Bava Metzia 35B

אגביה איהו בחובו, פליגי בה רב אחא ורבינא. חד אמר: הדרה, וחד אמר: לא הדרה.

With regard to a case where the debtor, not the court, authorized his creditor to repossess the land for his debt, and now he seeks to pay his debt and reclaim it, Rav Aḥa and Ravina disagree. One says: If he pays the debt, the repossession based on the appraisal is reversed and he reclaims the land. And one says: The repossession based on the appraisal is not reversed.

מאן דאמר לא הדרה סבר: האי זביני מעליא היא, דהא מדעתא דנפשיה אגביה. ומאן דאמר הדרה סבר: לא זביני מעליא הוא, והאי דאגביה מדעתיה ולא אתא לדינא ⁠– מחמת כיסופא הוא דאגביה.

The Talmud elaborates: The one who says that the repossession based on the appraisal is not reversed holds that this is a full-fledged sale, as he authorized the repossession at his own initiative. Consequently, he cannot retract it. And the one who says that the repossession based on the appraisal is reversed holds that it is not a full-fledged sale. And the fact that he authorized the repossession at his initiative and did not wait to come to court for a ruling that his land be repossessed does not make it a full-fledged sale. It was only due to his desire to avoid embarrassment that he authorized the repossession.

ומאימת אכיל פירי? רבה אמר: מכי מטיא אדרכתא לידיה. אביי אמר: עדיו בחתומיו זכין לו.

The Talmud clarifies the halakhot of repossession: And when a creditor repossesses the debtor’s land, from when does he consume the produce of that land? Rabba said: He consumes the produce from the time when the document of authorization reaches his possession. This is a document that authorizes him to repossess the property of the debtor in payment of the debt wherever that property is located. Abaye said: He need not wait until he receives that document. Rather, the document’s witnesses, with their signatures, acquire the debtor’s land on his behalf. From the moment they sign the document, the land is his.