other sharecroppers to work the field for three years - and thus he has chazaka.  

• The rabbis ask if a sharecropper can testify about who owns the field he works or whether he is too partial.  Has he already received his share of produce from the field?  Can borrowers testify?  The rabbis end our daf with a complicated example of people who buy and sell and rent land to each other, affecting their abilities to testify because of their status and their partiality regarding the land.