Study Bava Batra folio 172A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
But today, when we do not do this either when writing receipts, how can we avoid double collection of a loan? Rav Kahana said to him: The rabbis instituted taking this precaution. One who does what the rabbis instituted does it and protects himself from loss; and as for one who does not do so, he has brought the loss upon himself, and will suffer the consequences if the promissory note is found and presented in the future.
אמר להו רבא בר רב שילא להנהו כתבי שטרי אקניאתא: כי כתביתו שטרי אקניאתא; אי ידעיתו יומא דקניתו ביה – כתבו, ואי לא – כתבו יומא דקיימיתו ביה, כי היכי דלא מתחזי כשקרא.
Rava bar Rav Sheila said to those who wrote deeds of acquisition, i.e., deeds of sale or deeds of gifts for property they acquired: When you write deeds of acquisition after the acquisition was performed, if you know the day on which you effected the acquisition, write that date on the document. But if you do not know the day on which you effected the acquisition, write the date on which you are currently writing the document. You should follow this procedure, and not write an approximate or estimated date, so that the document should not appear as a falsehood.
אמר להו רב לספריה, וכן אמר להו רב הונא לספריה: כי קיימיתו בשילי – כתבו בשילי, ואף על גב דמסירן לכו מילי בהיני; כי קיימיתו בהיני – כתבו בהיני, ואף על גב דמסירן לכו מילי בשילי.
Rav said to his scribe, and Rav Huna said similarly to his scribe: When you are writing a document and you are situated in Shili, write that the document was written in Shili, and you should do so even if the matters were given over to you, i.e., the transaction attested to in the document took place, in Hini. When you are situated in Hini, write that the document was written in Hini, even if the matters were given over to you in Shili.