Commentary for Bava Batra 303:3

ושמואל אמר לא ידענא מאי אדון בה שמא לא גמר להקנותו אלא בשטר ואין שטר לאחר מיתה

except through the deed,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And not merely by virtue of his instructions, being a dying man. ');">⁹</span> and no [possession by means of a] deed [may be acquired] after [the testator's] death.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hence it was difficult for Samuel to give a decision on the matter. It may be added that the same difficulty would also arise even where no deed was written and symbolic possession was accompanied by verbal instructions only, or where a deed alone was written unattended by any symbolic acquisition. The mere Fact that the testator had recourse to the unnecessary symbolic form of acquisition raises the question whether his intention thereby was not to annul his first transfer (that of a dying man) and postpone until after his death the donee's acquisition of the gift. Had he wished him to acquire immediate possession there would have been no need For the additional symbolic acquisition. His mere word as a dying man would have done that. Once the possibility of postponement until after death is granted, the donee can no more acquire possession, because as soon as death had taken place the entire estate of the dead man had passed over into the ownership of his legal heirs. (So Rashb.; v. however Tosaf. s.v. [H].) ');">¹⁰</span> A contradiction was pointed out [between one statement] of Rab and another statement of his,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'on that of Rab'. ');">¹¹</span> and [between one statement] of Samuel and another statement of his.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' CF. previous note. ');">¹²</span>

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