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Kesubos 89b

כתובות פ״ט ע״ב

Ketubot 89b

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Topic

Proving a כתובה claim with a גט, death witnesses, or several documents, and preventing a woman from collecting twice

Overview

The amud opens by finishing the explanation of why a woman with a כתובה but no גט cannot collect: the husband can say he already paid her. The גמרא then rereads the whole משנה as the view of רבן שמעון בן גמליאל. With no witnesses to the divorce she collects nothing. With witnesses she collects the תוספת, but the main sum only with a גט, and from the time of danger onward even without a גט. רב כהנא and רב אסי challenge רב's view that a גט collects the main sum: a widow might collect once with עדי מיתה and again with a hidden גט. The גמרא concludes that wherever there is no other protection, the court writes a שובר. מר קשישא then asks for the source that a widow from אירוסין gets a כתובה, and every proof is pushed off with 'maybe he wrote her one.' רב נחמן raises the worry that one גט could be used to collect in many courts. רב הונא answers that the court tears it and writes the reason on its back. Finally, a new משנה explains when a woman holding several גיטין and כתובות collects one or two כתובות, and the גמרא reconciles it with רב נחמן's rule that a second document cancels the first.

Opening lines

יָכוֹל לְמֵימַר:

He can say:

גֵּירַשְׁתִּיהָ וְנָתַתִּי לָהּ כְּתוּבָּתָהּ.

I divorced her and gave her her marriage contract payment.

הָא מִדְּקָתָנֵי סֵיפָא:

But from the fact that the last clause teaches:

רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר:

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says:

The steps (30)

  1. StatementThe husband can claim he already paid
  2. ChallengeThe end of the משנה shows there are witnesses to the divorce
  3. ResolutionThe whole משנה follows רבן שמעון בן גמליאל and is missing words
  4. ConclusionFrom the time of danger she collects even without a גט
  5. ChallengeCan a widow collect twice, once with death witnesses and once with a hidden divorce document?
  6. ResolutionShe lived with her husband until he died
  7. ChallengeMaybe he divorced her right before he died
  8. ResolutionHe brought the loss on himself
  9. ChallengeWhat about a widow from betrothal?
  10. ResolutionWhere there is no other way, the court writes a receipt
  11. ProofProof from the death witnesses themselves
  12. ConclusionConclusion: receipts are written wherever needed
  13. QuestionWhere do we know a widow from betrothal gets a כתובה?
  14. ProofA suggested proof from a משנה
  15. RejectionMaybe he wrote her a כתובה on his own
  16. ChallengeBut then why would the משנה need to say it?
  17. ResolutionIt comes to reject רבי אלעזר בן עזריה
  18. ProofThe word 'everything' supports the written-כתובה reading
  19. ProofA new proof from רב חייא בר אבין's ברייתא
  20. RejectionMaybe he wrote her a כתובה here too
  21. ChallengeIf he wrote it, why teach it?
  22. ResolutionThe point is that he does not inherit her
  23. ChallengeCould she collect twice with one גט?
  24. ResolutionTear it and write the reason on the back
  25. StatementNew משנה: two גיטין and two כתובות
  26. StatementWhen she collects only one כתובה
  27. QuestionMay she choose which כתובה to collect with?
  28. ChallengeDoes this contradict רב נחמן's rule that a second document cancels the first?
  29. ResolutionA second document that adds something does not cancel the first
  30. StatementA ברייתא introduces a woman with a divorce document, a marriage contract, and proof of death