Bava Metzia 5:3 - 5:4

הבא מעות וטול את שלך אסור – He who brings excess monies that are upon you [to bring] and take your field, it is forbidden to do this. As in such a case where the seller said to the purchase: Go bring me excess monies and you purchase it from now, therefore, it is forbidden to do this, for if the seller were to consume the produce during this period, when he (i.e., the purchaser) brings the money, it is found that this field was sold to him from the day of the sale, but this one (i.e., the seller) ate the produce as the reward while waiting for the monies. But if the purchaser would consume the produce from now, for perhaps he would not bring the excess monies and would return to him (i.e., the seller) what he had received and it would be that the field had not been sold to hm, for when he would bring it (i.e., the monies), it would be sold to him from now he told him, but he didn’t bring it, and the first monies are like a mere loan in regard to the seller, and he ate the produce with his payment.

הרי היא שלו – in such a case as when he (i.e., the purchaser) said to him, buy it from now – if I don’t bring to you [the monies] from now until three years, it is not an Asmakhta (i.e., a collateral security with the condition of forfeiture beyond the amount to be secured – see Bava Batra 168a), but a complete purchase, for on the condition that he sold it completely, he would hold it from now with these monies and he would lower the price and sell (some of the movable goods in order to raise the money – see Bava Metzia 77a), and he who received it, if he would return him his monies within three years, would receive them, and the produce would be left in the hand of a third-party, and if the borrower returned his monies to the lender within the three years, he would release the produce to the borrower, and if not, he would give the produce to the lender, for the field was sold to him at the time of the loan, and that loan was the cost of the field.

אין מושיבין חנוני למחצית שכר – the owner shall not say to the storekeeper: “Behold produce is sold in the market at four Seah for a Sela, and you sell them for pennies in the store and profit a Sela . Here is produce; return and sell them in the store and the we will [equally] divide the profits.” And the reason for the matter is that we have established this business that half of it is a loan and half of it is a deposit. A regular person who receives goods for half of the earnings, takes upon himself the responsibility for half of the principal and for accidents and the risk of reduction of prices (see Bava Metzia 64b). Therefore, that one-half since he has taken liability for accidents, it is considered a loan with him, for it is an estimation with the monies according to the market rate and the decision is tha the make take half of the profit. It is found that when he is engaged with the half [of the investment] belonging to the owner which is a deposit with him with the reward of waiting of the monies of the loan, and therefore is prohibited, unless he (i.e., the owner) gives him the salary for his labors that he is engaged in with that half [of the monies – which is a loan] like an idle worker for that labor that he is [currently] idle from, if he is a carpenter or a blacksmith – how much he wants to take to be idle from heaven labor like this and to do easier work.

אין מושיבין תרנגולים למחצה – to estimate the monetary value of the eggs for the owner of the chickens to have them is upon them to grow the chicks for one-half of the reward, when the chicks are worth more than the value of the eggs, for this person accepts the responsibility for half of the cost of the eggs, if they are ruined or if the chickens die. He has received half of monies as a loan, and he is therefore raising the second half as a salary in waiting for the monies.

מזונו – the food that is produced with the chicks.

ואין שמין עגלים וסייחין למחצה – now they are worth such and such, and he accepted for you to raise them for two years for half of the profits, and for half of the loss if they die.

אבל מקבלים עגלים וסייחם – small [calves and foals] without estimation, for if they should die, he would not have to pay anything , and if they live, they would divide [the profits] between them.

ושיהיו משולשים – which means that they have reached one-third of their growth, they are then divided up.

ובחמור עד שתהא טוענת – a burden. This was the custom to raise them prior to division.