משנה: הַמַּרְזֵב אֵין לוֹ חֲזָקָה וְיֵשׁ לִמְקוֹמוֹ חֲזָקָה. הַמַּזֲחֵילָה יֵשׁ לָהּ חֲזָקָה. סוּלָּם הַמִּצְרִי אֵין לוֹ חֲזָקָה וְלַצּוֹרִי יֵשׁ לוֹ חֲזָקָה. חַלּוֹן הַמִּצְרִית אֵין לָהּ חֲזָקָה וְלַצּוֹרִית יֵשׁ לָהּ חֲזָקָה. אֵי זוֹ הִוּא חַלּוֹן הַמִּצְרִית כָּל־שֶׁאֵין רֹאשׁוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם יָכוֹל לִיכָּנֵס בְּתוֹכָהּ. רִבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר אִם יֵשׁ לָהּ מַלְבֵּן אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין רֹאשׁוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם יָכוֹל לִיכָּנֵס לְתוֹכָהּ הֲרֵי זוֹ חֲֲזָקָה. MISHNAH: The drain pipe does not represent a right of possession; its location represents a right of possession114חֲזָקָה here has a third meaning, viz., a right possessed by one property owner which restricts the property rights of another. In all cases mentioned in the Mishnah, it is presumed that the house was built in conformity with the rules and without protest by its neighbors.
The מַזְחֵילָה “leader, drain pipe” is the fixed tube which brings the rainwater from the roof to the ground; מַרְזֵב is a small movable pipe which takes the water coming out of the leader away from the house into the courtyard. (In modern Hebrew, מַזְחֶלֶת is a sled, מַרְזֵב is the leader, drain pipe.) If the leader ends on another owner’s property, this owner may move the direction of the marzeb but may not remove it.. The leader represents a right of possession115If the leader was built on the outside of a house which is in the airspace of the adjacent courtyard, it may not be removed by this courtyard’s owners.. An Egyptian ladder116A small movable ladder giving access to the upper floor apartment directly from the courtyard. does not represent a right of possession; a Tyrian one117A wide wooden ladder permanently attached to the house. represents a right of possession. An Egyptian window does not represent a right of possession; a Tyrian one represents a right of possession118The owner of the adjacent lot may build a wall in front of an Egyptian window and make it useless. But he may not build within 4 cubits of a Tyrian window (Mishnah 2:4). A Tyrian window is defined in Tosephta 2:14 as being wide enough for a man’s head and having a wooden frame.. What is an Egyptian window? Any where a man’s head cannot enter. Rebbi Jehudah says, if it has a wooden frame it represents a right of possession even if a man’s head cannot enter.
הלכה: הַמַּרְזֵב אֵין לוֹ חֲזָקָה כול'. רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ אָמַר. לְהַאֲרִיךְ וּלְהַרְחִיב בּוֹ. רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר. לְכָל־אוֹתָהּ הָרוּחַ. וְהָתַנִּינָן. הַמַּזֲחֵילָה יֵשׁ לָהּ רְשׁוּת ד̇ אַמּוֹת. אִית לָךְ מֵימַר. כָּל־אוֹתוֹ הָרוּחַ. וְדִכְװָתָהּ הַמַּרְזֵב אֵין לוֹ חֲזָקָה לְכָל־אוֹתָהּ הָרוּחַ. וְתַנֵּי כֵן. מְקוֹם הַמַּרְזֵב בֶּחָצֵר יֵשׁ לוֹ חֲזָקָה. מְקוֹם קִילּוּחוֹ בֶּחָצֵר אֵין לוֹ חֲזָקָה. HALAKHAH: “The drain pipe does not represent a right of possession.” Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, to lengthen and to widen it119The owner of the house does not have the right to lengthen or widen his drain pipe on another’s property. In the Babli, 58b, R. Ḥanina holds that the owner of the other property has the right to shorten the drain pipe but not to remove it.. Rebbi Joḥanan said, in all of that direction120While the owner of the other property has the right to move the drain pipe, he cannot move its spout away from before the wall to which it belongs., as we have stated: the leader has a domain of four cubits121If a drain pipe legally is built to drain a roof, the owner of the house has the right to put up a ladder in front of the pipe to clean and repair it.. You have to say, in all this direction122Anywhere in front of this roof.. Similarly, the drain tube does not represent a right of possession in all of this direction. It was stated thus123Tosephta 2:13.: “The location of the drain tube does represent a right of possession, the location of its spout does not represent a right of possession.”
דְּבֵי רִבִּי יַנַּאי אָֽמְרֵי. עָד שְׁלֹשָׁה עֲװָקִין בְּכִסֵּא. אָמַר רִבִּי לָא בְשֵׁם דְּבֵי רִבִּי יַנַּאי. לְעִנְייָן טוּמְאָה אִיתְאֲמָרַת. רִבִּי חִזְקִיָּה בְשֵׁם דְּבֵי רִבִּי יַנַּאי. לְעִנְייָן חֲזָקוֹת אִתְאֲמָרַת. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בְשֵׁם דְּבֵי רִבִּי יַנַּאי. לְעִינְייָן שַׁבָּת אִיתְאֲמָרַת. 124A similar text, with different attributions, is in Šabbat 3, 6c l. 56. In the House of Rebbi Yannai they said, up to three steps it is like a chair125A ladder having no more than three steps goes after the rules of chairs.. Rebbi La said in the name of the House of Rebbi Yannai, this was said referring to impurity126A chair which is made to sit on can become impure by a person whose impurity is generated by bodily excretions (such as gonorrhea or menstrual flow) who sits on it even if he never touches it (e. g., if it is completely covered by material not subject to impurity.) A ladder can become impure only by touch or by the impurity of a corpse in a “tent”.. Rebbi Ḥizqiah said in the name of the House of Rebbi Yannai, this was said referring to rights of possession127A short ladder, even if built wide like a Tyrian, never can represent rights of possession.. Rebbi Yose in the name of the House of Rebbi Yannai, this was said referring to the Sabbath128In Erubin 7:1 it is stated that two courtyards separated by a wall higher than 10 handbreadths are two separate domains for the rules of the Sabbath. If the wall is higher, it is possible to make the two courtyards into one domain by putting up ladders, even Egyptian ones, if only the remaining height is less than 10 handbreadths. But the ladder has to have at least 4 steps..
אָמַר רִבִּי הוֹשַׁעְיָה. לֹא אָֽמְרוּ אֶלָּא בֶחָצֵר. אֲבָל בְּגַנּוֹת אֲפִילוּ לְמַעֲלָה מֵד̇ אַמּוֹת מְעַכְּבוֹ. [רִבִּי יִצְחָק אֲמָרָהּ קוֹמֵי רִבִּי חֲנִינָא. רִבִּי חֲנִינָה אֲמָרָהּ קוֹמֵי רִבִּי פִּינְחָס בַּר חָמָה. לֹא אָֽמְרוּ אֶלָּא בֶחָצֵר אֲבָל בְּגַנּוֹת אֲפִילוּ לְמַעֲלָה מֵאַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת מְעַכְּבוֹ.] שָׁמַע רִבִּי אוֹשַׁעְיָא וַהֲוָה בִישׁ לֵיהּ. אָמַר. אֲנָא אֲמָרִית שְׁמוּעָתָא וְלָא אָֽמְרֵית מִשְּׁמִי. לֹא אָֽמְרוּ אֶלָּא בֶחָצֵר אֲבָל בְּגַגּוֹת אֲפִילוּ לְמַעֲלָה מֵאַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת מְעַכְּבוֹ. Rebbi Eleazar said, they said this129It is not too clear to what this refers. The least unlikely suggestion is due to Pene Moshe, where it is referred to the remark in Yebamot 12:3 (Notes 93,94) that one may open an Egyption window looking out on somebody else’s courtyard without asking permission on condition that the opening be higher than 4 cubits above the ground. In general, the rules of privacy do not allow the owner of a house to open windows that give him the possibility to see his neighbors’ activities which before he could not see. R. Hoshaia states that the rule from Yebamot holds for narrow windows opening on a courtyard which cannot be used to observe the courtyard if they are high enough. But if the new window is built in the wall of an upper storey level with the roof of a house bordering on the courtyard, the argument does not apply and the owner of that house can prohibit the opening of the window by claiming “damage by looking”.
The damage feared may be from the evil eye; cf. Latin invideo “to look in; to cast an evil eye”, from which invidia, ae “envy, grudge” (E. G.). only for a courtyard. But for roofs130Reading בְּגַגּוֹת for ms. בגנות “in gardens”, parallel to the reading in the last sentence (which, however, is due to the second hand in L.). Since the error is found both in L and in E, it must be copied from an old source. even higher than four cubits he may prevent him. 131Text from the second hand in E; it or a similar text are required by the last sentence in the paragraph.[Rebbi Isaac said this before Rebbi Ḥanina, Rebbi Ḥanina said this before Rebbi Phineas bar Ḥama: They said this only for a courtyard, but for roofs130Reading בְּגַגּוֹת for ms. בגנות “in gardens”, parallel to the reading in the last sentence (which, however, is due to the second hand in L.). Since the error is found both in L and in E, it must be copied from an old source. even higher than four cubits he may prevent him.] Rebbi Hoshaia heard this and was offended. He said, I formulated this teaching but you did not say it in my name: They said this only for a courtyard, but for roofs even higher than four cubits he may prevent him.