Study Bava Metzia folio 115A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
למה חוזרין וממשכנין? שלא תהא שביעית משמטתו, ולא יעשה מטלטלין אצל בניו.
why does one go back and take the collateral again, as the creditor must anyway restore it to the debtor the following day? The Talmud replies: Any loan that is secured by collateral is not canceled by the Sabbatical Year, in contrast to other debts, which are canceled. Therefore, this ensures that the Sabbatical Year should not cancel it. And an additional reason is so that the collateral should not become movable property in the possession of his children, as one generally cannot claim such items from orphans to pay for their father’s debt.
טעמא דהדר ומשכניה, הא לא הדר ומשכניה – לא!
The Talmud infers: The reason these exceptions apply is that he goes back and takes it as collateral; but if he did not go back and take it as collateral, these exceptions do not apply. This baraita therefore contradicts the opinion of R' Yoḥanan, who held that the initial seizing of collateral is sufficient to grant the creditor full rights to it.
אמר רב אדא בר מתנא: ולאו תרוצי קא מתרצת לה? תריץ הכי: וכי מאחר שמחזירין למה ממשכנין מעיקרא – שלא תהא שביעית משמטתו, ולא יעשה מטלטלין אצל בניו.
Rav Adda bar Mattana said: And did you not resolve this baraita once already by adjusting its wording slightly? Answer it by changing its formulation again in this manner: And since one must return the collateral, why does one take collateral at the outset? It is done so that the Sabbatical Year should not cancel the debt, and so that it should not become movable property in the possession of his children. This version is in accordance with the opinion of R' Yoḥanan, as it teaches that one who has taken collateral even on a single occasion may confiscate it from the debtor’s heirs.