Gemara Clarity

Kesubos 72a

כתובות ע״ב ע״א

Ketubot 72a

Learn Kesubos 72a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Kesubos 72a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Vows a husband imposes on his wife, and wives who lose their כתובה for breaking דת משה or דת יהודית

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an explanation from before. A husband who stops his wife from visiting mourners is cutting her off, because if she never comforts others, no one will mourn her. רבי מאיר supports this from a פסוק in קהלת. The גמרא then explains other lines of the משנה. The husband's 'other reason' must be a real, well-known worry about immoral people. Saying 'shameful words' or doing a pointless chore that makes her look foolish are real harms, so she may leave with her כתובה. רב כהנא and a ברייתא add that stopping her from lending household tools ruins her name with the neighbors. A new משנה then lists wives who lose their כתובה for breaking דת משה or דת יהודית. The גמרא explains how a husband can find out about each דת משה case and why unkept vows matter. The חכמים reject the idea that he should simply keep fixing her wrongs himself. Finally, the גמרא asks why an uncovered head counts only as custom when it is a Torah law, and its answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

אִיכָּא נוֹעֵל בְּפָנֶיהָ,

[with a house of feasting] there is locking [a door] in front of her,

אֶלָּא לְבֵית הָאֵבֶל

but [banning her from going] to a house of mourning,

מַאי נוֹעֵל בְּפָנֶיהָ אִיכָּא?

what locking in front of her is there?

תָּנָא:

It was taught:

The steps (39)

  1. ChallengeHow does banning a house of mourning hurt her?
  2. ResponseNo one will eulogize her
  3. ResponseAnother version: no one will care about her
  4. Proofרבי מאיר: those who honor the dead will be honored
  5. QuestionWhat is the husband's 'other reason'?
  6. ResponseWorry about immoral people there
  7. StatementOnly if the place is known for it
  8. ChallengeWhy can't she just say it?
  9. ResolutionThey are shameful words
  10. ChallengeWhy can't she just fill and pour out?
  11. Resolutionשמואל: it is a polite way of describing preventing pregnancy
  12. ResolutionThe ברייתא: pouring ten jugs of water into the garbage
  13. ChallengeAccording to the ברייתא, what is the harm?
  14. Resolutionרבי יוחנן: she would look like a fool
  15. Statementרב כהנא: forbidding her to borrow or lend household tools
  16. ProofA ברייתא supports רב כהנא and adds the reverse case
  17. StatementThe new משנה: women who lose their כתובה for breaking דת משה
  18. StatementThe משנה lists the cases of דת יהודית
  19. Statementאבא שאול and רבי טרפון add more cases
  20. ChallengeHow can the untithed-food case happen?
  21. ResolutionShe lied that a כהן tithed the grain
  22. ChallengeThe same problem for the נדה case
  23. Proofשמואל's proof that a נדה is trusted for herself
  24. ResolutionShe lied that a Sage declared her blood pure
  25. ResolutionSecond answer: her neighbors knew she was a נדה
  26. ChallengeHow does he find out she did not separate חלה?
  27. ResolutionShe lied that a baker fixed the dough
  28. ProofWhy unkept vows matter: children die
  29. Proofרב נחמן's source: "In vain I struck your children"
  30. Statementרבי מאיר: the husband should make her vow
  31. ChallengeHow would making her vow help?
  32. ResolutionRather: provoke her so he can cancel her vow
  33. RejectionThe Sages: no one lives with a snake in a basket
  34. Statementרבי יהודה: The Husband Should Separate the חלה Himself
  35. RejectionThe Sages Reject It: No One Lives with a Snake in a Basket
  36. ConclusionComparing the Two Cases: חלה and Vows
  37. StatementBack to the משנה: Going Out with an Uncovered Head
  38. ChallengeBut an Uncovered Head Is a Torah Law
  39. ResolutionThe Answer Begins: By Torah Law