When
the courts assess land to determine which lands are considered
"superior" for the payment of damages, do they asses in terms of the
damager's own properties, or do they asses in terms of the properties
of the world at large? This question is only relevant to Rabbi Akiva's
opinion, because Rabbi Ishmael unambiguously stated that they assess in
terms of the damaged party's lands. What is the answer?
From a
ruling about a damager possessing only average and inferior land, do we
see that we assess relative to the world at large? No! He had superior
land but sold it.
