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Kesubos 68a

כתובות ס״ח ע״א

Ketubot 68a

Learn Kesubos 68a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

צדקה and the swindlers; whether a poor person must sell his belongings; how to set an orphan daughter's dowry

Overview

The amud opens by finishing the story of רבי חנינא and a 'poor' man who turned out to live in luxury. רבי חנינא responds with רבי אלעזר's teaching that we should be grateful to swindlers, since they give us some excuse for not helping every poor person. The גמרא adds that ignoring צדקה is like עבודה זרה, and that anyone who fakes need will end up truly needy. It then asks whether a poor person must sell his belongings before taking צדקה, and gives two different answers, from רב זביד and רבא בריה דרבה and from רב פפא. A new משנה teaches that an orphan girl given too small a dowry may claim the proper amount when she grows up. רבי יהודה and חכמים argue about how to measure that amount. The גמרא shows that שמואל, who estimates by the father, follows רבי יהודה, and that this is the הלכה. It then explains that when the father's intent cannot be assessed, the daughter gets רבי's fixed tenth, and it shows how that tenth is calculated so the son is not left with nothing.

Opening lines

בִּטְלֵי כֶסֶף אוֹ בִּטְלֵי זָהָב?

On silver tablecloths or on gold tablecloths?

אָמַר: הַיְינוּ דְּאָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר:

He said: This is what Rabbi Elazar said:

בּוֹאוּ וְנַחֲזִיק טוֹבָה לָרַמָּאִין,

Come and let us be grateful to the swindlers,

שֶׁאִלְמָלֵא הֵן, הָיִינוּ חוֹטְאִין בְּכׇל יוֹם,

for were it not for them, we would be sinning every day,

The steps (33)

  1. StatementThe overheard question: silver or gold tablecloths?
  2. StatementBe grateful to the swindlers
  3. StatementIgnoring צדקה is like idol worship
  4. StatementFaking need brings real need
  5. StatementA poor person need not sell his house and belongings
  6. ChallengeChallenge: must he downgrade from gold to silver to copper?
  7. Resolutionרב זביד: Furniture versus eating dishes
  8. QuestionWhy are cups and plates different?
  9. ChallengeThe same argument works for furniture
  10. ResolutionOnly a silver luxury item must be sold
  11. Resolutionרב פפא: Before versus after collecting
  12. StatementNew משנה: An orphan girl's dowry
  13. StatementHow to measure the proper dowry
  14. Statementשמואל: The dowry is estimated by the father
  15. ChallengeA ברייתא says the court appraises the property, not the father
  16. ResolutionThe ברייתא is about her own support
  17. ChallengeTwo words must mean two kinds of support
  18. ResolutionFood and clothing
  19. QuestionWhat do 'poor' and 'rich' mean in the משנה?
  20. RejectionIt cannot mean poor or rich in money
  21. ChallengePoor or rich in mindset: a refutation of שמואל
  22. Resolutionשמואל follows רבי יהודה
  23. ChallengeWhy not just say the הלכה follows רבי יהודה?
  24. Resolutionשמואל's wording widens רבי יהודה's rule
  25. ResolutionWhy the משנה mentions 'he married her off'
  26. Statementרב חסדא approves the ruling like רבי יהודה
  27. Challengeרבא also rules like רבי's fixed tenth
  28. ResolutionAssess when possible, otherwise a tenth
  29. ProofTwo reports of רבי's ruling prove the assessment distinction
  30. ConclusionThe proof is accepted
  31. Statementרבי's rule: a daughter takes a tenth of the estate
  32. ChallengeWith ten daughters, the son gets nothing
  33. ResolutionEach daughter takes a tenth of what is left, then they even out