Si uno pagó parte de su deuda y le dio su factura (de endeudamiento) a una tercera persona [es decir, si el prestamista y el prestatario le dieron la factura a una tercera persona en la que confiaron, sería molesto para ellos escribir un recibo] , y él (el prestatario) le dijo a él (la tercera persona): "Si no le he dado (el saldo) desde ahora hasta este y este día, entréguele el recibo (al prestamista)" —Si llegó el momento y no lo dio, R. Yossi dice: Debería dárselo (la factura al prestamista). R. Yehudah dice: No debe darlo. [R. Yossi sostiene que la adquisición de efectos asmachta, a saber: si alguien le promete algo a su vecino con la condición de que haga algo por él en el futuro, y tiene confianza ("algo") en su corazón en el momento de la condición de que puede ser cumplido, y cuando llegó el momento, no se pudo cumplir, esto se llama "asmachta" y, según R. Yossi, efectúa la adquisición. En cuanto a la halajá, asmachta no efectúa la adquisición, a menos que ellos hayan adquirido (autoridad) de su mano en un beth-din distintivo, y él relegó sus derechos a ese beth-din, asignándole sus facturas y certificaciones y dijo: "Si yo no vengas desde ahora hasta treinta días, deja que mis derechos sean anulados ". Mis maestros explican que cada experto en Bet-Din, que está familiarizado con las leyes de Asmachta, es considerado como un "distintivo" Bet-din en este sentido; pero Rambam dice que solo un beth-din ordenado en Eretz Israel califica como "distintivo"].
Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Batra
והשליש את שטרו – the lender and the borrower transferred the document to the hand of a third-party for it was a trouble for them to write a receipt and they relied upon the third party.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Batra
Introduction
Mishnah five deals with laws concerning paying back debts.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Batra
ר' יוסי אומר יתן – for he holds that Asmakhta (i.e., a promise to submit to a forfeiture of pledged property – or equivalent – without having received a sufficient consideration) is a valid legal transfer of property (see Talmud Bava Batra 168a). A person who promises t his fellow something on the condition that he will do something for him in the future, and he relies upon his intention at the time of the condition that he would be able to fulfill it. But when the time comes, he is not able to fulfill it. This is called Asmakhta. But with regard to the Jewish legal decision, Asmakhta does not acquire/gives no title, unless he acquired it from his hand in an important Jewish court. But he caused to take hold of his merits in the same Jewish court where he transferred his documents and his proofs, and he said: “if I don’t bring it from now until thirty days, my benefits will be voided. But my teachers/Rabbis explain that every Jewish court that are specialists and know the laws of Asmakhta are called an important Jewish court in this matter. But Maimonides says that there is no important Jewish court other than a Jewish court ordained in the Land of Israel.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Batra
If a man had paid part of his debt and gave the debt document to a third party, and the debtor said to him, “If I have not paid you back by such and such a day, give him (the back the debt document” and the time came and he had not paid, Rabbi Yose says: “He should give it to him.” Rabbi Judah says: “He should not give it to him.” When a person borrows from another person the creditor keeps possession of the debt document, in order to use it later to collect his debt. If the debtor were to pay back half of the loan, the creditor would not be able to give back the debt document, lest he be unable to collect the second half of the loan. On the other hand, the debtor would not want the creditor to keep the document, lest he use it to collect the entire loan, even though half was already paid back. One solution to such a problem was to give the debt document to a third person and for the debtor to promise to pay back the remainder within a certain time or else the third party was to return it to the creditor. According to Rabbi Yose in such a case if the time elapsed the third party should give the debt document to the creditor. According to Rabbi Judah he should not. Since the debtor did not really intend to allow the creditor to collect more than his debt by using the debt document after it had been partially paid, the third party is not allowed to return it to the creditor.
