תלמוד על כתובות 4:1

MISHNAH: A wife may be acquired¹In matters of criminal law, any relations the woman might have with another man would be adultery. The husband cannot live with his wife (and does not acquire any dowry she might bring with her) unless he accepts the financial responsibilities incumbent upon a husband in a public ceremony, attended by at least 10 witnesses (cf. Peah 6:2, Note 46). The acquisition, or betrothal, mentioned here only needs the presence of two witnesses. in three ways; she regains her autonomy in two ways. She is acquired by money²The woman agrees to be preliminarily married for a monetary consideration given in the presence of two witnesses., or by a document³A written promise of marriage., or by intercourse⁴Attested to by two witnesses. It is enough for the witnesses to confirm that the parties were together in a locked bedroom for a period of time sufficient for intercourse. Since one speaks of preliminary marriage, the couple is in principle forbidden to live together after such intercourse and before the definitive marriage. There is a midrashic doctrine that no woman can become pregnant from her first intercourse unless she had lesbian or autoerotic experiences [Gen.rabba45(5), 51(11); Pesiqta rabbati 42, p. 177].. By money, the House of Shammai say, by a denar⁵A Roman silver denar; under Augustus and his first successors about 3.5 g of silver. or a denar’s value; but the House of Hillel say, by a peruṭa or a peruṭa’s value. How much is a peruṭa⁶The peruṭa was a small Hasmonean copper coin which disappeared with the end of the Jewish commonwealth, more than 100 years before the compilation of the Mishnah. Therefore, its value has to be defined in terms of Roman coins.? One eighth of an Italic assarius⁷Corresponding to ¹/₁₉₂ of a denar. Assarius is the old name of the Roman as. In rabbinic practice, a peruṭa is defined as half a grain (¹/₉₆₀ of a troy oz. or 0.0324 g) of sterling silver.. She regains her autonomy by a bill of divorce or by the husband’s death. A sister-in-law⁸The widow of a brother who died childless; cf. Introduction to Tractate Yebamot. is acquired⁹In definitive marriage. By biblical standards there is no preliminary levirate marriage. by intercourse; she regains her autonomy by ḥaliṣah or by the brother-in-law’s death¹⁰Before she entered the levirate marriage. Once she is married, she is a wife in all respects and regains her autonomy by divorce or widowhood..

There¹⁶Mishnah 4:13., we have stated: “The female children you will have by me shall live in my house and be supported by my estate,” and it was stated about this: They will be clothed with garments supplied by me¹⁷One should not interpret מזוֹנוֹת narrowly as “food” but more generally as “sustenance” (but excluding rent.). For whom does the daughter work? Let us hear from the following¹⁸Mishnah 12:2, about the wife’s daughter who marries while her mother’s (ex-)husbands continue to support her.: “The husband has to sustain her and they pay the cost of her sustenance.” This means, he feeds her but she works for her husband¹⁹And if the daughter is still unmarried, she works for herself.. Rebbi Yose²⁰Rosh (Chapter 12, #1) reads: Rebbi Assi; this means that he read here רִבִּי יָסָא; an unlikely reading. said, this means that if somebody had agreed to sustain his daughter-in-law, he has to sustain her, but she works for his son. If he wants her to be with him²¹The daughter of his divorcee, in the case that her mother did not remarry. but she does not want to, the law is with her, as we have stated: “They pay the cost of her sustenance.” If she fell ill, it is as if she had married. If she died, is it as if she had married²²Is the husband’s obligation one that the wife’s daughter’s heirs can collect?? If she died, she already is dead²³The obligation ends with the daughter’s death. In the Babli, Baba batra 140a, this is considered to be obvious..

⁶⁶The story of this dispute should be compared with the Babli version, Berakhot 27b, where R. Joshua’s profession is given as a charcoal burner. Since Rabban Gamliel in the aftermath of the destruction of the Temple insisted not only on uniformity of practice but also of doctrine (and in this was successful in eliminating Sadduceeism) and R. Joshua was known for his dislike of public quarrels, Rabban Gamliel thought that he was taking little risk in provoking a quarrel. It happened that one student came and asked Rebbi Joshua: What is about evening prayer? He said to him: It is voluntary. He asked Rabban Gamliel: What is about evening prayer? He said to him: It is obligatory. He said to him: But Rebbi Joshua told me that it was voluntary. He said to him: Tomorrow, when I enter the assembly hall, stand up and ask me about this practice. The next day, this student stood up and asked Rabban Gamliel: What is about evening prayer? He said to him: It is obligatory. He said to him: But Rebbi Joshua told me that it was voluntary. Rabban Gamliel said to Rebbi Joshua: Are you the one who says it is voluntary? He answered him: No. He said to him: Stand up on your feet so that they may testify against you. Then Rabban Gamliel was sitting down and lecturing while Rebbi Joshua was standing up until the people started talking and said to Rebbi Ḥuṣpit the interpreter: Send the people home. They said to Rebbi Zenon the ḥazan: Start⁶⁷The ḥazan was not only the reader in congregational prayers, but also the general organizer of religious affairs. In outlying communities he was the ritual slaughterer and the conduit through whom questions of religious practice were addressed to the Academies. Here it seems that he had to recite the prayer at the end of a study which it was customary to start with a Bible verse and that the people spontaneously chose one which was a curse on the speaker.! He said: Start! All the people stood up and said to him: Certainly, on whom did your evil not pass always⁶⁸Nah. 3:19.? They immediately appointed Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah to the Yeshivah when he was 16 years old; his head became all white. Rebbi Aqiba sat and was sad; he said, not that he is a greater Torah scholar than I am, but he comes from a greater family than I do; hail to the man whose forefathers created merit for him, hail to the man who has a peg to hang on to. What was Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah’s peg? He was the tenth generation after Ezra⁶⁹Also he was very rich and could afford the expenses of representing the Jewish population before the Roman government.. How many seats were there? Rebbi Jacob ben Sisi said: Eighty seats were there of accomplished scholars, not to count those standing behind the railing. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said 300 were there, not to count those standing behind the railing. As we have stated there⁷⁰Mishnah Zevaḥim 1:3.: “On the day Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah was appointed to the Academy.” There we have stated⁷¹Mishnah Ketubot 4:6.: “This inference did Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah present before the Sages at the vineyard of Jabneh.” Was there a vineyard? It means that the scholars sat there in rows like vines in a vineyard. Rabban Gamliel went immediately to pacify each one in his house. He came to Rebbi Joshua and found him occupied with the making of needles. He asked him: This is how you earn your living? He answered him: Until now you did not know? Woe to the generation whose caretaker you are! He said to him: I humble myself before you. They sent a washerman to Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah, but some say that it was Rebbi Aqiba. He told him: The sprinkler, son of a sprinkler, should sprinkle. Should anyone who is neither a sprinkler nor the son of a sprinkler say to the sprinkler: your water is water from a cave and your ashes are ashes from a fireplace? He said to him: You made your peace with him! I and you shall go in the morning to Rabban Gamliel’s door. Nevertheless they did not remove him from his dignity but made him head of the court.