Study Bava Batra folio 173A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
The Talmud asks: And what of that which is taught in another baraita: Just as the two men named Yosef ben Shimon cannot produce a promissory note, this one against that one, so they cannot produce promissory notes against others, as those others can claim: I did not borrow from you but from the oth
They disagree with regard to whether letters, i.e., the content of a promissory note, are acquired by merely transferring the document to a new owner. In other words, they disagree about whether or not a creditor can transfer his right to collect a debt to another by merely transferring the documen
The tanna of our Mishnah maintains that letters are acquired by transferring the document. There is no concern that the promissory note was inadvertently transferred from one Yosef ben Shimon to the other by being lost and then found, as explained earlier. Nevertheless, there is still the possibilit
And if you wish, say that everyone, i.e., both the tanna of the Mishnah and the tanna of the baraita, holds that letters are acquired by transferring the document, and here they disagree with regard to whether or not the new holder of the promissory note is required to bring proof that the original
This is as it was stated: Letters are acquired by transferring the document. Abaye says: The new holder of the document is required to bring proof that he has in fact acquired the right to collect the debt. And Rava says: He is not required to bring such proof; it is assumed that if he is holding