Jerusalem Talmud Bava Metzia 1:8

משנה: מָצָא אִגְרוֹת שׁוּם וְאִגְרוֹת מָזוֹן וּשְׁטָרֵי חֲלִיצָה וּמֵאוּנִין וּשְׁטָרֵי בֵירוּרִין וְכָל־מַעֲשֵׂה בֵית דִּין הֲרֵי זֶה יַחֲזִיר. מָצָא בַחֲפִיסָה אוֹ בִגְלוֹסָּקָּמָּא תַּכְרִיךְ שֶׁל שְׁטָרוֹת אוֹ אֲגוּדָה שֶׁל שְׁטָרוֹת הֲרֵי זֶה יַחֲזִיר. וְכַמָּה הִיא אֲגוּדָה שֶׁל שְׁטָרוֹת שְׁלֹשָׁה קְשׁוּרִין זֶה בָזֶה. רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר אֶחָד הַלּוֹוֶה מִשְּׁלֹשָׁה יַחֲזִיר לַלּוֹוֶה שְׁלֹשָׁה הַלּוֹוִים מֵאֶחָד יַחֲזִיר לַמַּלְוֶה. מָצָא שְׁטָר בֵּין שְׁטָרוֹתֵיו וְאֵין יָדוּעַ מַה טִיבוֹ יְהֵא מוּנָּח עַד שֶׁיָּבוֹא אֵלִיָּהוּ. אִם יֵש עִמָּהֶן סִמְפוֹן יַעֲשֶׂה מַה שֶׁבְּסִימְפוֹן. MISHNAH: One who found letters of appraisal⁹⁹Court documents in which the value of property in execution is appraised for the creditor., letters of sustenance¹⁰⁰Court documents empowering a widow to sell from her late husband’s property for her sustenance., or documents of ḥalîṣah¹⁰¹Court documents authorizing a childless widow to remarry outside her late husband’s family. or repudiation¹⁰²Court documents confirming that an underage, fatherless girl walked out on a marriage arranged by her mother or her brothers., or documents of arbitration¹⁰³Court documents in which the parties to a civil suit appoint a panel of arbitration judges and promise to abide by their judgment., or any other court document, should return them. If he found in a basket¹⁰⁴Arabic حِفش “basket, bag”. or in a box¹⁰⁵Greek γλωσσοκομεῖον “chest, box”. a bundle¹⁰⁶Documents rolled and tied together. In joined documents one is joined to the next. or joined documents he should return them. How many are joined documents? Three documents connected one to the other. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says, if one persons borrows from three, he should return it to the borrower; if three persons borrow from one, he should return it to the lender. If he found a document among his documents whose nature was unknown to him¹⁰⁷According to Rashi, a third party document; according to Maimonides and Ravia, a valid IOU in a bundle of receipted documents., it should lie there until Elijah comes¹⁰⁸The announcer of the Messiah is reputed to know all the answers.. If it has an agreement¹⁰⁹Greek σύμφωνον “contract”, an expression used in Byzantine era papyri for special stipulations within a written contract (cf. Taubenschlag, Note 84, p. 224). The commentators of the Babli and Alfasi follow the Geonim and Rashi in explaining symphon as a receipt; R. Hananel explains “receipt or codicill”. attached to it, he should follow the agreement.

הלכה: מָצָא אִיגְרוֹת שׁוּם כול׳. רַב יִרְמְיָה בְשֵׁם רַב. אִם הָיָה אִישֻּׁר הַדַּייָנִין הֲרֵי זֶה יַחֲזִיר. רִבִּי חָמָא אָבוֹי דְרִבִּי הוֹשַׁעְיָה אָמַר. אַשְׁלֵי דַייָנִין שֶׁבַּגָּלֻּיּוֹת גָּזְלֵי דַייָנִין שֶׁבְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל. HALAKHAH: “One who found letters of appraisal,” etc. Rav Jeremiah in the name of Rav: If it contained a certification by the court, it should be returned¹¹⁰Even a private document.. Rebbi Ḥama the father of Rebbi Hoshaia said, the tamarisks among the judges of the diaspora are like chicks among the judges of the Land of Israel¹¹¹The statement of Rav, the mightiest of the Babylonian authorities, is in error. As the Galilean authorities explain in the Babli, 16b, the only case in which a court certified mortgage document can be returned, is an instruction by the court that ownership of a well-defined property of the debtor is transferred to the creditor in liquidation of the mortgage. In this case, no third party buyer is endangered. But a document certified for unspecified foreclosure cannot be returned since an innocent third party might be damaged..

רַב הַמְנוּנָא אָמַר. נִכְתְּבָה אוֹנוֹ בְּאֶחָד בְּנִיסָן נִיתַּן הַכֶּסֶף בָּעֲשָׂרָה בְנִיסָן צְרִיכִין לִכְתּוֹב. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁכָּתַבְנוּ כְתָב בְּאֶחָד בְּנִיסָן כֵּן נִגְמַר שֶׁיִּתֵּן הַכֶּסֶף בָּעֲשָׂרָה בְנִיסָן. Rav Hamnuna said, if the sale contract was written on the first of Nisan but payment was only on the tenth of Nisan¹¹²Then ownership will only be transferred on the 10^th; the piece of property will be at the disposal of the creditors of the seller, not of the buyer, between the 1^st and the 10^th. In the interpretation of Sefer Ha‘iṭṭur I 30a, the Babli disputes the validity of any sale document predating the transfer of ownership., they have to write: Even though we wrote the document on the first of Nisan it was agreed that payment be made on the tenth of Nisan.

רַב יִרְמְיָה בְשֵׁם רַב. סִימְפוֹן שֶׁיּוֹצֵא מִתַּחַת יְדֵי הַמַּלְוֶה בִּכְתַב יְדֵי הַמַּלְוֶה פָּסוּל. אֲנִי אוֹמֵר. מִתְעַסֵּק הָיָה בִשְׁטָרוֹתָיו. הָא מִתַּחַת יְדֵי אַחֵר כָּשֵׁר. רִבִּי יִצְחָק בַּר נַחְמָן בְשֵׁם שְׁמוּאֵל. לְעוֹלָם אֵין סִימְפוֹן כָּשֵׁר עַד שֶׁיֵּצֵא מִתַּחַת יְדֵי הַמַּלְוֶה בִּכְתַב יְדֵי הַלֹּוֶה. וְהָתַנִּינָן. שֶׁלֹּא פִיקַּדְנוּ אַבָּא וְשֶׁלֹּא אָמַר לָנוּ אַבָּא וְשֶׁלֹּא מָצִינוּ שְׁטָר בֶּין שְׁטָרוֹתָיו שֶׁשְּׁטָר זֶה פָרוּעַ. הָא אִם נִמְצָא פָרוּעַ. מַאי כְדוֹן. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֵּירִבִּי בּוּן. תִּיפְתָּר כְּגוֹן הָדָא דִייַתֵיקֵי. שֶׁאֵין אָדָם מָצוּי לְפַגֵּם דִייַתֵיקִין שֶׁלּוֹ. Rav Jeremiah in the name of Rav: A stipulation produced by the creditor in the creditor’s handwrtiting is invalid¹¹³The same statement is in the Babli, 20b. Sefer Ha‘iṭṭur I 41a (Notes מט to נא) gives two slightly different versions of parts of this paragraph., for I am saying that he has trained in writing documents. This implies that in the hand of another it would be valid. Rebbi Isaac bar Naḥman in the name of Samuel: A stipulation is only valid if it is in the possession of the creditor but written by the debtor. But did we not state¹¹⁴Mishnah Šebuot 7:9, quoted Ketubot 9:7 (Note 177), Sanhedrin 8:6 (20b l. 62), Babli 20b, Šebuot 45. This is the oath required from heirs if they sue for payment of IOU’s they inherited. It is clear that the creditor’s heirs are not the creditor himself.: “That our father did not charge us, that our father did not tell us, that we did not find a document among our father’s documents that this note was paid.” Therefore, it might be found paid. What about this? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, explain it that it was a testamentary gift., since people are not likely to impair their testamentary gifts¹¹⁵Attachments to documents of testamentary gifts written by the donor are to be accepted at face value. The same statement is repeated in Šebuot7:9, 38a l. 48..