Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Choshen Mishpat/238

Paragraph 1- We write a document for a seller that he sold his field to so and so, even if that so and so is not present, so long as the seller immediately transfers the field with a kinyan or the seller testifies that the buyer already acquired using one of the methods of kinyan, and the witnesses are familiar with the names in the document and this party is so and so the son of so and so and that party is so and so the son of so and so. We would not write a document for a buyer, however, without the knowledge of the seller. There are those who say that even if they made a kinyan from the seller that he transferred possession to so and so outside his presence, and the buyer comes to have a document written for him, we would not write for him because we only say the principle that a standard kinyan is intended to be documented, where the party is present. If someone comes to witnesses and says the house I have in such and such place shall be given to so and so, even if the witnesses do not know if he has a house in that place or not, they can still written a document because they are just testifying about the gift. If he does not own the house, the gift is automatically void.

Paragraph 2- The buyer pays for the scribe’s wages, even if the seller is selling the field because of its poor quality.

Paragraph 3- There are those who say that this that we write a document for the seller outside the buyer’s presence is only where the seller testifies on himself that he already received the money from the buyer. If they did not write this, when the sellers calls the buyer to court to pay the money, he must prove the sale was done with the buyer’s knowledge. There are those who say that even where the seller testified on himself that he receive the money, if the document implies that the sale was with both parties’ knowledge, we would not write it. There are those who say we write even if the seller did not testify on himself that he received the money because this document does not compel the buyer to buy. It is merely a proof. Thus, the buyer is also believed to say he gave the money. A sale-document that does not contain the amount of money and just the fact that there was a sale is valid.