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Kesubos 93a

כתובות צ״ג ע״א

Ketubot 93a

Learn Kesubos 93a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The end of the עסיקין case; how three widows split a small estate (שמואל's waivers, the two-seizures approach, רבי נתן vs. רבי); partners in a shared fund

Overview

The גמרא finishes a case about a buyer who finds people challenging the seller's ownership of his field (עסיקין). Without a guarantee, he may back out only until he takes possession by walking the boundaries. Some say that even with a guarantee he gets paid only once a court actually takes the field. A new משנה follows: three widows with כתובות of 100, 200 and 300 share an estate that is too small to pay them all. With 100 they split equally, with 200 they get 50/75/75, and with 300 they get 50/100/150. Business partners divide the same way. שמואל explains the uneven numbers through written waivers, in which a wife gives up her claim on the first hundred, and the גמרא tests that answer against the משנה's numbers. רב יעקב מנהר פקוד offers a different explanation: the money came in two separate batches. A ברייתא then says the משנה follows רבי נתן, while רבי holds that the wives divide equally. Finally the גמרא turns to the partners, and שמואל begins a case of two partners who invested 100 and 200; his ruling continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

עֲסִיקִין, עַד שֶׁלֹּא הֶחְזִיק בָּהּ —

disputants: as long as he has not taken possession of it,

יָכוֹל לַחֲזוֹר בּוֹ,

he can back out of the deal.

מִשֶּׁהֶחְזִיק בָּהּ —

Once he has taken possession of it,

אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לַחֲזוֹר בּוֹ.

he cannot back out.

The steps (20)

  1. StatementWithout a guarantee, the buyer may back out only before taking possession
  2. QuestionWhen does the buyer count as having taken possession?
  3. ResponsePossession begins when he walks the boundaries
  4. StatementSecond opinion: even with a guarantee he cannot demand his money right away
  5. StatementNew משנה: three widows and an estate of only one hundred
  6. StatementAn estate of two hundred: 50, 75, 75
  7. StatementAn estate of three hundred: 50, 100, 150
  8. StatementPartners who invested into a shared fund
  9. ChallengeWhy does the 100 wife get fifty?
  10. Resolutionשמואל: the 200 wife waived the first hundred
  11. ChallengeThen the 300 wife should get more
  12. ResolutionThe 200-wife only stepped back from fighting the 100-wife
  13. ChallengeWhy does the 200-wife get 100 when the estate is 300?
  14. ResolutionThe 300-wife also wrote a waiver on the first hundred
  15. ResolutionA new approach: the money came in two batches
  16. ResolutionThe math for the 200 case: 75 then 125
  17. ResolutionThe math for the 300 case: 75 then 225
  18. StatementThe משנה follows רבי נתן, but רבי says divide equally
  19. StatementQuoting the משנה about three partners
  20. Statementשמואל begins: two partners, 100 and 200