The Baalei Tosfos' Last Night Before Martyrdom
Facing a choice of conversion or death, the Baalei Tosfos spent their last night writing the two long Tosfos on Bava Kamma 77a, a tradition from the Bnei Yissaschar.
The Minchas Elazar says he has a tradition from the Bnei Yissaschar that those long Tosfos comments were composed by the Baalei Tosfos the night before they were to be executed. They were given the choice of conversion or death. The Baalei Tosfos chose the latter. They spent their last night on this earth composing those two long comments. Rabbi David Feder of West Hempstead points out that towards the end of the second Tosfos it is written, “V’ein l’ha’arich kan yoser,” usually understood to mean it is not fitting to spend more time on this point. Perhaps the Baalei Tosfos were hinting that they didn’t have any time left to write more.