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Kiddushin 48a

קידושין מ״ח ע״א

Learn Kiddushin 48a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Kiddushin 48a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Betrothing with a debt: the disputes over a שטר חוב and a spoken loan, and failed attempts to show that מקדש במלוה is a dispute between תנאים

Overview

This amud explains the argument between רבי מאיר and חכמים about making קידושין with a debt. For a שטר חוב owed by someone else, the גמרא gives two explanations. Either they argue about שמואל's rule that the seller can still cancel the debt, or everyone accepts שמואל and they argue only about whether the woman trusts the note. For a spoken loan, the argument depends on whether רב's rule of מעמד שלשתן covers a loan or only a פקדון. Next the גמרא tries to show that betrothing with a loan she owes him (מקדש במלוה) is itself a dispute between תנאים, using a ברייתא about betrothing with a שטר. That proof is pushed off three ways: the שטר had no witnesses, it was written שלא לשמה (following ריש לקיש), or it was written for her but without her knowledge. A second try uses a ברייתא about a craftsman who makes jewelry for a woman. The גמרא rejects this too. Everyone may agree a loan cannot betroth, and the real argument is whether a wage is owed from the beginning of the work to the end. Each side's view is explained on the next amud.

Opening lines

הַמּוֹכֵר שְׁטַר חוֹב לַחֲבֵירוֹ,

One who sells a promissory note to his fellow,

וְחָזַר וּמְחָלוֹ – מָחוּל,

and then went back and forgave it, it is forgiven,

וַאֲפִילּוּ יוֹרֵשׁ מוֹחֵל.

and even an heir can forgive it.

דְּמָר אִית לֵיהּ דִּשְׁמוּאֵל.

For one Sage holds like שמואל,

The steps (21)

  1. Statementשמואל's rule: a sold debt can still be cancelled
  2. ResponseFirst explanation: one side follows שמואל and one side does not
  3. ResponseSecond explanation: everyone agrees with שמואל, and they argue about the woman's trust
  4. QuestionWhat about a spoken loan?
  5. Responseרב's rule of מעמד שלשתן
  6. ResponseDoes רב's rule apply to a loan or only to a deposit?
  7. ProofA ברייתא about betrothing with a document
  8. ProofThe document must be a note for her own debt
  9. RejectionThe case is a betrothal document with no witnesses
  10. RejectionEach opinion follows its own view about witnesses
  11. RejectionAnother explanation: the document was not written for her
  12. Questionריש לקיש asks whether a betrothal document must be written for her
  13. Responseריש לקיש answers his own question from a פסוק
  14. RejectionApplying ריש לקיש to the three opinions
  15. RejectionA third explanation: written for her but without her knowledge
  16. StatementThe אמוראים argue about a document written without her knowledge
  17. ProofNew attempt: the case of the jewelry and betrothing with a debt
  18. QuestionWhich money do the Sages mean?
  19. ProofThe חכמים require other money, so this is a dispute about a loan
  20. ProofThe assumption behind the proof: wages build up as he works
  21. RejectionNo, the argument is about when the wage becomes owed