Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Choshen Mishpat/223

Paragraph 1- If one swapped a cow for a donkey, and the owner of the cow pulled the donkey while the cow while was still in his house, and the cow gave birth and the owner of the cow claims it gave birth before he pulled the donkey, while the owner of the donkey says the cow gave birth after the donkey was pulled, or if one sold a maidservant and accepted money and the maidservant gave birth, and the seller says she gave birth before he received the money, while the buyer says she gave birth after the receipt of the money, the buyer has the burden of proof, even if the buyer says he is certain and the seller says he is unsure, and even if the cow or maidservant were not in the seller’s possession but were standing in a swamp. If the buyer does not bring proof, the seller would swear on the cow while grasping a holy item or a heses oath on the maidservant. If the buyer has possession, the seller has the burden of proof.

Paragraph 2- If each party says he doesn’t know, and the item is not in either’s possession, the buyer has the burden of proof. There are those who say this is true even where the plaintiff is certain and the defendant is uncertain. There are those who say they would divide.

Paragraph 3- If one party says the child was born in his possession and the other party was silent, the party making the claim would receive the child.

Paragraph 4- If one had two slaves, one large and one small, or two fields, one large and one small, and the buyer says he purchased the large one, while the seller says he sold the small one, the buyer has the burden of proof or the seller will swear a heses oath that he only sold the small. If there was a partial admission, the party would take a biblical oath on the movable items and roll in an oath on the real property.

Paragraph 5- If the buyer says he purchased the large one, and the seller is silent, the buyer would acquire the large one. If the seller says he doesn’t know, the buyer has the burden of proof or the seller will swear a heses oath that he doesn’t know, and the buyer will only obtain the small one.