​The War of the Languages may not have been an actual war, but it was a very serious matter indeed. It placed the Hebrew language at the center of public discourse and was the first time students, intellectuals and public leaders in both the Land of Israel and the Diaspora were recruited to defend the Hebrew language and give it the status that they felt it deserved. The outcry was great, and the argument produced a large amount of writing and an abundance of opinions.

​Humor was also present. Study partners arguing, defending themselves, quibbling, making claims and objecting to opposing opinions has always been the material for fine Jewish humor. The War of the Languages was no exception. When the great national-cultural fight was still fresh in the minds of many in the country, a small pamphlet, just 24 pages long, called "Bava Technika" was published.

The author of the pamphlet was Kadish Yehuda Silman, a teacher, writer, translator, Hebrew scholar, and one of the founders of Tel Aviv. Silman was one of the heads of the Hebrew Committee and was a prominent figure in the War of the Languages. Later, he taught in the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa, the Hebrew incarnation of the high school meant to train prospective Technikum students.

Based the subject matter of the War of the Languages, Silman composed Bava Technika in the Purim tradition of humorous tractates: meaning, he wrote a satirical text impersonating a Talmudic tractate in language, style and page format. Silman depicted a polarized debate in the style of the famous Talmudic argument. He composed a sort of humurous Talmudic text, complete with claims, proofs and counterarguments.