1:
Before we explain some of the strange and enigmatic expressions in this the first mishnah of this tractate let us preface a few words about the tractate itself.
2:
We have mentioned on many occasions over the years that the Mishnah, as compiled by Rabbi Yehudah the President of the Sanhedrin (at the beginning of the 3rd century CE) consists of six orders; each order consists of several tractates; each tractate is divided into chapters; and each chapter consists of several paragraphs or units each of which is also called a mishnah (or halakhah). Each of the six orders deals with an aspect of Jewish religious life in the age of the Tannaïm (and thereafter). In sequence, the topics dealt with are agriculture, festivals, family life, civil law, ritual of the Bet Mikdash and ritual purity.
3:
The tractate which we start to study in this shiur is the first in the fourth order of the Mishnah, Nezikin, which means 'damages' or 'torts'. The tractates in the order Nezikin deal with many and varied aspects of Jewish jurisprudence and social interaction. Originally the first tractate of the order was also called Nezikin, because its topic was torts. That is to say that it was concerned with damage that one person can cause to the property or person of another, either personally or through something for which he is responsible (his fists, his dog, his automobile, his revolver etc) and for which he must make restitution.
4:
The original Tractate Nezikin consisted of thirty chapters! This was so unwieldy that it was decided very early on - possibly by the compiler himself - to divide it into three parts. Today we would call these three 'sub-tractates' "Part One", "Part Two" and "Part Three". In Aramaic, however, they were called Bava Kamma, Bava Metzi'a and Bava Batra which mean respectively "First Gate", "Middle Gate" and "Last Gate". (Do not be surprised at the use of the word 'gate': throughout halakhic literature the word bava is used to indicate what we would call 'part' or 'section'.)
5:
So, really we are about to study 'Tractate Nezikin, Part One', which is now universally known as Bava Kamma. The basic idea which permeates the whole tractate is that each person is responsible for any damage that they or their property may cause to the person or property of another. That responsibility is expressed in monetary compensation for damage caused or perpetrated.
6:
For the sake of completeness let us also mention that Bava Metzi'a deals mostly with economic damage (such as lost property and price hiking) while the main thrust of Bava Batra is real estate and neighbourly relations.
7:
After this brief introduction let us now turn our attention to our present mishnah. Obviously terms such as 'ox', 'pit' 'grazing' and 'incendiary' seem to us to be very quaint and far removed from any legal concepts that we recognize from western jurisprudence. However, these terms are not occult but quite straightforward and they refer to four examples or case studies that appear in the Torah.
8:
In Torah law, by and large, there are two kinds of legal expressions. Modern scholars call them apodictic laws and casuistic laws. An apodictic law is one that lays down a very clear and universal ruling (even if later amplifications expand on it almost ad infinitum). Here are some examples of well-known apodictic laws:
