Kiddushin, Daf Yod Tet, Part 3

 

Introduction

In today s sugya Rava uses the laws of female slave designation to derive two halakhot concerning regular kiddushin. We can see here an excellent example of Rava s halakhic creativity he boils down the essence of one halakhah, and then draws an analogy to another halakhah, one that in this case, has far greater practical importance.

 

אמר רבא אמר רב נחמן אומר אדם לבתו קטנה צאי וקבלי קידושיך מדרבי יוסי ברבי יהודה לאו אמר רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה מעות הראשונות לאו לקידושין ניתנו וכי משייר בה שוה פרוטה הוו קידושי הכא נמי ל"ש

 

Rava said in the name of R. Nahman: A man can say to his minor daughter, Go out and accept your kiddushin. [This follows] from R. Yose son of R. Yehudah, for did he not say: The original money was not given as kiddushin? Yet when he [the master] leaves her a perutah’s worth [of her labor] it is kiddushin. Here too it is not different.

 

A father has the legal right to betroth his minor daughter, but a minor does not have the legal ability to act as an agent for an adult. So how can a father send off his own minor daughter to accept her own kiddushin? To accomplish this Rava draws an analogy to the girl sold as a slave who then becomes designated as a wife to either the master or his son. R. Yose bar R. Yehudah said that the original sale was not the money for kiddushin. When the master designates her, he must give her kiddushin money or forgive her a perutah s worth of work. Thus the father has essentially appointed the daughter to be the agent to accept her own kiddushin. So too this can happen in a non-slave case.

 

ואמר רבא א"ר נחמן המקדש במלוה שיש עליה משכון מקודשת מדרבי יוסי ברבי יהודה לאו אמר רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה מעות הראשונות לאו לקידושין ניתנו האי הלואה היא והיא גופא משכון היא

וכי משייר בה שוה פרוטה ומייעד הוו קידושין הכא נמי לא שנא

 

And Rava said in the name of R. Nahman: If a man betroths [a woman] with a loan on which there is collateral, she is betrothed. [This follows] from R. Yose son of R. Yehudah, for did he not say: The original money was not given as kiddushin? [Hence] this [her labor] is a loan, and she herself is the collateral, yet when he [the master] leaves her a perutah’s worth [of her work] and designates [her with this perutah], it is kiddushin; so too here, it is not different.

 

Rava derives another halakhah from the ruling of R. Yose son of R. Yehudah. When the father sells her to the master, it is like a loan. The master gives money and the daughter owes the master a certain amount of work. She herself is the collateral, held by the master until she completes the work. And then when he betroths her, he forgives her at least a perutah s worth of work. So he is essentially forgiving a loan and returning the collateral. So too a man can betroth a woman through a loan she owes him and by returning to her the collateral that he holds.