Bava Batra (״The Last Gate״) is the third of a series of three tractates in Seder Nezikin (“Order of Damages") that deal with civil laws. It addresses relations between neighbors, presumptions of ownership and deeds, and laws of sales and inheritance. Bava Batra stands out from its surrounding tractates in that the vast majority of its laws are not explicitly biblical in origin, but rather rabbinic ordinances based on the sages’ understanding of human nature, societal conventions, and the need to establish limits and guidelines to regulate business relationships.
