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Kiddushin 49a

קידושין מ״ט ע״א

Learn Kiddushin 49a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Kiddushin 49a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Strict demand or mere suggestion (קפידא / מראה מקום); misleading a woman 'for the better' in money versus lineage; and betrothal on condition that he is a reader or a שונה.

Overview

The גמרא quotes a משנה about a plain document (גט פשוט) and a folded-and-tied document (גט מקושר), and where the witnesses sign on each. רב אשי explains that the real dispute is whether a request to a scribe is a strict demand (קפידא) or only a suggestion (מראה מקום). The גמרא shows that רבי אלעזר also holds the idea of מראה מקום, from his ruling about a woman's agent who received her גט in a different place. עולא then limits רבי שמעון's view to a man who misled a woman 'for the better' in money. If he turned out to be of better lineage, everyone agrees she is not מקודשת, because she does not want 'a shoe bigger than my foot.' A ברייתא supports עולא, and רב אשי brings a proof from the משנה. מר בר רב אשי challenges that proof, and the גמרא defends it in two ways. Next comes a ברייתא about betrothing 'on condition that I am a reader,' with רבי יהודה requiring him to know the accepted translation. The amud ends with a dispute over what 'on condition that I am a שונה' means, and a challenge to רבי יוחנן's view.

Opening lines

גֵּט פָּשׁוּט, עֵדָיו מִתּוֹכוֹ.

A plain document: its witnesses sign inside it.

מְקוּשָּׁר, עֵדָיו מֵאֲחוֹרָיו.

A tied document: its witnesses sign on its back.

פָּשׁוּט שֶׁכָּתְבוּ עֵדָיו מֵאֲחוֹרָיו,

A plain document whose witnesses signed on its back,

וּמְקוּשָּׁר שֶׁכָּתְבוּ עֵדָיו מִתּוֹכוֹ –

and a tied document whose witnesses signed inside it —

The steps (20)

  1. StatementWhere the witnesses sign on a plain document and on a tied document
  2. StatementA tied document signed inside is still valid
  3. StatementEverything follows local custom
  4. ChallengeDoes the first opinion really ignore local custom?
  5. ResolutionWhere the scribe goes against local custom, everyone agrees
  6. ResolutionThe real dispute: strict demand or just a suggestion
  7. Proofרבי אלעזר also holds the idea of a mere suggestion
  8. Statementעולא limits the argument to money upgrades
  9. ProofA ברייתא supports עולא
  10. Proofרב אשי tries to prove it from the משנה
  11. Challengeמר בר רב אשי challenges the proof
  12. RejectionSilence may prove nothing: a challenge to רב אשי's proof
  13. ResolutionA money case and a lineage case are not alike
  14. ResolutionThe 'grown' daughter is really a hairdresser
  15. StatementBetrothal on condition that he is literate
  16. ChallengeTranslating on his own is forbidden
  17. ResolutionHe means the accepted translation
  18. Statement'Reader' versus 'I read'
  19. StatementWhat does 'on condition that I am a learner' mean?
  20. ChallengeChallenge to רבי יוחנן from the definition of משנה