Talmud - Bava Batra 157a בבא בתרא קנ״ז א׳

says: With regard to weekdays the Sages stated that the verbal instruction of person on his deathbed is valid, even though it is permitted to write. And one may infer a fortiori that the same applies with regard to Shabbat, when writing is prohibited. Similarly, one can acquire property on behalf of an adult, as he is able to effect acquisition himself, but one cannot acquire property on behalf of a minor; this is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Yehoshua says: The Sages stated this halakha with regard to an adult, even though he can effect acquisition himself. One may infer a fortiori that this also applies with regard to a minor, who cannot effect acquisition himself.

Rabbi Yehuda says that Rabbi Eliezer says: On Shabbat, the verbal statement of a person on his deathbed stands due to the fact that he cannot write. But a verbal instruction does not stand on a weekday. Rabbi Yehoshua says: With regard to Shabbat the Sages stated that his verbal instruction stands, even though writing is prohibited. One may infer a fortiori that the same applies with regard to a weekday, when writing is permitted. Similarly, one can acquire property on behalf of a minor, but one cannot acquire property on behalf of an adult, since he can effect the acquisition himself; this is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Yehoshua says: The Sages stated this halakha with regard to a minor, and one may infer a fortiori that this also applies with regard to an adult.

MISHNA: A house collapsed on a son and upon his father, or upon a certain person and upon those from whom he stands to inherit, and it is unknown who died first. If the son bore the responsibility to pay the marriage contract of his wife and to pay a creditor, and the son had no money with which to pay them except that which he might inherit from his father, and the father’s heirs say: The son died first and afterward the father died, and therefore the son did not inherit property from his father, and the creditors say: The father died first and afterward the son died, resulting in the son’s inheriting his father’s property, enabling the creditors to collect payment from the property even after the son’s death, there is a dispute with regard to how to rule.

Since it cannot be determined who died first, Beit Shammai say: They divide the property between them so that the father’s heirs receive half of his property and the son’s creditors receive the other half. And Beit Hillel say: The property retains its previous ownership status. Since the last known owner of the property was the father, the property is given to the father’s heirs.

GEMARA: We learned in a mishna elsewhere (175a): One who lends money to another with a promissory note can collect the debt even from liened property that has been sold. If one lends money only with witnesses, he can collect the debt only from unsold property.

Shmuel raises a dilemma: If the borrower wrote in the promissory note: The property that I will acquire in the future shall be liened to this debt, and he subsequently acquired property, what is the halakha? Is the property liened or not? The Gemara clarifies the dilemma: According to the opinion of Rabbi Meir, who says: A person can transfer ownership of an entity that has not yet come into the world, you should not raise the dilemma, as the lender certainly acquires, i.e., places a lien, on the property. Rather, when should you raise the dilemma? Raise it according to the opinion of the Rabbis, who say: A person cannot transfer ownership of an entity that has not yet come into the world.

Rav Yosef said: Come and hear proof from a mishna (Ketubot 110a): If one produces a promissory note against another, and the borrower produced a bill of sale dated after the promissory note that states that the lender sold him a field of his, Admon says that the borrower can say: Were I really indebted to you, you should have collected the loan when you sold me the field. And the Rabbis say: This does not prove anything. It is possible that this lender was perspicacious, as he sold the borrower the land for a good reason, because now he can take the field as collateral from him in lieu of the outstanding loan. This mishna indicates that even property acquired by the borrower after the promissory note is written is liened.

Rava said to Rav Yosef: Do you speak of a case where the debt is collected from the debtor? With regard to collecting the debt from him, the debt is collected from any property currently in his possession, even from the cloak that is upon his shoulders. When the dilemma was raised to us, it was with regard to a case where the borrower wrote: The property that I will acquire shall be liened, and he subsequently acquired property and sold it to others. The dilemma also pertains to a case where the borrower wrote: The property that I will acquire shall be liened, and he subsequently acquired property and bequeathed it to his heirs. In these cases, what is the halakha? Can the lender repossess the property from the buyer or heir?

Rav Ḥana said: Come and hear a proof from the mishna: In a case where the house collapsed on a son and upon his father, or upon a certain person and upon those from whom he stands to inherit, and it is unknown who died first, the halakha depends on the circumstances. If the son bore the responsibility to pay the marriage contract of his wife and to pay a creditor, and the son had no money with which to pay them except that which he might inherit from his father, and the father’s heirs say: The son died first and afterward the father died, and therefore the son did not inherit property from his father, and the creditors say: The father died first and afterward the son died, there is a dispute with regard to how to rule. In this case, the creditors claim that the son inherited his father’s property, and therefore they have a lien upon the property.

The Gemara explains: And if it enters your mind to say that when the borrower writes: The property that I will acquire shall be liened, and he acquires property and sells it to others, it is not liened, and that when he writes: The property that I will acquire shall be liened, and he acquires property and bequeaths it to his heirs, it is not liened, then the mishna is difficult. Although the father indeed died first, this case is comparable to one where the borrower writes: The property that I will acquire shall be liened, as the son acquired the property after receiving the loan. This indicates that a lien can be placed upon property that one will acquire in the future.

Rav Naḥman said to the Sages: Rabbi Zeira, our colleague, interpreted the mishna as follows: In this case, the creditors do not claim the property because it is liened. Rather, they claim it because it is a mitzva incumbent upon the orphans to repay their father’s debt. Rav Ashi objects to this: If the promissory note does not place a lien on the property, this is considered a loan by oral agreement, and Rav and Shmuel both say: A loan by oral agreement cannot be collected, neither from the heirs nor from the buyers.

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

BavaBatra 157a examines dying declarations on Shabbat versus weekdays, plus a case of collapsed house deaths affecting inheritance and creditor claims.