Bava Batra 336:1

ופלוני ופלוני עדיו:

AND A AND B [WERE SIGNED ON IT AS] ITS WITNESSES. <b><i>GEMARA</i></b>. Our Rabbis taught: What is the form of its<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A Faded bond. Cf. our Mishnah. ');">¹</span>

<big><strong>גמ׳</strong></big> ת"ר איזהו קיומו במותב תלתא הוינא אנו פלוני ופלוני ופלוני הוציא פלוני בן פלוני שטר מחוק לפנינו ביום פלוני ופלוני ופלוני עדיו ואם כתוב בו הוזקקנו לעדותן של עדים ונמצאת עדותן מכוונת גובה ואינו צריך להביא ראיה ואם לאו צריך להביא ראיה

attestation? — 'We, X, Y and Z, being in a session of three, A son of B produced before us a faded bond on such and such a date, and C and D [were signed as] Its witnesses'. And if the attestation contains [the following]. 'We have dealt with the evidence of the witnesses and their evidence was found to agree', [the creditor] collects [his debt]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' from the property which the borrower may possess or from that which he sold after the date of the original deed. ');">²</span> and is not required to produce [any additional] proof; but if not,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If the formula, 'we have dealt with the evidence of the witness etc.. Is not entered. ');">³</span>

נקרע פסול נתקרע כשר נמחק או נטשטש אם רישומו ניכר כשר

he is required to produce proof.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As to the contents of the bond such as date, sum, etc. ');">⁴</span> [A bond] intentionally torn is invalid; if torn accidentally, it is valid. [In case] it was effaced or obliterated, if the tracing<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'its tracing'. ');">⁵</span>

ה"ד נקרע ה"ד נתקרע אמר רב יהודה נקרע קרע של בית דין נתקרע קרע שאינו של ב"ד

[of the letters] is distinguishable it is valid. How is one to understand 'intentionally torn' and how, 'torn accidentally'? Rab Judah said: 'Intentionally torn' [means] a tear made by a court of law; 'torn accidentally', a tear which [was] not made by a court of law. How is 'a tear made by a court of law' to be understood? — Rab Judah said: [If it was made at] the place of the witnesses, the place of the date and the place of the amount.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] The 'specific element' of a deed (opp. [H] 'formal element'). viz., date and amount. (Cf. supra p. 699. n. 9.) So called because by virtue of it the creditor may seize ([H]) even the sold lands of the creditor (R. Gersh.). [Krauss, op. cit. III, 352. Connects it with [H] 'exposed', 'blank', hence the blank part of the deed which has to be filled in.] ');">⁶</span> Abaye said: [If it runs] lengthwise and crosswise.

היכי דמי קרע של בית דין א"ר יהודה מקום עדים ומקום הזמן ומקום התורף אביי אמר שתי וערב

Certain Arabs who came to Pumbeditha were seizing by force the lands of the inhabitants.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [During the long drawn out Roman-Persian war (338-363), Shapur II invited certain warring Arab tribes to help him in this struggle against the Romans. V. Funk, S., Die Juden in Babylonian, II. 41.] ');">⁷</span> The owners<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'their owners', of the seized lands, who were compelled by the Arabs to hand over also their deeds. ');">⁸</span>

הנהו ערבאי דאתו לפומבדיתא דהוו קא אנסי ארעתא דאינשי אתו מרוותיהו לקמיה דאביי א"ל ליחזי מר שטרי' ולכתוב לן מר שטרא אחרינא עליה דאי מיתניס חד נקיטינן חד בידן

came to Abaye [and] said to him: 'Will the Master examine our deeds and write for us duplicates<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., another deed on it'. ');">⁹</span> so that, in case one is forcibly taken away. we shall [still] hold one in our possession'?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And use it as proof of ownership if they should succeed in recovering their lands from the Arabs. [V. Obermeyer. op. cit. 235.] ');">¹⁰</span>

אמר להו מאי אעביד לכו דאמר רב ספרא אין כותבין שני שטרות על שדה אחת דלמא טריף והדר טריף

He said to them: 'What can I do for you. when R. Safra said: Two deeds [may] not be written in respect of the same field [since a person] might [thereby] seize and seize again'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Infra 169a. A buyer who purchased a field the sale of which has been secured by the seller's landed property might, if a creditor of the seller should ever seize that field for his debt, secure double compensation from the lands of subsequent buyers by the production in turn of one of the two deeds. ');">¹¹</span> [As] they were troubling him,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Persisting in their demand. ');">¹²</span>

הוו קא טרדי ליה אמר ליה לספריה זיל כתוב להו הוא על המחק ועדיו על הנייר דפסול

be said to his scribe, 'Go [and] write for them the text<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'it'. ');">¹³</span> [of the deeds] on an erasure and [let] the<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'its'. ');">¹⁴</span>

אמר ליה רב אחא בר מניומי לאביי ודלמא רישומו ניכר ותניא נמחק או נטשטש אם רישומו ניכר כשר אמר ליה מי קאמינא שטרא מעליא אל"ף בי"ת בעלמא קאמינא

witnesses [sign] on [clean] paper, [and thus produce duplicate deeds], which [are] invalid.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' They, not knowing that the duplicates were of no legal value, would cease troubling the Master, while no loss to subsequent buyers, (v. supra n. 1) could possibly be involved (v. supra 164a). ');">¹⁵</span> Said R. Aha b. Manyumi to Abaye;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' R. Aha understood Abaye to have instructed his scribe (a) to copy the deeds on clean paper; (b) to erase the text, and (c), to copy the deeds again on these erasures. ');">¹⁶</span>

תנו רבנן הרי שבא ואמר אבד שטר חובי אע"פ שאמרו עדים אנו כתבנו וחתמנו ונתננו לו אין כותבין לו את השטר בד"א בשטרי הלואה אבל שטרי מקח וממכר כותבין חוץ מן האחריות שבו

Might it not happen that the [original] tracing<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The first copy. v. previous note (a). ');">¹⁷</span> would be distinguishable, and [concerning such a case, surely,] it was taught: [A deed that] was effaced or obliterated, if its tracing is distinguishable. [is] valid!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Of what avail, then, was Abaye's device seeing that they could erase the second text whilst preserving the tracing of the first text? ');">¹⁸</span> — He replied to him: Did I say a proper deed [shall be written]?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A copy of the original. v. n. 6 (a). ');">¹⁹</span> What I said was mere [letters of the] alphabet.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' These were (a) to be written; (b) erased; and on the erasure thus produced, a duplicate of the deed was to be written. Should, in such a case, the original letters re-appear they would signify nothing and the deed would remain invalid. ');">²⁰</span> Our Rabbis taught: Should [a creditor] come and say, 'I lost my bond of indebtedness',<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And there are no witnesses to testify that the deed was really lost. ');">²¹</span> the bond [may not] be rewritten for him although witnesses stated, 'We wrote, signed and delivered [such a deed] to him'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Because this evidence merely proves that the creditor is entitled to the rights of one such bond. It does not prove, however, that he lost his bond. Hence no second one in lieu of the first may be written for him, since he might make use of the two and thus reimburse himself twice. ');">²²</span> This, [however], applies only to the case<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'in what (case) are the words said'. ');">²³</span> of bonds of indebtedness<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Because the creditor might thereby collect his debt twice. Even if no security on the borrower's lands were to be entered, it could still be collected from his 'free' property. ');">²⁴</span> but [in the case of] deeds of purchase and sale [a deed], with the omission<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As will be explained, infra 169b. ');">²⁵</span> of [the clause] pledging [property may] be [re]written.