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Kesubos 100a

כתובות ק׳ ע״א

Ketubot 100a

Learn Kesubos 100a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Mistaken sales by an agent, a widow, or a court; the power of בית דין; and who guarantees such sales

Overview

The גמרא first asks how to treat an agent (שליח) who sold property at a slightly wrong price. רבא reports in the name of רב נחמן that the agent is like the judges (דיינין), since neither acts for himself. רב שמואל בר ביסנא reports that the agent is like the widow (אלמנה), since both are single individuals, and the הלכה follows this view. A משנה about an agent who separates תרומה seems to give agents leeway. The גמרא explains that תרומה has an accepted range of amounts, while a wrong price is simply a mistake. Next, רב נחמן rules like the חכמים, who hold that a court sale with an error is cancelled. The גמרא reconciles this with his ruling about orphans dividing property: a court that erred can be overturned, but a correct division cannot. Two versions of a story about רבי and פרטא follow, and they differ only on the facts. Finally רב יוסף rules that the orphans carry the guarantee when a widow or a בית דין sells estate land. The explanation of why the בית דין case needed to be said continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

רָבָא אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן:

Rava said in the name of Rav Naḥman:

שָׁלִיחַ כְּדַיָּינִין.

An agent is like the judges.

רַב שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר בִּיסְנָא אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן:

Rav Shmuel bar Bisna said in the name of Rav Naḥman:

כְּאַלְמָנָה.

He is like a widow.

The steps (18)

  1. StatementTwo reports of רב נחמן's ruling on an agent
  2. StatementWhy רבא compares the agent to judges
  3. StatementWhy רב שמואל בר ביסנא compares the agent to a widow
  4. ConclusionThe הלכה: an agent is like a widow
  5. ChallengeChallenge from an agent who separates תרומה
  6. ResolutionWhy the תרומה agent gets leeway but the selling agent does not
  7. Statementרב נחמן rules like the חכמים
  8. Challengeרב נחמן seems to agree with the idea of the court's special power
  9. ResolutionA court that erred versus a court that did not
  10. ChallengeIf the court did not err, what is there to protest?
  11. ResolutionThey can protest about the locations
  12. Statementרב דימי's report: רבי ruled, then reversed
  13. Statementרב ספרא's version: רבי never ruled at all
  14. QuestionSuggestion: the versions differ over reversing an error in a דבר משנה
  15. RejectionRejection: everyone agrees, they only differ on the facts
  16. StatementThe orphans carry the guarantee for sales by a widow or a court
  17. ChallengeIsn't this obvious?
  18. ResolutionThe widow case is obvious, but the court case is needed