A person tells a colleague: 'You owe me 100 zuz — consider the debt forgiven.' Does the colleague need to perform a kinyan?
Forgiving a debt involves relinquishing an obligation, not transferring a physical object. The Rambam rules that words alone suffice — no formal kinyan is needed.
Question 2
A person gives a gift 'on condition that you return it.' Is this gift valid?
A gift on condition it be returned is explicitly valid. The recipient acquires it fully, and the condition to return it is a binding obligation — both parts stand.
Question 3
A Jew wishes to give a free gift to a gentile neighbor. Is this permitted?
The Rambam rules that a Jew may not give a free gift to a gentile. He may, however, give such a gift to a ger toshav (resident alien who has accepted the seven Noahide laws).
Question 4
A person gives a gift to his friend's wife and explicitly states 'her husband shall have no rights over it.' What happens?
The Rabbis decreed that a husband acquires his wife's gifts to prevent domestic conflict. Even an explicit condition exempting the husband is ineffective by rabbinic law.
Question 5
When a person gives all his property to a Canaanite slave as a gift, what occurs?
If a master gives all his property to his slave, the slave acquires himself through the gift — since a slave included in the gift acquires his own freedom as part of that transaction.