Study Bava Batra folio 152A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
איתמר: מתנת שכיב מרע שכתוב בה קנין – בי רב משמיה דרב אמרי: ארכביה אתרי ריכשי. ושמואל אמר: לא ידענא מאי אדון בה.
§ It was stated that the amora’im disagreed with regard to a deed pertaining to the gift of a person on his deathbed in which it is written that an act of acquisition was also performed. In the study hall of Rav they say in the name of Rav: The person on his deathbed caused the recipient to mount two steeds, i.e., he strengthened the validity of his gift in two different ways. And Shmuel said: I do not know what I should rule with regard to this gift, as it may not be a valid gift.
בי רב משמיה דרב אמרי: ארכביה אתרי ריכשי – הרי היא כמתנת בריא, הרי היא כמתנת שכיב מרע; הרי היא כמתנת בריא – שאם עמד אינו חוזר, הרי היא כמתנת שכיב מרע – שאם אמר הלואתו לפלוני, הלואתו לפלוני.
The Talmud explains: In the study hall of Rav they say in the name of Rav that he caused him to mount two steeds. On the one hand, it is like the gift of a healthy person, but on the other hand, it is like the gift of a person on his deathbed. It is like the gift of a healthy person, as, if he recovers he cannot retract the gift, because an act of acquisition was performed. It is like the gift of a person on his deathbed, as, if he said that the loan owed to him should be given to so-and-so, the loan owed to him is acquired by so-and-so, whereas a healthy person cannot transfer his right to collect a debt except in the presence of all 3 parties.
ושמואל אמר: לא ידענא מאי אדון בה – שמא לא גמר להקנותו אלא בשטר, ואין שטר לאחר מיתה.
And Shmuel said: I do not know what I should rule with regard to this gift. Perhaps the fact that an act of acquisition was performed indicates that he resolved to transfer it to him only with a deed. The gift of a person on his deathbed takes effect only after he dies, and a deed is not effective if it is delivered after the death of the owner.