Bava Batra 43 – Partners CAN Establish Chazakah

Shmuel said the following three rulings: partners can establish chazakah against each other, they can testify on behalf of the other, and they can become paid custodians one of the other.

How can Shmuel contradict the accepted rule that partners cannot establish chazakah? – His version of this ruling was that they can. Shmuel explains: it is normal for partners to expect regular returns from their field. If one of them occupied it for three consecutive years, he is believed to say that he bought his partner out, for otherwise they would alternate more frequently.

How can he testify for his partner, if he has an interest in the outcome? He needs to renounce his share.

How are they paid custodians, liable for theft? If they guard the field in turns, then each pays the other with his work.