More Discussions for this daf
1. Relying on a Chazakah or Rov pertaining to one item to clarify the status of another item 2. Rav Meir vs. the Rabanan 3. Difference between Mukas Etz and Derusas Ish
4. Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi and the opinion of Rebbi Yehoshua
DAF DISCUSSIONS - KESUVOS 13

noam kranz asked:

please give a hesber of rebbi yehoshua ben levi,s interpretation of the mishna and how he can ignore rov (majority) and kol (all).I saw the pnei yehoshua says he knows it from the fact that rebbi yehoshua quotes nesin instead of goy but idon't understand the reason.

Noam Kranz, Passaic, N.J. USA

The Kollel replies:

There are two issues here and I'm not sure which is troubling you.

The first issue is the reasoning behind the Halachah of Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi. The difficulty is that although Rebbi Yehoshua does not hold of Bari nor of Chazakah even by Medaberes, nevertheless, why does he prohibit the woman when there is a Rov assisting the Chazkah of the Ishah?

The second question is, where did Rebbi Yehoshua see this ruling in the words of Rebbi Yehoshua?

It is in answer to the second question that the Pnei Yehoshua suggests that it was inferred from the fact that the Mishnah chooses to mention "Nasin" instead of "Goy." Goyim could possibly be a Rov, whereas Nesinim are not. The mention of Nasin is "b'Davka," since it is Halachically significant: there is a difference l'Halachah between whether she lived with a Goy or Nasin. If she was lived with a Goy, she is Pasul but the child is Kosher. On the other hand, if the Bo'el was a Nasin, the child is Pasul to marry another Jew. From the fact that he mentions Nasin, we see that Rav Yehoshua said his Halachah even against a Rov.

The Shitah Mekubetzes suggests a different answer. From the fact that Rav Yehoshua says "Ad she'Tavi Re'ayah" we see that in all cases we assume Toleh that the Bo'el was a Pasul.

As for the reasoning behind the Halachah (our first question), Rav Yehoshua ben Levi holds that according to Rav Yehoshua, once the woman loses her Chazakah we always assume the Bo'el was Pasul, either because of "Ma'aleh Asu b'Yuchsin," or -- as the Yerushalmi says -- an Ishah Mezaneh favors to be Mezaneh with Pesulos.

D. Zupnik