תלמוד על כתובות 12:3

“If she brought”. Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac said, not only if she brought but even if she could have brought¹⁵²If her dowry is large enough to pay for a slave girl. In the Babli, 61a, this is a statement of R. Samuel ben Naḥmani.. As it was stated: His wife ascends with him but does not descend with him¹⁵³This clause is also in the Babli (48a, 61a). It means that if the material circumstances of the husband improve, he has to provide for his wife according to his social standing; but if he loses money, he cannot reduce her standard of living below the level he provided for her at the time of the wedding.; a widow and her children descend but do not ascend¹⁵⁴They are supported from the estate and only have a claim to the lesser amount of the yield of the estate at the time of the husband’s death or now. If the heirs improve the yield of the estate, the improvement is theirs (assuming zero inflation). Similarly, the claim of the daughters to a dowry is limited to 10% of the estate at the time of the father’s death.; workers ascend but do not descend¹⁵⁵The standard contract for journeymen stipulates that the employer must feed the workers (Mishnah Baba Meṣi‘a 7:1); he cannot reduce his contribution below the standard accepted at the beginning of the contract.. The daughter neither ascends nor descends. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Jehudah said, because one cares for the slave girl¹⁵⁶That she should not be overworked. It is difficult to see why the slave girl should be overworked with three types of work but the wife not with seven. In the Babli, 61a, this question is asked and the answer is that the slave girl also has to care for guests.. Rebbi Abun said, Because these labors are degrading, they are referred to as the slave girl’s. Rebbi Judah ben Rebbi Abun said, because usually a woman does not sit aimlessly in her house¹⁵⁷The other things, except grinding flour, baking, and washing, the wife does anyhow.. Rav Huna said, even if she brought him 100 slave girls, he can force her to serve him with particular attention¹⁵⁸A similar statement is in the Babli, 61a.. What are services with particular attention? She rubs his body, washes his feet, and mixes him the cup¹⁵⁹In the Babli, “she mixes his cup, makes his bed, and washes his face and feet.”. Why? Because she is obligated to do that, or because it is not appropriate to use a slave girl for these¹⁶⁰These are intimate services; if a slave girl would perform those, the husband would start to sleep with her.? If you say because it is not appropriate to use a slave girl for these, here she brought him slaves¹⁶¹The Mishnah does not mention that she could have brought a male slave as dowry who could serve as the husband’s valet, to free the wife from personal services.! It must be because she is obligated to do that. Rebbi Eudaimon in Sepphoris asked before Rebbi Mana: Is it not reasonable because she is obligated to do that? He said to him, that is what I am always thinking.