A lender stipulates 'repay only before witnesses.' The borrower repays before witnesses who later die. Is the borrower believed?
The borrower is believed and takes a shvuat hesset. The Rambam rules — based on ancient manuscripts — that a requirement to repay in front of witnesses doesn't mean the same witnesses must be available indefinitely.
Question 2
A lender stipulates 'repay only in front of Reuven and Shimon.' The borrower pays before others instead. They later leave for overseas. Is the borrower believed?
When specific individuals are named, the borrower is obligated to pay before exactly those people. Paying before others and then claiming the witnesses left is his own fault. He is not believed.
Question 3
A borrower grants the lender credibility 'as two witnesses.' The borrower then brings 100 witnesses saying he paid. Who wins?
In halacha, two witnesses and one hundred witnesses carry identical legal weight. Since the borrower contracted to trust the lender as two witnesses, that credibility cannot be defeated by any number of witnesses.
Question 4
Can a lender use a note containing a borrower's credibility stipulation to expropriate from purchasers?
The borrower's credibility stipulation ('I can always say I paid') means the note cannot be used against purchasers. We suspect that lender and borrower may collude to present a 'paid' note as unpaid to seize the purchaser's property.
Question 5
A promissory note states that the lender may collect without taking an oath. He wants to collect from the borrower's heirs. What applies?
By default, an oath waiver applies only to the borrower himself. To collect from heirs without oath, the stipulation must explicitly state that it extends to heirs as well.