Kesubos 99b

כתובות צ״ט ע״ב

Ketubot 99b

Learn Kesubos 99b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

How far an agent (שליח) may stray from his instructions or make mistakes, and the משנה on a court sale whose price was off by a sixth

Overview

This amud deals with an agent (שליח) who does not follow his instructions exactly. It opens by finishing an earlier proof: legumes cost the same whether bought in bulk or in small amounts, so buying in parts loses nothing. רב פפא explains that this means a market where each container has a fixed price. A proof from the widow who sold her כתובה property in four separate sales is pushed off, because the land was small, separate plots. The גמרא then asks about an owner who told his agent to sell "to one." רב הונא reads this strictly, while רב חסדא and רבה בר רב הונא allow even a hundred buyers, and רב נחמן agrees with them. רב נחמן adds that an agent who sold at a wrong price loses his authority: "I sent you to help me, not to harm me." He proves this from תרומה, where an agent's range is narrow but the owner's own act stands. A new משנה then argues about a court sale whose price was off by a sixth. The גמרא opens by asking whether an agent is like the judges or like the widow, and the discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (23)

1. ConclusionLegumes cost the same in bulk or in small amounts
2. QuestionWhat kind of market has a fixed price for legumes?
3. Responseרב פפא: a market that measures by fixed containers
4. ProofProof from the widow who sold her husband's property in separate sales
5. RejectionThe widow's case is about small separate plots
6. QuestionAn owner tells his agent to sell "to one" without saying more
7. Responseרב הונא: "to one" means only one
8. Responseרב חסדא and רבה בר רב הונא: even to a hundred
9. QuestionThe question is brought to רב נחמן in סורא
10. Conclusionרב נחמן: even to two, even to a hundred
11. QuestionDoes the sale stand even if the agent made a mistake?
12. ResponseNot when the agent made a mistake
13. ChallengeBut there is no price-cheating rule for land
14. ResolutionAn owner's mistake is different from an agent's mistake
15. QuestionWhat is the source for treating an agent differently?
16. ProofA משנה about an agent sent to separate תרומה
17. ProofThe owner's תרומה counts even at one-twentieth
18. ProofProof from the widow who sold in several sales
19. RejectionThe sales were of small, separate plots
20. StatementNew משנה: judges' assessment off by a sixth
21. StatementThe Court's Sale Stays Valid
22. StatementA Publicly Announced Sale Always Stands
23. QuestionIs an Agent Like the Judges or Like the Widow?