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Kesubos 61b

כתובות ס״א ע״ב

Ketubot 61b

Learn Kesubos 61b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Kesubos 61b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Stories about craving food. A wife's work duties and who said the ruling on maidservants. Then a new משנה on a husband's vow against marital relations, time away from home, and עונה.

Overview

This amud opens at the end of a story. רב אשי saves מר זוטרא from a dangerous craving and shows that the king's meat had צרעת. A second story tells of a Roman who made a woman sick from craving pomegranates and then cured her. The גמרא then goes back to the משנה on a wife's work. She works with wool but not Roman flax, following רבי יהודה. The הלכה follows רבי אליעזר that she must work even if she brought a hundred maidservants. The גמרא also sorts out which rulings belong to רב מלכיו and which to רב מלכיא, and explains how רבן שמעון בן גמליאל differs from the תנא קמא. A new משנה follows. It covers a husband who vows to keep away from his wife, how long students and workers may travel, and the schedule of עונה for each job. The גמרא gives the sources for בית שמאי and בית הלל, brings the מחלוקת of רב and שמואל on a vow with no time limit, and ends by ruling that a student may stay away as long as he wants if his wife agrees.

Opening lines

דַּחֲוַור אַפֵּיהּ,

that his face went pale,

שְׁקַל בְּאֶצְבַּעְתֵּיהּ

he took some with his finger

אַנַּח לֵיהּ בְּפוּמֵּיהּ.

and put it in his mouth.

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אַפְסַדְתְּ לִסְעוֹדְתָּא דְּמַלְכָּא.

He said to him: You have ruined the king's meal.

The steps (35)

  1. Statementרב אשי feeds מר זוטרא from the king's dish
  2. QuestionThe soldiers ask why he did it
  3. Responseרב אשי blames whoever prepared the food
  4. ResponseHe saw something bad in the meat
  5. ProofThey check and find the infection
  6. QuestionThe Rabbis ask why he relied on a miracle
  7. ResponseHe saw a spirit of צרעת hovering over it
  8. StatementA Roman makes a woman sick from craving pomegranates
  9. StatementThe Roman cures her when she agrees
  10. StatementInference from the משנה: wool yes, flax no
  11. ResponseThe משנה follows רבי יהודה
  12. ProofThe ברייתא: what a husband can and cannot require
  13. StatementThis applies only to Roman flax
  14. Statementרבי אליעזר: even with a hundred maidservants
  15. ConclusionThe הלכה follows רבי אליעזר
  16. StatementSorting out rulings between רב מלכיו and רב מלכיא
  17. Statementרב פפא's general rule for telling the two Sages apart
  18. QuestionWhat is the difference between the two approaches?
  19. ResponseThey differ about the maidservants ruling
  20. ChallengeIsn't רבן שמעון בן גמליאל saying the same as the תנא קמא?
  21. ResolutionThe difference: a wife who plays with small dogs or games
  22. StatementA husband who vows to keep away from his wife
  23. StatementHow long students and workers may travel away
  24. StatementThe תורה's schedule of marital duty for each job
  25. QuestionWhy do בית שמאי say two weeks?
  26. ResponseTwo weeks from a girl's birth, one week from a boy's
  27. ChallengeWhy don't בית הלל also learn from a girl's birth?
  28. Resolutionבית הלל really learn from נדה
  29. QuestionWhat is the root of their disagreement?
  30. ResponseCommon case versus a case he caused
  31. Statementרב and שמואל on a vow with no set time
  32. ChallengeDidn't they already argue about this?
  33. ResolutionBoth cases are needed
  34. QuestionHow long may a student go away if his wife agrees?
  35. ResponseAs long as he wants