Kiddushin, Daf Yod Tet, Part 4

 

Introduction

Today s sugya brings a foundational dispute as to how slave designation is performed.

 

ת"ר כיצד מצות יעוד אומר לה בפני שנים הרי את מקודשת לי הרי את מאורסת לי אפילו בסוף שש ואפילו סמוך לשקיעת החמה ונוהג בה מנהג אישות ואינו נוהג בה מנהג שפחות

רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה אומר אם יש שהות ביום כדי לעשות עמו שוה פרוטה מקודשת ואם לאו אינה מקודשת

 

Our Rabbis taught: How is the law of designation [carried out]? He [her master] says to her in the presence of two people, Behold, you are designated to me, [or] Behold, you are betrothed (mekudeshet) to me, [or] Behold, you are betrothed (me ureset) to me : even at the end of the six [years], even just before sunset. He must then treat her as a wife, not as a slave woman.

R. Yose son of R. Yehudah said: If there is sufficient time on that day for her to work for him the value of a perutah, she is betrothed; if not, she is not betrothed.

 

According to the first opinion in this baraita, the master can designate her right up until sunset during the last day of her servitude. The idea seems to be that when the master bought her, he already paid the kiddushin money. Thus he need not forgive her any work or give her any money.

R. Yose son of R. Yehudah says that there must be time for her to work for him the value of a perutah. This is the kiddushin money, because as we have seen R. Yose son of R. Yehudah does not hold that the sale counts as kiddushin.

 

משל לאומר לאשה התקדשי לי מעכשיו לאחר שלשים יום ובא אחר וקידשה בתוך שלשים יום שמקודשת לראשון

 

This may be compared to a man who says to a woman, Be betrothed to me from now and after thirty days, and then another man comes and betroths her within the thirty days, she is betrothed to the first.

 

The baraita continues with a parable. The parable talks about a person who uses an unclear betrothal formula (we will talk about this a lot later in the tractate). He says that she will be betrothed now and also after thirty days. Then, before the thirty days elapse, someone else comes and betroths her. She is betrothed to the first, for the baraita considers his betrothal as having begun now. The question is what does this have to do with the slave designation? And with whose opinion does this accord?

 

משל למאן אילימא משל לרבי יוסי ברבי יהודה הא אם יש שהות ביום כדי לעשות עמו שוה פרוטה מקודשת ואם לאו לא

אמר רב אחא בריה דרבא משל לרבנן

 

According to whom is this parable? If we say, the parable supports R. Yose son of R. Yehudah, but did he not say If there is sufficient time on that day for her to work for him the value of a perutah, she is betrothed; if not, she is not betrothed.

R. Aha the son of Rava: The parable supports the rabbis.

 

The parable does not seem to work with R. Yose son of R. Yehudah. He holds that the sale is not a form of betrothal. She must have enough time left to work the value of a perutah. This is not like the case of betrothal that begins at two different times.

Rather, the parable is similar to the ruling of the rabbis. The betrothal begins with the sale but is only completed when he designates her. So too this man s betrothal begins when he gives her the kiddushin and is only completed at the end of thirty days. If another man tries to betroth her in-between, she is not betrothed.

פשיטא מהו דתימא הא לא אמר ליה מעכשיו קמ"ל

 

But that is obvious? What might I have thought? He [her master] did not say from now therefore he teaches us [that it is as if he did].

 

We might have thought that since the master, when buying the slave, did not say that his betrothal was beginning at this point, this is not analogous to the case of from now and after thirty days, therefore the baraita needed to teach us that it is.