The Sale of a Ship¹

Working with Vagueness: Two Rabbis Debate a Contract for the Sale of a Ship in the Talmud

(from the Talmud [Berachot 32])

RABBIS NATHAN, SYMMACHUS, AND RABA were engaged in a debate about which items are actually included in the purchase of a ship.

Rabbi Nathan said, “Certainly we can agree that the transaction always includes the mast, sail, anchor, and all the implements necessary for navigating the ship.”

Symmachus and Raba nodded their heads in consent.

“Would the buzith always be included in the sale of a ship?” Rabbi Nathan asked his colleagues.

“Certainly,” Symmachus agreed. “He who sells his ship includes the dugith.”

Since the buzith and the dugith are simply different names for the dinghy, Raba interrupted, “A ship must have a dinghy to ferry people from ship to shore.”

“Then we are in consensus that it’s included in the sale,” Symmachus chimed in.

“And do we have a consensus that unless specified by both parties, the sale does not include such items as the crew, the packing crates, or the ship’s cargo?” Rabbi Nathan continued.

“Yes,” Raba said, “however, if the seller stipulates to the buyer that the ship and all its contents are for sale, unless otherwise stipulated, everything indeed would be included.”

“In that case we are all in agreement,” Rabbi Nathan concluded. “No matter how we refer to the implements, unless otherwise stated, the expectation is that they are included in the sale of a ship.”

Endnotes

¹ Rabbi Bradley R. Bleefeld and Robert L. Shook, Saving the World Entire and 100 Other Beloved Parables from the Talmud (New York: Plume Books, 1998), 169. ⇑