Kommentar zu Bava Metzia 1:7
מָצָא גִטֵּי נָשִׁים, וְשִׁחְרוּרֵי עֲבָדִים, דְּיָתֵיקֵי, מַתָּנָה וְשׁוֹבְרִים, הֲרֵי זֶה לֹא יַחֲזִיר, שֶׁאֲנִי אוֹמֵר כְּתוּבִים הָיוּ וְנִמְלַךְ עֲלֵיהֶם שֶׁלֹּא לִתְּנָם:
Wenn man Gittin (Scheidungsurkunden) von Frauen, Manumissionsschreiben, d'yatiki [Sterbebett-Testamente, Abkürzung für "da tehei lemeikam velihyoth" ("Dies steht zur Erfüllung und zum Sein.")] Findet, Vermächtnisse oder Quittungen [des Gläubigers an den Schuldner, die die Zahlung der Schuld bezeugen], er gibt sie nicht zurück. Denn ich sage (dh ich vermute), dass sie geschrieben wurden und er (der Schriftsteller) sich dagegen entschieden hat, sie zu geben.
Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Metzia
דייתיקי – the verbal will of someone on his death-bed, that this is what should occur and happen.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Metzia
Introduction
Mishnayoth seven and eight continue to deal with returning lost documents, a topic which was also discussed in the previous mishnah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Metzia
ושוברים – [receipts] that the creditor makes for the borrower when his loan document has been repaid.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Metzia
If a man found bills of divorce, or writs of emancipation or wills, or deeds of gifts, or receipts, he should not return them, for I might say, “they were written out, and the writer might have changed his mind and decided not to give them.” In this short mishnah are listed types of documents where one person gives something to another person, whether it be a divorce given to a wife by her husband, freedom to a slave from his master, inheritance to an inheritor, a present, or a receipt. These documents would normally be kept by the recipient. If one of these was found one might have expected to return it to the recipient, i.e. the wife, slave, etc. However, the mishnah states that they should not be returned. Since it is possible that the writer wrote the document and subsequently changed his mind and did not give the document, we cannot be sure that the recipient lost it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Metzia
Questions for Further Thought:
If the giver of one of the documents mentioned in this mishnah told the finder that he had indeed given the document to the recipient, would the finder then return it to the recipient? How is this different from the case in the previous mishnah?
If the giver of one of the documents mentioned in this mishnah told the finder that he had indeed given the document to the recipient, would the finder then return it to the recipient? How is this different from the case in the previous mishnah?
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