Kiddushin, Mem Vav, Part 2

 

 

מתני׳ האומר לאשה התקדשי לי בתמרה זו התקדשי לי בזו אם יש באחת מהן שוה פרוטה מקודשת ואם לאו אינה מקודשת

 

He who says to a woman, Be betrothed to me with this date, be betrothed to me with this one if any one of them is worth a perutah, she is betrothed; if not, she is not betrothed.

 

In this case a man gives a woman several dates (palm dates) in an attempt to use the dates as betrothal money. Here he says the words Be betrothed to me as he gives each date. The fact that he repeats the formula each time means that each act is a separate act of betrothal. Since they were separate acts, in order for the betrothal to be effective at least one of the dates must be worth a perutah. If each individual date is worth less than a perutah, we do not add the dates up so that together they make a perutah.

 

בזו ובזו ובזו אם יש שוה פרוטה בכולן מקודשת ואם לאו אינה מקודשת

 

[If he says,] [Be betrothed to me] with this one and with this one and with this one if together they are worth a perutah, she is betrothed; if not, she is not betrothed.

 

In this case, since he made one betrothal statement, we can add up the dates. If together they are worth a perutah then she is betrothed.

היתה אוכלת ראשונה ראשונה אינה מקודשת עד שיהא באחת מהן שוה פרוטה

 

If she eats them one by one, she is not betrothed unless one of them is worth a perutah.

 

This section continues the scenario of the previous section. In this case, while he is giving her the dates she starts to eat them one at a time (dates are quite delicious, and I guess she just couldn t resist!) Unless one of them is worth a perutah she cannot be betrothed by the combined value of them all because they are never all in her hand at the same time.

 

גמ׳ מאן תנא התקדשי התקדשי אמר רבה ר"ש היא דאמר עד שיאמר שבועה לכל אחד ואחד

 

 

GEMARA. Which tanna taught: Be betrothed, be betrothed ?

Rabbah said: It is R. Shimon who said, until he declares [ I take] an oath to each one separately.

 

R. Shimon is the tanna who holds that separate phrases make the act separate acts. If one uses the word oath to each person to whom he owes an oath, and it turns out each was false, then he is liable for each oath. But if he makes one collective oath, he is only liable once.