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Kesubos 76a

כתובות ע״ו ע״א

Ketubot 76a

Learn Kesubos 76a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Kesubos 76a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Who must bring proof about a new wife's blemishes, and שמואל's parallel ruling about a cow swapped for a donkey

Overview

The משנה teaches that if blemishes are found while the girl is still in her father's house, the father must prove they appeared after אירוסין. If they are found after she entered her husband's home, the husband must prove they were there before. The גמרא explains the סיפא by counting presumptions: the woman has two and the husband has one, so the husband must prove his claim. If the husband proves the blemish existed before אירוסין, the count flips. No one accepts blemishes, and the money stays where it is, so he wins. רב אשי offers a different explanation: in the רישא the money would go to her father, while in the סיפא she claims for herself. רב אחא challenges him from a ברייתא about רבי מאיר. The גמרא answers that the ברייתא is about an extra finger or toe, where the father's only possible proof is that the husband saw it and accepted it. The גמרא then brings שמואל's ruling about a cow swapped for a donkey that died, and says the משנה teaches the same idea about a bride. It begins to ask which bride case is meant, and the answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

חֲדָא בִּמְקוֹם תַּרְתֵּי,

It is one presumption in place of (against) two,

וַחֲדָא בִּמְקוֹם תַּרְתֵּי לָא אָמְרִינַן.

and we do not follow one against two.

עַד שֶׁלֹּא תִּתְאָרֵס —

If he proves the blemish was there before she was betrothed,

הַעֲמֵד הַגּוּף עַל חֶזְקָתוֹ לָא אִיכָּא לְמֵימַר.

we cannot say 'leave the body in its presumed state.'

The steps (11)

  1. ResolutionOne presumption cannot beat two
  2. QuestionWhat if the blemish is proven to come before the betrothal?
  3. RejectionOn the contrary: no one accepts blemishes
  4. Resolutionרב אשי: whose money is being claimed?
  5. ChallengeChallenge from רבי מאיר's admission
  6. ResolutionThe ברייתא means an extra finger or toe
  7. QuestionWhat proof could the father bring?
  8. ResponseProof that the husband saw it and accepted it
  9. StatementSwapping a cow for a donkey when the donkey dies
  10. ProofThe משנה teaches the same idea with a bride
  11. QuestionWhich bride case is meant?