Bava Batra 146 – Is Talmud Study Hard?

“All the days of a pauper are bad” - this is the Talmudist, because he arduously toils, trying to understand the differences between different rulings. “But he of good heart has a continuous feast” – this is the Mishnaist, who just learns the rulings themselves – so says Rabbi Zeira. But Rava says the opposite - since the Mishnaist experiences greater frustration, not being able to rule on practical questions of law.

If a seriously ill person signed away all property to others but retained a little land for himself, his gift to others stands even if he should recover from his illness. Since he retained some land, he did not really expect to die, and his gift is a regular gift. However, if he gave away everything, this indicates that his gift was conditional upon his actually dying, and if he recovers, the gift does not stand.

Art: Carl Spitzweg - The Poor Poet