Kiddushin 18b

קידושין י״ח ע״ב

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Topic

'בבגדו בה' and the argument over יש אם למקרא and יש אם למסורת; רבה בר אבוה's question whether יעוד makes נישואין or אירוסין, and the attempts to prove it from two ברייתות

Overview

The amud opens with the end of a ברייתא about the words 'בבגדו בה' in the פסוק about a Jewish maidservant (אמה העבריה). רבי עקיבא reads them as 'his garment': once the master marries her, her father can no longer sell her. רבי אליעזר reads them as 'betrayal': a father who sold her once cannot sell her again. The גמרא explains that they argue over whether we learn from how a word is read aloud (מקרא) or how it is spelled (מסורת), and that רבי שמעון learns from both. Next, רבה בר אבוה asks whether יעוד makes the maidservant fully married (נישואין) or only betrothed (אירוסין). The גמרא first tries to prove 'אירוסין' from the garment ברייתא, but רב נחמן בר יצחק says that ברייתא is about ordinary betrothal. A second proof comes from a ברייתא that lets a father sell his widowed daughter to a כהן גדול, which רבי יצחק explains as a girl widowed from יעוד. The גמרא then shows that the same difficulty exists if יעוד is only אירוסין, so the proof seems to fall. The amud ends as the גמרא starts to argue that betrothal and marriage cannot be compared, and this continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (16)

1. Statementרבי עקיבא: once the master spreads his garment over her, the father cannot sell her
2. Statementרבי אליעזר: once the father has betrayed her, he cannot sell her again
3. QuestionWhat are they really arguing about?
4. ResponseSpelling versus pronunciation: יש אם למסורת and יש אם למקרא
5. Questionרבה בר אבוה asks: does יעוד count as full marriage or only betrothal?
6. ProofCome and hear: the ברייתא about the garment
7. ProofReading closely: he cannot sell her, but he can still designate her
8. ProofIf יעוד were full marriage the father would have no power left, so it must be betrothal
9. RejectionThe earlier proof is rejected: the ברייתא is about ordinary betrothal
10. ProofA new source: selling a daughter to relatives or to a כהן
11. QuestionWhat kind of widow can her father still sell?
12. ResolutionShe was widowed from יעוד, following רבי יוסי בר רבי יהודה
13. ProofSo יעוד cannot create full נישואין
14. ChallengeEven betrothal should block a second sale
15. RejectionThe same answer works for full marriage too
16. RejectionBetrothal and marriage may not be comparable