Gittin 27

בההיא הנאה דקא משתניא ליה בין מלוה ישנה למלוה חדשה גמר ומשעביד נפשיה

that for the sake of the benefit which the borrower derives from the difference [in time of payment] between the old debt and the new one, he willingly pledges himself to the new creditor.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Even if the latter had not yet been born at the time of the loan. ');">¹</span>

א"ל הונא מר בריה דרב נחמיה לרב אשי אלא מעתה כגון הני דבי בר אלישיב דכפתי ושקלי לאלתר ה"נ דלא קנו

Said Huna Mar the son of R. Nehemiah to R. Ashi: If that is so, what of people like those from the house of Bar Eliashib, who force their debtors to pay at once? Do they not acquire possession in such a case as this?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If the debt is transferred to them. ');">²</span>

וכי תימא ה"נ א"כ נתת דבריך לשיעורין

And if you say they do, then you apply different standards to different people? — The truth is, said Mar Zutra, that there are three laws which the Rabbis have laid down arbitrarily without [giving] a reason. One is this one. A second is the one laid down by Rab Judah in the name of Samuel: If a [dying] man assigns in writing all his property to his wife, he only makes her a trustee for it.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And not absolute owner. ');">³</span>

אלא אמר מר זוטרא הני תלת מילי שוינהו רבנן כהלכתא בלא טעמא חדא הא ואידך דאמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל הכותב כל נכסיו לאשתו לא עשאה אלא אפיטרופיא ואידך דאמר רב חנניא המשיא אשה לבנו גדול בבית קנאו

The third is the one laid down by R. Hananiah: If a man celebrates the marriage of his son who is over age in a special house, the son becomes the owner of the house.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For fuller notes v. B.B. (Sonc. ed.) pp. 616 ff. ');">⁴</span>

א"ל רב לרב אחא ברדלא קבא דמוריקא אית לי גבך יהביה לפלוני באפיה קאמינא לך דלא הדרנא בי

Rab once said to R. Aha Bardala: You have a <i>kab</i> of saffron of mine, give it to So-and-so, and I am telling you in his presence that I do not mean to change my mind. Are we to understand from this that if he had desired to change his mind he could have done so? — What Rab meant was that instructions such as these<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Made in the presence of the third party. ');">⁵</span>

מכלל דאי בעי הדר ביה מצי הדר ביה ה"ק דברים הללו לא ניתנו לחזרה

cannot be retracted. But this has already been laid down by Rab, since R. Huna said in the name of Rab: If a man says to another, You have a <i>maneh</i> of mine in your possession, give it to So-and-so, if he says this in the presence of the third party, [the latter] becomes legal owner? — If I had only that dictum to go by, I should suppose that this rule applies only to a big gift, but that for a small one it is not necessary for the third party to be present: now I know [that this is not so].

הא אמר רב חדא זימנא דאמר רב הונא אמר רב מנה לי בידך תנהו לו לפלוני במעמד שלשתן קנה

Some market gardeners [who were in partnership] once squared accounts with one another, and found that one had five staters<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A silver stater = half a zuz. ');">⁶</span>

אי מההיא הוה אמינא הני מילי מתנה מרובה אבל מתנה מועטת לא ליבעי בפניו קמ"ל:

too much. Said the others to him in the presence of the owner of the land, 'Give it to the owner of the land',<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [Trani adds: for ground-tax.] ');">⁷</span>

הנהו גינאי דעביד חושבנא בהדי הדדי פש חמש איסתרי זוזי גבי חד מנייהו אמרי ליה יהבינהו ניהליה למרי ארעא באפי מרי ארעא וקנה מיניה

and they duly acquired' from him.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [So Trani. That is, they made him obligate himself by means of a Kinyan (v. Glos.) to carry out his undertaking: cur. edd. 'he' is evidently an error.] ');">⁸</span>

לסוף אזל עבד חושבנא בין דיליה לנפשיה לא פש גביה ולא מידי אתא לקמיה דרב נחמן א"ל מאי איעביד לך חדא דאמר רב הונא אמר רב ועוד הא קנו מינך

Afterwards he reckoned up by himself, and found that he had nothing over. He went to consult R. Nahman. Said [the latter] to him: What can I do for you? For one thing, there is the rule laid down by R. Huna in the name of Rab,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [That a transfer of claims made in the presence of the third party takes immediate effect.] ');">⁹</span>

א"ל רבא אטו האי מי קאמר לא יהבינא דליכא גבאי קאמר א"ל א"כ קנין בטעות הוא וכל קנין בטעות חוזר

and for another thing, they<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [So cur. edd.] ');">¹⁰</span>

איתמר הולך מנה לפלוני שאני חייב לו אמר רב חייב באחריותו ואם בא לחזור אינו חוזר ושמואל אמר מתוך שחייב באחריותו אם בא לחזור חוזר

duly 'acquired' from you. Said Raba to him: Does this man say. I am unwilling to pay? What he pleads is, I do not owe the money. Whereupon R. Nahman said: If so, possession has been transferred in error, and in such a case the money must always be returned.

לימא בהא קמיפלגי דמר סבר הולך כזכי דמי ומר סבר הולך לאו כזכי דמי

It has been stated: If a man says to another, 'Take to So-and-so the <i>maneh</i> which I owe him', Rab says. he continues to be responsible for it, and he is not at liberty to retract the commission, whereas Samuel says that since he is still responsible he is at liberty to retract. May we presume that the point at issue between them is this, that one authority<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Nab. ');">¹¹</span>

לא דכ"ע הולך כזכי דמי והכא בהא קמיפלגי מ"ס לא אמרינן מיגו ומ"ס אמרינן מיגו

was of opinion that 'take' is equivalent to 'accept on behalf of',<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For this reason he may not retract, though he still continues to he responsible, as the creditor did not give him the permission to entrust the money to the bearer. ');">¹²</span>

תניא כוותיה דרב הולך מנה לפלוני שאני חייב לו תן מנה לפלוני שאני חייב לו הולך מנה לפלוני פקדון שיש לו בידי תן מנה לפלוני פקדון שיש לו בידי חייב באחריותו ואם בא לחזור אינו חוזר

and the other<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Samuel. ');">¹³</span>

פקדון לימא ליה אין רצונו שיהא פקדונו ביד אחר א"ר זירא כשהוחזק כפרן

was of opinion that 'take' is not equivalent to 'accept on behalf of'? — No. Both are agreed that 'take' is equivalent to 'accept on behalf of', and the point at issue is this, that one was of opinion that we make one ruing<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That he is at liberty to retract: lit., 'that we say since'.' ');">¹⁴</span>

רב ששת הוה ליה אשרתא דסרבלי במחוזא א"ל לרב יוסף בר חמא בהדי דאתית אייתינהו ניהלי אזל יהבינהו ליה אמרי ליה ניקני מינך אמר להו אין

because of another,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That he is still responsible. ');">¹⁵</span>

לסוף אישתמיט להו כי אתא לגביה אמר ליה שפיר עבדת דלא שוית נפשך (משלי כב, ז) עבד לוה לאיש מלוה לישנא אחרינא שפיר עבדת עבד לוה לאיש מלוה

and the other was of opinion that we do not. It has been taught in agreement with Rab:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Tosef. Git. I. ');">¹⁶</span>

ר' אחי בר' יאשיה הוה ליה איספקא דכספא בנהרדעא

If a man says to another, Take to So-and-so the <i>maneh</i> which I owe him, give So-and-so the <i>maneh</i> which I owe him, take to So-and-so the <i>maneh</i> which he has given me in trust, give So-and-so the <i>maneh</i> which he has given me in trust, he remains responsible for the money, yet if he wishes to retract the commission he is not at liberty to do so. Why should he not be able to retract in the case of trust money, on the plea that [the depositor] does not desire his money to be in the hand of another [party]? — R. Zera answered: We assume that [the sender in this case] is known as a man who denies [his obligations].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And therefore the recipient is satisfied that the money should be in the hands of the hearer. ');">¹⁷</span> R. Shesheth had some money owing to him in Mahuza for some cloaks [which he had sold there]. He said to R. Joseph b. Hama [who was going there]: When you come back from there, bring the money with you. [R. Joseph] went [to them] and they gave him the money. They said to him: 'Give us a quittance'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'let us obtain a kinyan from you', relieving us of all further responsibility. ');">¹⁸</span> At first he said, 'yes', but afterwards he excused himself. When he returned, R. Shesheth said to him: You acted quite rightly,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In refusing to assume responsibility. ');">¹⁹</span> not to make yourself a borrower [who] is the slave of the lender.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Prov. XXII, 7. ');">²⁰</span> According to another version he said to him: You acted quite rightly: 'a borrower is the slave of the lender.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., my debtors are still under obligation to me. ');">²¹</span> R. Ahi the son of R. Josiah had a silver cup<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [ [G], v. Krauss. TA. II, 415.] ');">²²</span> in Nehardea.