A little confused:
Gemarah on the top of 13a seems to come out that since we paskin like R' Nachman in monetary matters and since Shmuel says that we paskin like R' Gamliel, there is no stirah because R' Gamliel only holds that Bari > Shema where there is a Migo or Chazaka to bolster it. Is this according to everyone, or only Shmuel? And would there be a difference if there is Rov, or is that a completely separate inyan? (sorry if teh qustion is a little disjointed, but im just not sure how these machloksin fit together.
Moshe Rubin, Brooklyn, New York
(1) The Rashba writes that the Gemara does not apply exclusively according to Shmuel. He proves this from the fact that even though the Gemara (12b) states that Rav Huna and Rav Yehudah must hold like Shmuel, nevertheless the Gemara concludes that R' Gamliel agrees with Rav Nachman, who disagrees with Rav Huna and Rav Yehudah. One sees from this that the Halachah follows R' Gamliel and Rav Nachman, even according to those who disagree with Shmuel.
The Rashba writes further that when the Gemara states that Rav Yehudah said in the name of Shmuel that the Halachah follows R' Gamliel, this in fact is a Halachah which nobody disagrees with and it is not only because Shmuel said it that this is the Halachah. One sees from the fact that the Gemara said that otherwise there would be a contradiction in the Halachic conclusion, that it is obvious to the Gemara that the Halachah must follow both R' Gamliel and Rav Nachman and it is not only because Shmuel said this, that this is the conclusion of the Halachic ruling.
(2) If there would have been a Rov on the side of the woman claiming her Kesuvah sum, it would seem at first sight that this should be even better than a Chazakah because the Gemara in Kidushin 80a states that a Rov is more powerful than a Chazakah. However this is not so simple because against this there is a principle (Bava Kama 27b) that in monetary matters one does not follow the majority. Tosfos there DH KM'L explains that the reason is because one sides up the minority together with the Chazakah (i.e. that one should leave the money where it is).
Therefore it would seem that if there would not be in our Gemara the "Chezkas ha'Guf" i.e. that she was born a Besulah and one can therefore assume she remained so until the latest possible moment, one would not give the woman the money of the Kesuvah. (See the Gemara below 75b that when there is a monetary Chazakah, Rabbi Yehoshua does not follow a physical Chazakah. This shows that the Chazakah of leaving the money where it is, is the strongest Chazakah of all.)
Gmar Chasimah Tova
Dovid Bloom