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Kesubos 50a

כתובות נ׳ ע״א

Ketubot 50a

Learn Kesubos 50a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Enactments from אושא (supporting children, the one-fifth limit on צדקה, training a son, a wife's נכסי מלוג), the right ages for learning, and פסוקים about צדקה and grandchildren.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a story about רבי יונתן, who had to force some sons to feed their father. The גמרא uses it to show that an earlier אושא ordinance was not enforced as strict law. Next comes another אושא ordinance: do not give more than a fifth of your money to צדקה, so you do not end up needing help yourself. A ברייתא and a story support it, and the גמרא finds a hint in יעקב's double tithe. רב יצחק then reports that a father should be gentle with his son until twelve. The גמרא reconciles this with רב's advice to push children hard from age six, using the ages אביי's mother taught for מקרא and משנה. It also brings her advice about dangerous stings, and רב קטינא's two-sided warning about starting school before six. After one more אושא ruling, about a wife's נכסי מלוג, the גמרא explains several פסוקים from תהלים about constant צדקה and the blessing of grandchildren. It ends by returning to the משנה's teaching of רבי אלעזר.

Opening lines

וְעַשִּׂיתִינְהוּ (לְזֻנֵיהּ) [וְזָנוּהּ].

And I forced them, and they fed him.

אִי אָמְרַתְּ בִּשְׁלָמָא לָאו דִּינָא,

Granted, if you say it is not the law,

מִשּׁוּם הָכִי עַשִּׂיינְהוּ.

that is why he had to force them.

אֶלָּא אִי אָמְרַתְּ דִּינָא —

But if you say it is the law,

The steps (30)

  1. ChallengeWhy would רבי יונתן need to force the sons?
  2. StatementDo not give away more than a fifth
  3. ProofA ברייתא teaches the same rule and gives the reason
  4. ProofA story: a friend stops someone from giving too much
  5. ProofThe פסוק hint: יעקב's double tithe
  6. ChallengeThe second tenth is smaller than the first
  7. Resolutionרב אשי: the second tenth equals the first
  8. StatementThe chain of names gets shorter, plus a memory aid
  9. StatementBe gentle with a son until twelve, then you may be strict
  10. ChallengeBut רב said to push a six-year-old hard
  11. ResolutionTeach hard from six, but harsh pressure only after twelve
  12. ResolutionSix is for מקרא, the later age is for משנה
  13. Proofאביי's mother gives the right ages
  14. Statementאביי's mother: dangerous stings on a child's birthday and their cures
  15. Statementרב קטינא: starting school before age six
  16. StatementAnother version: his friends cannot catch up with him
  17. ResolutionBoth versions are true: he gets weaker but learns well
  18. ResolutionOr: it depends on whether the child is weak or healthy
  19. Statementאושא enactment: the husband can take back the wife's sold נכסי מלוג
  20. Questionרב יצחק בר יוסף asks who taught the אושא rule
  21. ResponseThe answer: רבי יוסי בר חנינא; learned forty times
  22. QuestionHow can anyone do צדקה at all times?
  23. ResponseFeeding your young children is constant צדקה
  24. ResponseRaising orphans at home is constant צדקה
  25. QuestionA verse that seems to say two opposite things
  26. ResponseFirst answer: one who learns תורה and teaches it
  27. ResponseSecond answer: one who writes holy books and lends them
  28. StatementGrandchildren bring peace: no need for חליצה or יבום
  29. StatementGrandchildren bring peace to the judges
  30. StatementBack to the משנה: the teaching of רבי אלעזר