Gemara Clarity

Kesubos 78b

כתובות ע״ח ע״ב

Ketubot 78b

Learn Kesubos 78b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Kesubos 78b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Whether a woman may sell property that came to her before marriage, how the משנה differs from תקנת אושא, and what counts as 'known' and 'unknown' property

Overview

The גמרא brings a ברייתא of רבי יהודה. There the חכמים say a betrothed woman's sale is 'void,' which shows the debate with רבן גמליאל was about a sale already made (דיעבד). A second ברייתא, from רבי חנינא בן עקביא, gives a different version: a married woman's husband has rights that a betrothed woman's husband lacks, and she 'sells and gives, and it stands.' The משנה says 'if she sold.' רב זביד fixes that wording, and רב פפא says the two sources are two different reports of רבן גמליאל. רב ושמואל rule that once she marries, the husband takes the property back from the buyers, following a later vote of רבותינו. The גמרא then shows that the משנה differs from תקנת אושא: the משנה gives the husband only the פירות while she lives, while אושא gives him the land itself, even after her death. Next it defines רבי שמעון's 'known' and 'unknown' property, and a ברייתא supports רבי יוחנן's view that 'unknown' means property overseas. The amud ends with the start of a story about a woman who wrote her property over to her daughter to keep it from her husband.

Opening lines

תָּא שְׁמַע, דְּתַנְיָא,

Come and hear, as it is taught in a ברייתא:

אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה:

Rabbi Yehuda said:

אָמְרוּ לִפְנֵי רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל:

They said before Rabban Gamliel:

הוֹאִיל וְזוֹ אִשְׁתּוֹ וְזוֹ אִשְׁתּוֹ

Since this one is his wife and that one is his wife,

The steps (24)

  1. ProofA ברייתא: the חכמים compare a betrothed woman to a married woman
  2. Rejectionרבן גמליאל: we are already uneasy about the new property
  3. ConclusionThe proof works: the debate was about a sale already done
  4. StatementA different version: a married woman is not like a betrothed woman
  5. QuestionWhat if she married first and then sold?
  6. Responseרבן גמליאל: even then she may sell
  7. ChallengeThe חכמים: he acquired her, so he should acquire her property
  8. Resolutionרבן גמליאל repeats: don't add the old property to the new
  9. ChallengeThe משנה says 'if she sold,' meaning only after the fact
  10. Resolutionרב זביד fixes the wording of the משנה
  11. Resolutionרב פפא: two different reports of רבן גמליאל
  12. ChallengeIs רבי חנינא בן עקביא siding with בית שמאי?
  13. Resolutionבית שמאי and בית הלל never argued about this
  14. Statementרב and שמואל: the husband takes it back from the buyers
  15. ChallengeWhose view do רב and שמואל follow?
  16. ResolutionThey follow רבותינו, who took a vote
  17. QuestionDoes the משנה already teach the ordinance of אושא?
  18. StatementThe ordinance made in אושא
  19. ResolutionThe משנה covers only produce while she lives; אושא covers the land itself, even after death
  20. QuestionWhat counts as known and unknown property in רבי שמעון's view?
  21. Responseרבי יוסי ברבי חנינא: known means land, unknown means movable items
  22. Responseרבי יוחנן: both types are known; unknown means property she inherited overseas
  23. ProofA ברייתא supports רבי יוחנן
  24. StatementA woman writes her property over to her daughter to keep it from her husband