Study Bava Metzia folio 68A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
that he redeems it at 4 dinars a year, despite the fact that the produce is worth more? Here too, it is no different. Since he established the deduction of a fixed sum that he cannot be sure he will receive, the practice is permitted, even if he in fact profits from the arrangement.
And the one who prohibits this arrangement could have said to you that the halakha with regard to an ancestral field is discussing consecrated property and God established redemption for it, on the basis of which the rabbis determined the full redemption. Here, by contrast, it is a loan, and there
Rav Ashi said: The elders of the town of Mata Meḥasya told me: An unspecified mortgage [mashkanta] is for a year. The Talmud poses a question: What is the practical difference resulting from this ruling? The Talmud explains: It means that if the lender consumed its produce for a year, the borrower
And Rav Ashi said: The elders of Mata Meḥasya told me: What is the meaning of the word mashkanta? It is referring to the fact that it resides [shekhuna] with him. The Talmud again asks: What is the practical difference resulting from his statement? The Talmud answers: It is relevant for the halakh
Rava said: The halakha is not in accordance with those who approve of the tacit interest agreement of Rav Pappa, nor in accordance with those who approve of the documents of Meḥoza, nor in accordance with those who approve of the tenancies of Neresh.