My father passed away and the only possession of value in his estate is a collection of antique sefarim. I had his collection appraised and it is worth approximately $30,000. The other day a relative whom I trust informed me that my father owed him some money and wants me to repay him. He further claims that my father promised to give him his collection of antique sefarim if he did not repay the loan on time. I would prefer to keep the sefarim for myself and repay the lender in cash.

Q: Am I obligated to give him the sefarim or may I keep the sefarim and repay the debt with cash?

A: It is clear that when an heir considers an undocumented claim to be credible he must repay that loan (Minchas Pitim, C.M. 17, in the name of Sefer Chassidim). However, that obligation is limited to repaying the testator’s debt from his estate, which, subsequent to the enactment of the Geonim, includes the movable objects the testator bequeathed to his heirs (C.M. 107:1). However, if an heir wishes to repay the debt with money or other objects rather than the actual objects the testator bequeathed to him, he may do so (C.M. 107:3).

The fact that your father committed to repay his debt with his sefarim collection if he was delinquent in repaying the loan does not obligate you to repay the loan with the sefarim, since a kinyan (proprietary act) was not made to ratify that agreement. Even if your father had made a vow, it does not obligate his heirs to fulfill it, and his commitment is no stronger than that (C.M. 252:2, see also Minchas Pitim 204:11). [It is interesting to consider whether the borrower himself would be obligated to fulfill his commitment to give his sefarim collection to the lender. An argument could be made that the commitment lacked the necessary intent (semichas daas) to be binding, and therefore the lender would not receive the sefarim unless they were given to him as security for the loan (see C.M. 73:17 and Shach, ad loc. 50)].

You should, however, be aware of a potential risk you would be taking by paying the lender with cash. If you subsequently discover that there are other creditors with claims against your father’s estate, you may have to pay them as well. If you pay the first creditor with the sefarim collection your father bequeathed, the estate would be depleted and would not be liable for other debts, since an heir’s responsibility to repay a testator’s debt is limited to the inherited estate. Consequently, if you choose to pay this creditor with your own money in order to retain your inheritance, you are at risk from other creditors seeking collection for their debts. (Note: this halachah is different for an inheritance of land; see Ketzos 107:8.)