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Kesubos 2b

כתובות ב׳ ע״ב

Ketubot 2b

Learn Kesubos 2b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Kesubos 2b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Delays caused by אונס: the groom's duty to feed the bride, and רבא's rule that אין אונס בגיטין

Overview

The גמרא first narrows its question about a wedding delayed on the bride's side. If her period comes at her usual time, she cannot blame the groom's bad luck. The real question is a period that comes at an unexpected time. רב אחאי tries to answer from the משנה's wording 'לא נישאו', but רב אשי shows that the wording only follows the style of the earlier clause. In his view, any אונס means she does not eat from the groom's food. רבא then teaches that with a גט it is different: אין אונס בגיטין, so if a גט depends on his not returning, the condition counts as fulfilled and the גט takes effect even if he was held back by circumstances. The גמרא looks for רבא's source in two clauses of a משנה in גיטין and in שמואל's ruling about a man stopped by a ferry. Each proof is pushed back. So the גמרא concludes that רבא is using his own reasoning, out of concern for צנועות and פרוצות. The explanation of that reasoning continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

דְּלָא מָצְיָא אָמְרָה לֵיהּ

since she cannot say to him

״נִסְתַּחֲפָה שָׂדֵהוּ״.

'his field was flooded.'

כִּי תִּיבְּעֵי לָךְ

Where you should ask

שֶׁלֹּא בִּשְׁעַת וִוסְתָּהּ, מַאי?

is when it is not at the time of her expected period. What is the law?

The steps (16)

  1. StatementAt her usual time, she cannot blame his bad luck
  2. QuestionThe real question: a period at an unexpected time
  3. ProofRav Achai points to the משנה's wording 'they were not married'
  4. ProofThe women did not cause the delay, so it must have been an unavoidable event
  5. Rejectionרב אשי: the men delayed, and the wording just follows the earlier clause
  6. Statementרבא: with divorce documents, being held back is no excuse
  7. QuestionWhere did רבא learn this?
  8. ProofA proposed proof from the case of 'if I don't return in twelve months'
  9. RejectionMaybe illness also cancels it, and death was mentioned for another reason
  10. ChallengeBut the rule of no divorce after death was already taught
  11. ResolutionThe death case comes to reject the view of 'our Rabbis'
  12. ProofA new proof from the second half of the משנה
  13. RejectionDeath may be a special case because of יבום
  14. Proofשמואל's ruling about the man stopped by the ferry
  15. RejectionA common mishap may be different
  16. Conclusionרבא's rule comes from his own reasoning