Kiddushin 64a

קידושין ס״ד ע״א

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Topic

When a father or husband is believed about a woman's status: a father about his daughter's קידושין and captivity, and a dying man about having children or brothers.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an earlier ruling: a father is believed about his child's age for נדרים, חרמים, הקדשות and ערכים, but not for מלקות or other punishments. A new משנה then teaches that a father is believed that he was מקדש his daughter, or that she was divorced, while she is still a קטנה. He is not believed once she is a גדולה, and he is never believed that she was taken captive. The גמרא first explains this by saying he is believed about what is in his power (בידו). It defends that idea through a series of challenges involving a חלל, a ממזר and a widow married to a כהן גדול, using the views of רבי עקיבא, רבי סימאי and רבי ישבב. רב אשי then rejects the בידו approach, since a father cannot divorce his daughter or force a groom on his own. Instead he teaches that the Torah itself trusts a father about his daughter's marriage, learned from "את בתי נתתי לאיש הזה", but not about captivity. A second משנה rules that a dying man is believed when he says "I have children" but not when he says "I have brothers." The גמרא asks whether this argues with רבי נתן; after רבא's answer is challenged, אביי explains that the משנה deals with a case where nothing is known about his family, and he begins to explain the ברייתא's case, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (21)

1. StatementFather believed about his child's age for vows, not for punishments
2. StatementFather's claim of betrothing or divorcing his daughter: minor versus adult
3. StatementFather's claim that his daughter was taken captive
4. QuestionWhy are the cases in the משנה different?
5. ResponseHe is believed about what is in his power
6. ChallengeBut he can marry her to a חלל
7. ResolutionMarrying her to a חלל does not make her unfit
8. ChallengeBut he can marry her to a ממזר
9. ResolutionThe marriage to a ממזר does not take effect
10. ChallengeBut he can marry her, as a widow, to a כהן גדול
11. Resolutionרבי ישבב: for רבי עקיבא, every forbidden union makes a ממזר
12. ChallengeEven רבי ישבב might leave a gap: marrying her to someone forbidden by a positive commandment
13. Rejectionרב אשי rejects the idea that the father is believed because it is in his power
14. ResolutionThe Torah itself believes the father, as רב הונא taught from a פסוק
15. ConclusionThe father is trusted about marriage, not about captivity
16. Statementמשנה: a dying man saying he has children or brothers
17. QuestionInference: believed to permit, not to forbid, so maybe against רבי נתן
18. ProofThe ברייתא where רבי and רבי נתן argue
19. Resolutionרבא: רבי נתן's case is special because the man retracted
20. Challengeאביי: the משנה's case should be believed even more
21. Resolutionאביי places the משנה in a case where nothing is known about children or brothers