Kiddushin, Daf Yod Gimmel, Part 4
Introduction
Today s sugya offers a rare opportunity to see the setting in which rabbinic statements were related. The rabbis gather together at R. Assi s death and collect his sayings. Indeed, we see this occasionally in rabbinic literature statements collected according to attribution and not according to topic. Both of these sayings are relevant to the topic of kiddushin and so they are brought here.
כי נח נפשיה דרב אסי עיילו רבנן לנקוטינהו לשמעתתיה
א"ל ההוא מרבנן ור’ יעקב שמיה הכי א"ר אסי א"ר מני כשם שאין אשה נקנית בפחות מש"פ כך אין קרקע נקנית בפחות מש"פ
When R. Assi died, the rabbis went up to collect his legal traditions.
One of the rabbis said to them, and R. Jacob was his name: Thus R. Assi said in the name of R. Mani: Just as a woman cannot be acquired for less than a perutah, so too real estate cannot be acquired with less than a perutah.
R. Assi compares the rules of kiddushin with the rules of buying land. Just as a woman cannot be acquired for less than a perutah so too land cannot.
אמרו ליה והתניא אע"פ שאין אשה נקנית בפחות משוה פרוטה קרקע נקנית בפחות מש"פ
They said to him: But was it was not taught: Although a woman cannot be acquired for less than the worth of a perutah, land can be acquired for less than the worth of a perutah?
א"ל כי תניא ההיא בחליפין דתניא קונין בכלי ואע"פ שאין בו שוה פרוטה
He said to them: That was taught only in respect to exchange, as it was taught: Acquisition can be effected through a vessel, even if it is not worth a perutah.
R. Jacob responds that land can be acquired through something less than a perutah if that is done through symbolic exchange. This is when someone gives something of symbolic value to another and thereby acquires something else in exchange. This is also called acquisition through a kerchief for often the kerchief was what was used to accomplish this. Today one encounters this usually when the husband transfers the ketubah to the woman. It is also done when selling hametz. With symbolic exchange one does not really acquire the valuable item with the valueless item. Rather, one symbolically uses the valueless item to acquire the valuable one.
הדר יתבי וקאמרי הא דאמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל כל שאינו יודע בטיב גיטין וקדושין לא יהא לו עסק עמהן
אמר ר’ אסי אמר רבי יוחנן וקשין לעולם יותר מדור המבול שנאמר (הושע ד, ב) אלה וכחש ורצוח וגנוב ונאוף פרצו ודמים בדמים נגעו
מאי משמע כדמתרגם רב יוסף מולדין בנין מנשי חבריהון חובין על חובין מוסיפין
וכתיב (הושע ד, ג) על כן תאבל הארץ ואמלל כל יושב בה בחית השדה ובעוף השמים וגם דגי הים יאספו וגו’ ואילו בדור המבול לא נגזרה גזירה על דגים שבים שנאמר (בראשית ז, כב) מכל אשר בחרבה מתו ולא דגים שבים ואילו הכא אפילו דגים שבים
Again they sat and said: About that which R. Judah said in the name of Rav, anyone who does not know the nature of divorce and betrothal, one should have no business with them, R. Assi said in the name of R. Yohanan: And they are more harmful to the world than the generation of the flood, for it is written: Swearing and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery. They break all bounds, and blood touches blood (Hosea 4:2).
How does this mean [what R. Assi says it means]?
As R. Joseph translated: They bring forth children by their neighbor’s wives, thus adding sins upon sins.
And it is written: Therefore shall the land mourn and everyone that dwells on it shall languish, with the beasts of the field and the fowls of heaven: even the fish of the sea also shall be taken away (Hosea 4:3). Whereas in the case of the generation of the flood nothing was decreed against the fish of the sea, for it is written, Of all that was on dry land, died (Genesis 7:22): but not the fish in the sea, while here even the fish of the sea [were destroyed].
The rabbis now bring up another of R. Assi s statements. This statement was made in reference to Rav s statement that if a judge does not know how to enact a divorce or a betrothal, other judges should stay far away from him. R. Assi adds that judges who adjudicate marital matters without knowing how to do so are more harmful to the world than even the generation of the flood, a generation so wicked they were utterly destroyed. The prooftext he brings is from a verse in Hosea, which refers to adultery.
R. Joseph interprets this in reference to those who bring forth illegitimate children through adultery. Improper adjudication of matters of divorce and betrothal can also cause illegitimate children to be born. This adds sins to sins for not only was the original intercourse sinful, these children will be mamzerim and when they marry into Israel, this too will be in sin (according to rabbinic understanding).
R. Assi posits that this sin is worse than the sin of the generation of the flood for in the verse in Hosea even the fish die, whereas in the flood they did not.
ואימא עד דעביד לכולהו
לא סלקא דעתך דכתיב (ירמיהו כג, י) כי מפני אלה אבלה הארץ
But say that this is so only when they do all of these?
You should not think so, for it is written, For because of swearing the land mourns (Jeremiah 23:10).
The verse from Hosea refers to more than just adultery. It also refers to other sins. So perhaps the world is not destroyed unless people commit all of these sins. How does R. Assi know that improper adjudication of marital law which causes unintentional adultery is alone sufficient to cause the destruction of the world?
A verse from Jeremiah implies that the world is destroyed from false oaths alone. This was the first sin mentioned in the verse. So if the world is destroyed for this sin alone, then the sins in the rest of the verse, including causing adultery, are also sufficient for the world to be destroyed.
מי כתיב ופרצו פרצו כתיב
Yet perhaps swearing stands alone, and these others [combined] alone?
Is it then written and they break all bound : they break all bounds is written.
Had the conjunctive and been used, then we would have read the verse that all of the sins need to be committed for the world to be destroyed. But since there is no conjunctive, the rabbis can read the verse as if one sin alone is sufficient.