Identity and Ambiguity in Legal Documents

שְׁנַיִם שֶׁהָיוּ בְּעִיר אַחַת, שֵׁם אֶחָד ״יוֹסֵף בֶּן שִׁמְעוֹן״ וְשֵׁם אַחֵר ״יוֹסֵף בֶּן שִׁמְעוֹן״ – אֵין יְכוֹלִין לְהוֹצִיא שְׁטַר חוֹב זֶה עַל זֶה, וְלֹא אַחֵר יָכוֹל לְהוֹצִיא עֲלֵיהֶן שְׁטַר חוֹב. נִמְצָא לְאֶחָד בֵּין שְׁטָרוֹתָיו ״שְׁטָרוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף בֶּן שִׁמְעוֹן פָּרוּעַ״ – שְׁטָרוֹת שְׁנֵיהֶן פְּרוּעִין. כֵּיצַד יַעֲשׂוּ? יְשַׁלְּשׁוּ, וְאִם הָיוּ מְשׁוּלָּשִׁין – יִכְתְּבוּ סִימָן, וְאִם הָיוּ מְסוּמָּנִין – יִכְתְּבוּ כֹּהֵן.

דִּתְנַן: שְׁנַיִם שֶׁהָיוּ בְּעִיר אַחַת, שֵׁם אֶחָד יוֹסֵף בֶּן שִׁמְעוֹן וְשֵׁם אַחֵר יוֹסֵף בֶּן שִׁמְעוֹן – אֵינָן יְכוֹלִין לְהוֹצִיא שְׁטַר חוֹב זֶה עַל זֶה, וְלֹא אַחֵר יָכוֹל לְהוֹצִיא עֲלֵיהֶן שְׁטַר חוֹב. הָא הֵם עַל אֲחֵרִים – יְכוֹלִין; וְאַמַּאי? לֵיחוּשׁ לִנְפִילָה! אֶלָּא לָאו שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ לִנְפִילָה לָא חָיְישִׁינַן? וְאַבָּיֵי – לִנְפִילָה דְחַד לָא חָיְישִׁינַן, לִנְפִילָה דְרַבִּים חָיְישִׁינַן.

As we learned in the mishna: If there are two people who were living in one city, one named Yosef ben Shimon and the other also named Yosef ben Shimon, one cannot present a promissory note against the other, as the purported debtor can claim: On the contrary, it is you who owed me money; you repaid me and I returned this note to you upon payment. Nor can another, third person, present a promissory note against either of them. This indicates that one of them can present a promissory note against others. But why can they do so? Let there be a concern for the possibility of the promissory note falling from one Yosef ben Shimon and being found by the other. Rather, must one not conclude from this mishna that we are not concerned for the possibility of the promissory note falling from one Yosef ben Shimon and being found by the other? The Gemara asks: And why did Abaye, who is concerned for this possibility, not see a proof to the contrary from the mishna? He would counter: We are not concerned for the possibility of a promissory note falling from one particular person and being found by the other person with the same name, which is the case in the mishna, as that is extremely unlikely. We are concerned for the possibility of a promissory note falling from one of the general public and being found by someone else.

וְאֶלָּא הָא דְּתַנְיָא: כְּשֵׁם שֶׁמּוֹצִיאִין הֵן שְׁטַר חוֹב עַל אֲחֵרִים – כָּךְ מוֹצִיאִין זֶה עַל זֶה; בְּמַאי קָמִיפַּלְגִי? בְּכוֹתְבִין שְׁטָר לַלֹּוֶה וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין מַלְוֶה עִמּוֹ קָמִיפַּלְגִי – תַּנָּא דִּידַן סָבַר: כּוֹתְבִין שְׁטָר לַלֹּוֶה, וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין מַלְוֶה עִמּוֹ; זִימְנִין דְּאָזֵיל לְגַבֵּי סָפְרָא וְסָהֲדֵי, וְאָמַר לְהוּ: כְּתֻבוּ לִי שְׁטָרָא, דְּבָעֵינַן לְמֵיזַף מִיּוֹסֵף בֶּן שִׁמְעוֹן חַבְרַי; וּבָתַר דְּכָתְבִי וְחָתְמִי לֵיהּ, נָקֵיטא לֵיהּ וְאָמַר לֵיהּ: הַב לִי מְאָה דִּיזַפְתְּ מִינַּאי.

§ The Gemara returns to discuss the case of two men with the same name. But what about that which is taught in another baraita: Just as the two men named Yosef ben Shimon can produce a promissory note against others, so can they produce promissory notes against one another. This represents a third opinion, standing in opposition to both the mishna and the previous baraita. The Gemara asks: With regard to what do the mishna and first baraita on the one hand, and this baraita on the other, disagree? The Gemara answers: They disagree about whether or not a scribe may write a promissory note for a debtor even if the creditor is not with him. The tanna of our mishna holds that a scribe may write a promissory note for a debtor even if the creditor is not with him. The Gemara explains: At times, it could happen that one of the men named Yosef ben Shimon goes to a scribe and to witnesses and says to them: Write a promissory note for me, as I wish to borrow money from another Yosef ben Shimon. And then, after they write the document and sign it for him, he will take it and say to the other Yosef ben Shimon: Give me the hundred dinars that you borrowed from me, as attested to in this document. That is the reason why the mishna rules that two people of the same name cannot collect a debt through a promissory note from one another, thereby preventing this occurrence.