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Kesubos 19a

כתובות י״ט ע״א

Ketubot 19a

Learn Kesubos 19a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Admitting a signature on a שטר: רבי מאיר's ruling, רב הונא's rule on קיום, and who is not believed to claim a שטר אמנה

Overview

The amud opens by explaining why, according to רבי מאיר, witnesses who confirm their signatures cannot cancel the שטר by saying 'we were minors' or 'we were forced.' The minors claim fails because of a חזקה that witnesses only sign for adults. For the forced claim, רב חסדא says one must die rather than sign a lie. רבא rejects this, because פיקוח נפש overrides everything except the three cardinal sins. So the גמרא explains רבי מאיר through רב הונא's rule: once someone admits he wrote a שטר, it needs no קיום. רב נחמן says this simply follows רבי מאיר, and he still makes lenders do קיום. Next, רב rules that someone who says 'this is a שטר אמנה' is not believed. The גמרא asks who the speaker is, and every option seems obvious or wrong. Then three answers follow: רבא says it is the borrower (through רב הונא), אביי says it is a lender who owes others (through רבי נתן), and רב אשי says it is the witnesses (through רב כהנא's ban on keeping a שטר אמנה).

Opening lines

חֲזָקָה אֵין הָעֵדִים חוֹתְמִין

There is a presumption that witnesses do not sign

עַל הַשְּׁטָר אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן

on the document unless

נַעֲשָׂה בְּגָדוֹל.

it was done by an adult.

אֶלָּא אֲנוּסִין, מַאי טַעְמָא?

But forced ones, what is the reason?

The steps (19)

  1. StatementA presumption explains the minors claim
  2. QuestionWhat is the reason for the forced-signing claim?
  3. Responseרב חסדא: one must die rather than sign a lie
  4. Challengeרבא: saving a life overrides signing falsely
  5. ResolutionNew reason: an admitted שטר needs no further proof
  6. Statementרב הונא's rule: an admitted document needs no ratification
  7. Challengeרב נחמן: just say you follow רבי מאיר
  8. Questionרב הונא asks רב נחמן for his own view
  9. Responseרב נחמן: lenders must still ratify their documents
  10. Statementרב's rule about a document of trust
  11. QuestionWho is making the claim?
  12. RejectionNot the borrower: that would be obvious
  13. RejectionNot the lender: he deserves a blessing
  14. ChallengeThe witnesses? Either obvious or puzzling
  15. Resolutionרבא: It Is the Borrower, Following רב הונא
  16. Resolutionאביי: It Is the Lender Who Owes Money to Others
  17. Proofרבי נתן's Rule: Collecting From Your Debtor's Debtor
  18. Resolutionרב אשי: It Is the Witnesses, Following רב כהנא
  19. Proofרב כהנא: It Is Forbidden to Keep a שטר אמנה