[72a - 33 lines; 72b - 42 lines]
1)[line 4]וזקפן עליו במלוהZAKFAN ALAV B'MILVEH- he set them (the payments owed) upon him as a loan. The borrower owed two payments - one of principle and one of Ribis - to the lender, and after some time they agreed to combine them into a single sum in a new loan contract.
2)[line 17]כדי שלא יאמרו בשביל מעותיו נתגייר זהKEDEI SHE'LO YOMRU BISHVIL ME'OSAV NISGAYER ZEH- in order that people not say that it is because of his money that this person converted (in order to avoid having to pay interest). Since the borrower was not Jewish at the time the loan with interest was arranged, it is not Ribis Ketzutzah (Ribis d'Oraisa) and therefore the Chachamim have the right to permit the collection of Ribis in this situation.
3)[line 25]שטרי חוב המוקדמין פסוליןSHETAREI CHOV HA'MUKDAMIN PESULIN- pre-dated loan documents (i.e. the date written in the document precedes the date that the document was actually signed) are invalid. The reason they are invalid is because the document asserts that the loan occurred on an earlier date than it actually occurred, thus entitling the bearer of the document (i.e. the lender) to collect from property that the borrower sold to buyers after that date. Since the loan did not actually occur until later, though, the lender would be collecting the property unlawfully from the buyers.
4a)[line 26]מזמן ראשוןZEMAN RISHON- (lit. the first date) the date written in the pre-dated loan document
b)[line 27]מזמן שניZEMAN SHENI- (lit. the second date) the date on which the loan actually took place
5)[line 29]פרדיסאPARDEISA- vineyard
6)[line 29]אכלה תלת שניACHLAH TELAS SHENEI - he consumed the fruits of the field for three years (SHNEI CHAZAKAH)
A person who claims to have bought a piece of land from another person, but has no proof of purchase may, nevertheless, support his claim with a "Chazakah." A Chezkas Shalosh Shanim (a "Chazakah of three years") means that he has proof (witnesses) that he has been living and working on the land for three years, and his opponent has no witnesses to attest to the fact that he voiced any Mecha'ah (objection) during those three years. This Chazakah serves as proof to the claim that he bought the land (see Bava Basra 28a et seq.).
7)[line 30]כבישנא לה לשטר משכנתאKAVISHNA LEI LI'SHETAR MASHKANTA- I will hide the document of the security [and claim that I am the true owner of the field and that I bought it from you]
8)[line 31]כמלוה בשטר/ כמלוה על פהMILVEH BI'SHETAR / MILVEH AL PEH
(a)A Milveh bi'Shetar is a loan agreement that is written in a contract and signed by witnesses. In such a loan agreement, the creditor is entitled to collect the money owed to him by taking Nechasim Meshu'abadim (see next entry), property mortgaged to the loan, even after it was purchased by others from the debtor. This is because the loan becomes publicized as a result of being written in a contract signed by witnesses, and thus it was the buyers' obligation to beware of buying land from the debtor.
(b)A Milveh Al Peh is a verbal loan agreement. In such a loan agreement, the creditor may only collect the money owed to him from "Nechasim Benei Chorin" (see below, entry #14).
9)[line 32]מנכסים משועבדיםNECHASIM MESHU'ABADIM- property that can have a lien on it, such that a creditor can collect the money owed to him by taking the property from the debtor or from those who bought the property from the debtor.
10)[line 32]או דילמא כמלוה על פה דמוO DILMA K'MILVEH AL PEH DAMU- or perhaps it is [only] like a verbal loan agreement (since the document that was written was a complete falsehood)
72b----------------------------------------72b
11)[line 1]מודה בשטר שכתבו אינו צריך לקיימוMODEH BI'SHTAR SHE'KASVO, EINO TZARICH L'KAIMO
(a)When a debtor admits that he wrote a document of debt, but claims that the document is not valid for another reason (e.g. the debt has already been collected), one opinion states that the creditor still must call upon the witnesses to verify their signatures. The reason for this Halachah is that as long as the signatures on the Shtar have not been validated, the debtor is believed with a "Migo;" had he wanted he could have claimed that the Shtar is a forgery (see Background to Kidushin 43:15:a-b). The Shtar must be validated to remove the debtor's Migo.
(b)Others argue, ruling that "Modeh bi'Shtar she'Kasvo Ein Tzarich l'Kaimo," that is, the debtor is not believed when he says that he paid, since this is not a valid Migo. The debtor would be ashamed to claim that the Shtar is a forgery and that is why he preferred to claim that he paid the debt (TOSFOS to Kesuvos 19a; see other reasons there).
12)[line 3]ניתן להכתבNITAN L'HIKASEV- it is permitted to be written
13)[line 10]לשבח קרקעות כיצדL'SHEVACH KARKA'OS KEITZAD- how [does a person who purchased a stolen field from a thief and spent his resources to improve the field get compensation] for the improvement of the land?
14)[line 13]מנכסים בני חוריןMI'NECHASIM BENEI CHORIN- (lit. properties that are free) fields that do not have a lien on them (which have not been bought by purchasers from the debtor)
15)[line 14]ניחא ליה דלא ניקרייה גזלנאNICHA LEI D'LO NIKARYEI GAZLANA- it is pleasing to him that he not be called a thief
16)[line 14]דליקום בהימנותיהD'LEIKUM B'HEIMNUSEI- that [his word] remain trustworthy (even though he stole the field, he wants others to trust his word, and therefore he is willing to pay money to buy the field from the original owner in owner to uphold his sale)
17a)[line 15]מפייס ליה למריהMEFAYEIS LEI L'MAREI- he will appease its original owner [and buy the field from him]
b)[line 15]ומוקים ליה לשטריהU'MUKIM LEI LI'SHETAREI- and uphold the bill of sale (for the one who bought the field from the thief)
18)[line 15]לאברוחי מיניהL'AVRUCHEI MINEI- to get it away from him (i.e. the owner of the field gifted the field to his son and then wrote a bill of sale on the field to his creditor; since his intention is to get the field away from the creditor, he certainly has no intention that the bill of sale should be upheld)
19)[line 16]אין פוסקין על הפירות עד שיצא השערEIN POSKIN AL HA'PEIROS AD SHE'YETZEI HA'SHA'AR - A futures contract may not be made until a market price has been established.
(a)Poskin Al ha'Peiros refers to a futures contract, in which a buyer pays for a set amount of produce for delivery at a later date. If the market price of the produce rises before that date, when the seller delivers the produce to the buyer (in the amount that he bought at the earlier, lower price) it will appear that he is giving extra produce in return for having the use of the buyer's money until the produce was delivered. The Mishnah (60b) rules that this is prohibited mid'Rabanan because it is like Ribis (Avak Ribis).
(b)Under certain conditions, though, such a futures contract is permitted.
1."YESH LO" - When the seller is presently in possession of the commodity which the buyer wants to receive at a later date, the sale is permitted. It is considered as though the produce of the seller has already been purchased by the buyer, and the seller is simply watching the produce for the buyer until the date of delivery. If the produce rises in value, it is considered to have risen in value while in the buyer's possession. RASHI (62a DH Yesh Lo) explains that the sale is considered to be consummated because as soon as the seller receives payment for produce that is in his possession, the Rabbinical curse of "Mi she'Para" (see Background to 44:9) prevents the buyer and seller from retracting from the sale. (Legally, of course, the produce does not formally belong to the buyer until he does a proper act of Kinyan, such as Meshichah. Nevertheless, since the prohibition involved in this transaction is only Ribis mid'Rabanan, the Rabanan did not apply the prohibition in a case where Mi she'Para has "guaranteed" the sale, RASHI 72b DH Posek Imo.)
2."YATZA HA'SHA'AR" - The Mishnah (72b) cited in our Gemara refers to a second manner in which such a sale is permitted. A futures contract is permitted when the market price for the produce that is being sold has already been established (even if the seller is not in possession of the produce at the time of the sale). The reason for this is because once a price for the produce has been determined in the market, the seller could easily purchase (with the money the buyer gave him) the amount of produce that he agreed to supply to the buyer, so that he will not lose money if the price rises before the time of delivery (RASHI 62b DH Yesh la'Zeh; alternatively, TOSFOS (61b DH Af Al Pi) explains that the sale is considered to be consummated because as soon as the seller receives payment for produce that has a set price in the market, the Rabbinical curse of "Mi she'Para" (see Background to 44:9) prevents the buyer and seller from retracting from the sale - see Shach and Sema in YD 175:1). This is only permitted if the buyer actually delivers payment for the produce at the time that the futures contract is agreed upon.
20)[line 18]הגדישGADISH- stack of grain
21)[line 18]העביט של ענביםAVIT SHEL ANAVIM- a large basket in which grapes are collected before being pressed, in which they are allowed to heat and ripen (Rashi)
22)[line 18]המעטן של זיתיםMA'ATAN SHEL ZEISIM- a large basket or vat in which olives are collected before being pressed
23)[line 19]הביצים של יוצרBEITZIM (alt. BITZIM) SHEL YOTZER- (a) lumps [of clay] of the potter, so called because they are in the shape of eggs ("Beitzim") (RASHI here); (b) raw clay of the potter, so called because it is like the soft ground, comprised of dirt mixed with water, of the marsh or swampland ("Bitzah;" O. F. maresc) (RASHI 74a DH d'Melafef). ("Beitzim" refers specifically to the potter's lumps of clay before he has given them any shape. "Bitzim" can refer to the raw clay even after the potter has shaped it into a vessel, but has not yet fired it in the kiln. Apparently, Rashi changed his explanation from "Beitzim" to "Bitzim" in order to reflect the Havah Amina and Maskana of the Gemara. According to the Maskana of the Gemara (74a), the lumps of clay cannot be more than two or three stages of production away from being finished pots in order to be permitted to buy the pots in a futures contract. Hence, the lumps of clay must have already been shaped into the shape of pots, and thus Rashi there explains it to mean "Bitzim," referring to raw clay (and not specifically to raw lumps of clay). -D. Z.)
24)[line 19]הסיד, מששקעו בכבשןHA'SID, MISHE'SHAK'O BA'KIVSHAN- the lime [stone], [only] after he has lowered it into the kiln
25)[line 19]הזבלZEVEL- garbage used for fertilizer
26)[line 21]באשפהASHPAH- garbage heap
27)[line 21]בשער הגבוהB'SHA'AR HA'GAVO'AH- (lit. the high price) the price at which a larger ("high") quantity of produce can be purchased (i.e. a cheaper price)
28)[line 23]אין פוסקין על שער שבשוקEIN POSKIN AL SHA'AR SHEBA'SHUK- A futures contract may not be made based on the present price in the market (see above, entry #19)
29)[line 24]כדורמוסDURMUS- an immense marketplace (RABEINU CHANANEL in Shitah Mekubetzes); an immense meat market (RASHI)
30a)[line 25]דלא קביעי תרעייהוD'LO KEVI'EI TAR'AIHU- their prices are not firmly established
b)[line 25](ולמאן) [ולמאי] דסליק אדעתין מעיקרא(UL'MAN) [UL'MAI] D'SALIK A'DA'ATIN ME'IKARA- and according to what we originally thought
31)[line 28]בחיטי דאכלבי וארביCHITEI D'ACHLAVEI V'ARBEI- wheat of the storehouses and boats (which come laden with wheat; at the time of their arrival, the market price for wheat becomes stabilized)
32)[line 28]דמשוך תרעיה טפיD'MASHUCH TAR'EI TEFEI- its price endures much longer
33)[line 31]לקוטותLEKUTOS- gatherers (those who pick up the poor-quality, leftover wheat from the fields after the field owners have harvested their fields; the wheat that they gather is often mixed with other grains that they gathered, such as rye)
34)[line 34]זילא ביה מילתאZILA BEI MILSA- the thing is a disgrace to him (i.e. to borrow wheat from the poor gatherers)
35)[line 38]בני בי רבBENEI BEI RAV- members of the Yeshivah
36)[line 39]בהיני / בשיליB'HINI / B'SHILI- Hini and Shili, twin towns near Pumbedisa in Bavel
37)[line 41]חבילהCHAVILAH- a bundle of merchandise
38)[last line]ואני אעלה לךV'ANI A'ALEH LECHA- I will pay you [the higher price that you could get in the distant place]