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Kesubos 13a

כתובות י״ג ע״א

Ketubot 13a

Learn Kesubos 13a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Kesubos 13a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

A bride who says she was מוכת עץ, and the money at stake, then a woman who says her partner, or her baby's father, was a כהן, and what 'speaking' means.

Overview

The amud opens by closing an earlier discussion: רב נחמן's view must fit with רבן גמליאל's, or two accepted rulings would clash. A new משנה follows. A bride says she lost her בתולים through an injury (מוכת עץ), and the groom says she was with a man. רבן גמליאל and רבי אליעזר believe her, but רבי יהושע wants proof. רבי יוחנן says they are fighting over 200 against 100, following רבי מאיר. רבי אלעזר says it is 100 against nothing, following the רבנן. The גמרא explains why each reads it that way and why two similar משניות are needed. Another משנה brings a woman seen 'speaking' with a man, and a pregnant woman, who each say the man was a כהן. זעירי says 'speaking' means she was alone with him, and רב אסי says it means relations. The גמרא defends רב אסי's reading and answers a challenge to זעירי from רב's rule about יחוד: חכמים were stricter about lineage. A new challenge from a ברייתא begins at the end and continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

דְּאִם כֵּן,

Because if so,

קַשְׁיָא הִלְכְתָא אַהִלְכְתָא.

one halacha would contradict another halacha.

דְּקַיְימָא לַן הִלְכְתָא כְּרַב נַחְמָן בְּדִינֵי,

For we hold that the halacha follows Rav Nachman in monetary law,

וּבְהָא אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל:

and in this case Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel:

The steps (25)

  1. ProofTwo accepted rulings would clash unless the earlier answer is right
  2. ConclusionConclusion: the earlier answer stands
  3. StatementNew משנה: 'I was injured by wood' against 'you were with a man'
  4. QuestionWhat money are they fighting over?
  5. ResponseTwo answers: 200 against 100, or 100 against nothing
  6. Statementרבי יוחנן's reason: he follows רבי מאיר
  7. Statementרבי אלעזר's reason: he follows the רבנן
  8. QuestionWhy didn't רבי יוחנן explain the משנה like רבי אלעזר?
  9. ResponseUnder רבי אלעזר's reading, both claims would be the same
  10. ChallengeWhy would רבי יוחנן need two similar disputes?
  11. ResolutionEach dispute shows the strength of a different side
  12. StatementNew משנה: a woman seen speaking with an unknown man
  13. StatementSecond case: a pregnant woman names the father
  14. QuestionWhat does 'speaking' mean?
  15. ResponseTwo answers: secluded or had relations
  16. ChallengeWhy say 'speaking' if רב אסי means relations?
  17. ResolutionA polite way of speaking, backed by a פסוק
  18. ChallengeWhy would the משנה need two cases according to רב אסי?
  19. ResolutionOne case is about the woman, the other is about her daughter
  20. ChallengeWhat about the view that the daughter is unfit?
  21. Resolutionרב אסי holds that the daughter is fit too
  22. Challengeרב פפא challenges זעירי from רב's rule about seclusion
  23. ChallengeDoes רב disagree with רבי יהושע?
  24. ResolutionLineage has a stricter standard
  25. ChallengeA ברייתא about a woman seen entering seclusion