Reuben and Simon came before the court. Simon stated:

“I have a claim against my brother Reuben. A wealthy and highly trustworthy non-Jew once came to me and asked me to lend him ten pounds at interest. I lent him the money from funds belonging to a business partnership between my brother and me.

“The borrower agreed to give me bundles of clothing as security. He had deposited them at a parish church and instructed the men there to deliver them to me whenever I requested them. I neglected to collect the clothing, however, until the borrower’s servants came and removed it to be sold.

“When I learned what had happened, I went to the borrower and said, ‘Why have you deceived me? Your servants have taken the bundles of clothing that you pledged to me.’

“He answered, ‘Don’t be angry. I have another pledge that is better than the first, and I shall send it to you.’

“He did as he promised and sent me a gold-trimmed mantle worth forty pounds. I placed it in the possession of my brother Reuben because he is my elder brother and I have trusted him throughout my life.

“After some time, the borrower sent us nine pounds and four denarii toward repayment of the principal. Only sixteen denarii of the principal remained unpaid, together with the interest. Several years later, the borrower died and the mantle remained in our possession.

“Now my brother has set his eyes upon property that belongs to me. He claims my share of the transaction and refuses to pay me for half the mantle. The inhabitants of our community know that the messenger who brought me the mantle continues to demand its return from me. The borrower’s heirs also demand it because they know that it was delivered into my hands. They continually bring complaints against me before the rulers and princes of the land, placing me in danger.”

Reuben replied:

“Everything he has told you is false. He never had any share in the money I lent to that non-Jew and knew nothing about the loan. I have never been associated with him in a monetary partnership or any other business undertaking. Nor did the messenger whom he named place the mantle in my hands. A priest gave it to me at the borrower’s direction.”

When Simon heard this, he answered:

“If matters were as you say, why did you give me half of the nine pounds and four denarii that the borrower paid you long after the mantle was delivered?”

Reuben replied:

“I regret having given it to you. I didn’t give it to you as your share but as a gift. The non-Jew who now demands the mantle from you is lying.”

The members of the court knew that Reuben wasn’t wealthy enough to give such a large gift to Simon, who was richer than he was. They therefore said to Reuben:

“It isn’t credible that you gave your brother so large a gift. Tell us the truth.”

Reuben answered:

“I shall explain why I gave it to him. Previously, I had earned eight denarii through him.

“When a French duke was captured by the ruler of our city, the ruler received a large sum of money for the duke’s ransom. Because I attended to the ruler’s affairs, he ordered me to receive the money.

“When my brother Simon heard this, he said to me, ‘Allow me to accompany you. From whatever we earn there, I shall ask only for whatever you choose to give me.’”

Simon responded:

“Before we went, we agreed that we would divide the profits equally. Moreover, we earned considerably more. He knows that we earned eight pounds together.”

Reuben didn’t deny this.

Simon then said before the court:

“My account is more credible than his. The priest whom he claims delivered the pledge into his hands is here. Ask him into whose hands he gave the mantle.”

The Jews went to the priest and questioned him. He answered:

“I never gave the mantle to any Jew or to anyone else. I returned it to the person who had originally deposited it with me.”

Printed as responsum no. 152 in Joel Müller’s Hebrew collection Responsen der Lehrer des Ostens und Westens (Berlin, 1888), pp. 37–40.