Study Bava Metzia folio 37B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
צווח. מאן דאמר הלה צווח, אבל שתיקה – כהודאה. ומאן דאמר הלה שותק, שתיקה דהכא לאו כהודאה הוא, מצי אמר ליה: האי דשתיקי לכל חד וחד, דאמינא דלמא האי הוא.
screams and says to each of the claimants: I do not recognize you and I find no basis for your claim. The Talmud comments: The one who says that the other screams holds that he need not return the money to each of them if he is screaming that he does not accept their claims. But a reaction of silence is tantamount to admission that the demands of the claimants are legitimate. And the one who says that the other is silent holds that the silence here is not tantamount to admission, as the robber could say to him: The fact that I was silent to each and every one of the claimants is because I said: Perhaps this is he, the robbery victim, but I do not admit that I owe money to more than one person.
אמר מר: מניח גזילה ביניהם ומסתלק. ושקלי לה כולהו ואזלי? והאמר רבי אבא בר זבדא אמר רב: כל ספק הינוח לכתחילה לא יטול, ואם נטל – לא יחזיר. אמר רב ספרא: ויניח.
The Master said: The robber places the stolen item between them and withdraws from them. The Talmud challenges: And all of them take it and go, possibly resulting in the robbery victim losing his property. But doesn’t R' Abba bar Zavda say that Rav says concerning found items: In any case of uncertainty whether the placement of a found item was deliberate, the finder may not take the item ab initio, and if he took it, he should not return it to one who claims ownership without conclusive proof? Here too, the robber should keep the money until one of the claimants provides conclusive proof that the money is his. Rav Safra says: The baraita means: And the robber should place it in his possession or before the court.