Musar for Bava Metzia 132:5
ולא היא דאפילו בגו זמניה נמי לא קני והאי דקאמר ליה קני קא סבר כי מטי זמניה לא ליתי ליטרדן
he acquires it; if after the time [fixed for repayment] and he says to him, 'Take possession,' he does not acquire it. Why? He spoke thus [merely] through shame.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' At not having repaid the loan, yet was not in earnest; therefore it is an asmakta and non-binding. ');"><sup>5</sup></span>
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
Jacob prefaced his vow with the words: אם יהיה אלוקים עמדי, If the Lord will be with me, etc." He concluded it by saying that if his request would be granted: והיה ה' לי לאלוקים, "then the Lord will be my G–d." How could Jacob have dared to use the word אם, "if," which suggests that he made his loyalty to G–d dependent on G–d fulfilling his requests? We have a halachic ruling in Baba Metzia 66 that if someone purchases something by prefacing his remarks with the conditional word אם, such a purchase is invalid, seeing he had not truly committed himself. Even though the Maharam rules that in matters of vows and oaths conditional vows are legally binding, why did Jacob use an expression involving him in possibly legally binding vows? ...
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