[2a - 36 lines; 2b - 42 lines]
1)[line 1]בתולה נשאת ליום הרביעיBESULAH NISES L'YOM HA'REVI'I (ERUSIN / NISU'IN - Betrothal and Marriage)
(a)The first stage of Halachic marriage is called Kidushin (betrothal). Kidushin can be accomplished in one of three ways:
1.Kesef - A man can be Mekadesh a woman through giving her money or anything equal in value to a Perutah (a very small coin). Upon doing so, he must proclaim, "Harei At Mekudeshes Li b'(-----) Zu" - "Behold you are betrothed to me through this (-----)."
2.Shtar - A man can be Mekadesh a woman through giving her a marriage document. This may be written upon any surface, and need not be of any specific value. The words "Harei At Mekudeshes Li b'Shtar Zeh" must be written upon the Shtar.
3.Bi'ah - A man can be Mekadesh a woman through having relations with her. At that time, he must proclaim, "Harei At Mekudeshes Li b'Bi'ah Zu." Because Kidushin requires witnesses, the Chachamim strongly condemned anyone who uses this method of Kidushin.
(b)The Torah refers to this stage of marriage as "Erusin" (Devarim 22:23). The term "Kidushin" is used by the Rabanan in order to connote that just as everyone is prohibited to benefit from Hekdesh (an object sanctified to the service of HaSh-m), through Kidushin a woman becomes prohibited to everyone in the world save her husband (Kidushin 2b; see also Tosfos 7a DH v'Nifshetu). Although a man and women are married after Kidushin, they may not yet live together as man and wife.
(c)The second stage of Halachic marriage - the completion of the marriage - is termed Nisu'in. This is accomplished through Chupah. Chupah is never clearly described in the Gemara, and various opinions are offered by the Rishonim as to what exactly it entails (see Insights to Kesuvos 57:1). The general idea behind Chupah is that the groom brings his wife into his house. After the Chupah is performed, the marriage is complete.
(d)Our Mishnah teaches that per Rabbinic decree, a Besulah (virgin) must marry (Nisu'in) on Wednesday.
2)[line 3]פעמים בשבתPA'AMAYIM B'SHABBOS- twice a week
3)[line 3]עיירותAYAROS- cities
4)[line 4]טענת בתוליםTA'ANAS BESULIM - One who Claims that his Bride is not a Virgin
(a)When a man marries (Nisu'in) a woman who was a Besulah (virgin) at the time of her Kidushin (betrothal), he must give her a marriage document stipulating that she is to receive 200 Zuz from him or his estate should he divorce her or die. 200 Zuz are equivalent to the value of 960 grams of silver. This document is called a Kesuvah (lit. "written"). Tana'im disagree as to whether this obligation is mid'Oraisa (Biblical) or mid'Rabanan (Rabbinic) in nature (Kesuvos 10a).
(b)If the bride had been widowed or divorced and is therefore a Be'ulah (not a virgin) then she receives a different Kesuvah. The Kesuvah of a Be'ulah guarantees only 100 Zuz to the bride in the case of the dissolution of the marriage. There is no question that the obligation to give this document is mid'Rabanan in nature (Kesuvos 10b). A widow is termed an "Almanah" because her Kesuvah is written for the amount of a "Maneh" (one hundred Zuz) (ibid.).
(c)There are two ways to differentiate between a Besulah and a Be'ulah: 1. A Besulah has a "Pesach Sasum" (lit. a "closed door"; a physical hymen blocking her vaginal canal), whereas a Be'ulah has a "Pesach Pasu'ach" (lit. an "open door") (Kesuvos 9a); and 2. A Besulah experiences a flow of "Dam Besulim" (vaginal blood that emerges upon the breaking of her hymen). Once a girl reaches the age of Bagrus (six months after the onset of puberty), the quantity of her Dam Besulim is presumed to have lessened.
(d)If one marries a woman with the understanding that she is a Besulah and she is shown to be a Be'ulah (either through a lack of Dam Besulim or since she had a Pesach Pasu'ach), then he is not beholden to the Kesuvah of 200 Zuz that he originally gave her. Rather, she receives a Kesuvah of 100 Zuz as befitting her status of a Be'ulah. When a husband claims that his wife was actually a Be'ulah, his assertion is termed a "Ta'anas Besulim."
(e)Only under certain circumstances is one's wife forbidden to him when he insists that she was not a Besulah upon her marriage (see 9a). The ruling of our Mishnah, however, applies to all marriages - for it is possible that Beis Din will find witnesses who can shed light on the condition of the bride, possibly determining that she is forbidden to her husband (RASHI; see also TOSFOS DH she'Im).
5)[line 5]משכיםMASHKIM- get up early [and go]
6)[line 8]שנינוSHANINU- we learned
7a)[line 8]הגיע זמןHIGI'A ZEMAN- if the time has come [for one who has betrothed a woman to marry her; namely, twelve months later for a Besulah and thirty days later for a widow (Mishnah 57a)]
b)[line 8]ולא נישאוV'LO NIS'U- and they did not marry
8a)[line 8]אוכלות משלוOCHLOS MISHE'LO- lit. she partakes of that which is his; he must support her
b)[line 9]ואוכלות בתרומהV'OCHLOS BI'TERUMAH (TERUMAH GEDOLAH - The Portion of a Grain Crop Given to a Kohen)
(a)Once a crop is harvested and brought to the owner's house or yard, he must separate Terumah from the crop and give it to a Kohen. Terumah is one of the twenty-four Matnos Kehunah (gifts given to Kohanim by non-Kohanim). Although the Torah does not specify how much to give, the Rabanan set the requirement at between one fortieth and one sixtieth of the total crop. Until Terumah and Ma'asros (tithes) have been properly separated, the produce is termed "Tevel" and may not be eaten.
(b)Terumah must be eaten by Kohanim or their wives, unmarried daughters, and Nochri slaves, when they are Tehorim. If the wife of a Kohen is not herself the daughter of a Kohen, she may eat Terumah only as long as her husband or at least one of their joint descendants is alive (Vayikra 22:11, Bamidbar 18:11; see Nidah 44a). If the daughter of a Kohen marries a Yisrael, she may not eat Terumah. If, however, she is widowed or divorced without children, then she returns to her father's house and may once again eat Terumah.
(c)The Mishnah quoted by our Gemara teaches that if a Kohen delays marrying his betrothed beyond the prescribed time then she may partake of Terumah at that point.
9a)[line 11]מריה דאברהם!MAREI D'AVRAHAM!- Master of Avraham! (this is an exclamation of surprise)
b)[line 11]תלי תניא בדלא תניא!TALI TANYA BED'LO TANYA!- [my Rebbi Shmuel seemingly] made a Halachah taught in a Mishnah dependant upon that which is not taught in a Mishnah!
10)[line 12]הי תניא והי לא תניא?HAI TANYA V'HAI LO TANYA?- which Halachah is taught in a Mishnah and which is not taught in a Mishnah?
11)[line 13]תלי תניא דמפרש טעמא בדתניא דלא מפרש טעמא!TALI TANYA D'MEFARESH TA'AMA BED'TANYA D'LO MEFARESH TA'AMA!- [my Rebbi Shmuel seemingly] made a Mishnah in which no explanation is offered [as to why one need not support his betrothed if the time to marry her arrives on a Sunday] dependant upon a Mishnah whose reasoning is clearly explained (i.e., our Mishnah)!
12)[line 18]ותינשא באחד בשבת!V'TINASEI B'ECHAD B'SHABBOS!- (Rav Yosef asks) why not let her marry on Sunday [as well, since Beis Din is in session on the following morning]?
13)[line 20]שקדו חכמים על תקנת בנות ישראלSHAKDU CHACHAMIM AL TAKANAS BNOS YISRAEL- the Chachamim invested effort in their decree on behalf of the daughters of Yisrael
14)[line 22]כונסהKONSAH- marry her [through Nisu'in; see above, entry #1]
15)[line 26]לפיכךLEFICHACH- therefore [now that we have established that one need not support his betrothed if he is unable to marry her when the time to do so arrives]
16)[line 26]חלה הואCHALAH HU- if he falls ill
17)[line 27]פירסה נדהPIRSAH NIDAH (NIDAH - A Menstruating Woman)
(a)By Torah Law, a woman is a Nidah for seven days following her period - whether she saw blood only once or for the entire seven days. At the end of seven days, after nightfall, she may immerse in a Mikvah to become Tehorah.
(b)One may not have relations nor engage in intimate contact with his wife while she is a Nidah. The Chachamim enacted many far-ranging additional ways in which one must keep his distance from his wife when she is Teme'ah (impure).
(c)Although one may marry a woman when she is a Nidah, he is prohibited from secluding himself with her until she is permitted to him. Since she has never been permitted to him, we suspect that his passion may overcome him (4a). Rav Yosef therefore rules that if one's betrothed has become a Nidah (Pirsah Nidah) and he does not wish to marry her until she goes to the Mikvah, he is not obligated to support her until that point.
18)[line 30]אניסANIS- his hand was forced by circumstances beyond his control
19)[line 33]מצי אמר לה, אנא הא קאימנא?MATZI AMAR LAH, ANA HA KA'IMNA?- can he say to her, "Here I am [ready to marry you, but it is you who is preventing it]?
20)[line 34]נסתחפה שדהוNISTACHFAH SADEHU- lit. his field has been flooded; i.e., it is due to your bad luck that I am ill now [since a) you were obligated to provide for me beginning today from before I fell ill (RASHI); b) you are obligated in the Mitzvah to have children and I am not, and therefore that which delays the marriage is due to your Mazal (luck) (TOSFOS DH Matzya to 2b, first explanation); c) as your betrothed, I am considered your possession regarding certain Halachos (TOSFOS DH Matzya to 2b, first explanation)]
21)[last line]שעת ווסתהSHE'AS VESTAH- the time at which a woman expects her menstrual period (see Background to Yevamos 64:70.)
2b----------------------------------------2b
22)[line 5]משנייאMESHANYA- changes
23)[line 5]פשיטPASHIT- determined the answer from a Mishnah (or Beraisa)
24a)[line 7]לא נשאוLO NAS'U- [if] those men did not marry [the women to whom they were betrothed]
b)[line 8]לא נישאוLO NIS'U- [if] those women did not marry [the men to whom they were betrothed]
25)[line 8]קא מעכבן אינהיKA ME'AKVAN INHI- the women were the ones preventing [the marriage]
26)[line 12]קא מעכבי אינהוKA ME'AKVAN INHU- the men were the ones preventing [the marriage]
27)[line 13]בדין הואB'DIN HU- it is correct
28)[line 14]איידי דתנא רישא בדידהיAYDI D'TANA REISHA B'DIDHI- since the first ruling of the Mishnah was taught regarding [how long] a woman [may take to ready herself for her wedding after her betrothal]
29)[line 15]לענין גיטין אינו כןL'INYAN GITIN EINO KEN- regarding a bill of divorce it is not so [that circumstances beyond one's control are not considered to have Halachic significance]
30)[line 16]אין אונס בגיטיןEIN ONES B'GITIN (EIN / YESH ONES B'GITIN - Whether or Not Circumstances Beyond One's Control can Prevent a Bill of Divorce from Taking Effect)
(a)A Kinyan refers to a change in the ownership of an item (such as that which occurs during a sale or gift) or a change in the status of an individual (such as that which occurs over the course of a marriage or divorce). The effectiveness of a Kinyan may be subjected to conditions placed upon it by he who whose right it is to produce that Kinyan. Similarly, one who makes a Neder (vow) may stipulate that his vow will take effect only if certain conditions are fulfilled.
(b)As a general rule, a condition fulfilled b'Ones - unwillingly, due to circumstances beyond one's control - is not Halachically considered to have been fulfilled. For example, let us take a case in which Reuven stipulates that Shimon will receive an extra ten bushels of wheat should Reuven not deliver Shimon's original order of two hundred bushels by a specified date. If Reuven falls ill or was imprisoned and is therefore unable to fulfill the condition, he is exempt from giving Shimon the extra bushels.
(c)Whether or not the above ruling applies to a Get (bill of divorce) is the subject of an Amora'ic disagreement. Some rule that just as one prevented by an Ones from fulfilling a condition is not penalized when it comes to other Kinyanim, neither is one who gave his wife a Get on condition. This opinion is termed "Yesh Ones b'Gitin." Others maintain that the Gitin differ from all other Kinyanim. A woman who received such a Get may remain unmarried forever, assuming that her husband was subject to an Ones and that she is therefore not divorced. Alternatively, a woman who thinks she is divorced may well remarry, ignoring any evidence that her husband was prevented from fulfilling the condition that would have prevented the Get due to an Ones. She would then have to divorce he whom she thought was her husband and any children produced by that union would be illegitimate (Mamzerim). The Chachamim therefore rendered a condition fulfilled through an Ones in the realm of Gitin to be as any fulfilled condition, and the Get remains valid. This opinion holds that "Ein Ones b'Gitin."
(d)If a condition remains unfulfilled b'Ones, then any Kinyan predicated upon its fulfillment will not take effect. For instance, let us take a case in which Reuven stipulates that Shimon will receive an extra ten bushels of wheat if Shimon delivers two hundred bushels to Reuven by nightfall. Even if Shimon cannot fulfill the condition due to circumstances beyond his control, he will not receive the extra bushels, since he did not fulfill the condition (RITVA; see, however, KOVETZ SHI'URIM #'s 2-3).
31)[line 18]אם לא באתי מכאן ועד שנים עשר חדשIM LO BASI MI'KAN V'AD SHNEIM ASAR CHODESH- if I do not come [back] within the following year
32)[line 20]הא חלה הרי זה גטHA CHALAH HAREI ZEH GET- [this implies that] if he had fallen ill [and was therefore unable to return] then the Get would have valid. Since the largest possible Ones is that of death, it must be that any smaller Ones does not prevent a Get from taking effect. Otherwise, the Mishnah would have taught that a small Ones prevents a Get from taking effect, and we would have understood that a larger Ones certainly such an effect.
33)[line 22]אין גט לאחר מיתהEIN GET L'ACHAR MISAH- a Get cannot take effect after the death [of the husband, since his death has already severed the marriage bond]
34)[line 24]מחולי זהME'CHOLI ZEH- [if I die] as a result of this illness
35)[line 26]דלמא לאפוקי מדרבותינוDILMA L'AFUKEI MID'RABOSEINU- perhaps [the reason why death was specified in the second case of the Mishnah was] to exclude the ruling of "our teachers"
36)[line 28]בי דינא דשרו משחאBEI DINA D'SHARU MISHCHA- the Beis Din [of Rebbi Yehudah Nesi'ah] who permitted oil [with which a Nochri had come into contact] (Avodah Zarah 37a)
37)[line 29]זמנו של שטר מוכיח עליוZEMANO SHEL SHTAR MOCHI'ACH ALAV - The Date of a Document Proves when it was Intended to Take Effect
(a)Every document, monetary or otherwise, must be dated to the current monarchy in order to be valid.
(b)Rebbi Yosi maintains that unless otherwise specified, the date implies the time at which that which is described in the document is intended to take effect, even if this involves a retroactive trigger. For example, if one bequeaths specific objects to one of his sons, this will not take effect unless he specifies within the document that this should take effect before his death. Otherwise, the Torah-mandated order of inheritance takes precedence at the time of death. Rebbi Yosi maintains that the date on the document proves that the deceased wished his orders to have retroactively taken effect then, and no further condition is necessary.
(c)In our case, Rebbi Yosi rules that the date on the Get implies that the husband wished for his wife to have been retroactively divorced from that date if he failed to return within the year.
38)[line 30]מעכשיוME'ACHSHAV- from now [retroactively]
39)[line 32]מת והוא הדין לחלהMES V'HU HA'DIN L'CHALAH- [this implies that] not only had he died, but also had he fallen ill. Since even the greatest possible Ones - namely, death - fails to prevent a Get in such a case, certainly a lesser Ones will not do so either.
40)[line 33]לא ניחא ליה דתפול קמי יבםLO NEICHA LEI D'TIPOL KAMEI YAVAM (YIBUM ... CHALITZAH - Levirate Marriage and the Way to Cancel it)
(a)Should a married man die without children, his widow is not then free to marry whomever she pleases. The brothers of her deceased husband have a Mitzvah to perform Yibum (levirate marriage); that is, they are obligated to marry her (Devarim 25:5-10). If the deceased has more than one brother, the oldest brother is offered the Mitzvah of Yibum first (Yevamos 24a).
(b)If the brother(s) does not wish to carry out this Mitzvah, he must perform Chalitzah. This is a procedure in Beis Din which dissolves the ties binding the widow to her brother(s)-in-law (known as "Zikah"), thus allowing her to marry anyone else. One of the brothers must appear together with his widowed sister-in-law before a Beis Din of three and state, "I do not wish to marry her." His sister-in-law then approaches him, removes his right sandal, and spits on the ground in front of him. She then declares, "This is what shall be done to the man who will not build his brother's family." After this she is free to marry whomever she wants.
(c)Our Gemara suggests that man may wish to give his wife a Get in order to prevent her from falling into a situation in which Yibum or Chalitzah would be necessary. Should he merely fall ill, however, he may still wish to be married to his wife.
41)[line 34]אי לא אתינאIY LO ASINA- if I do not come [back]
42)[line 35]תלתיןTELASIN- thirty
43)[line 36]פסקיה מבראPASKEI MAVRA- the ferry prevented him [from crossing the river blocking him from his home, as it was on the other side at the time]
44)[line 37]חזו דאתאי!CHAZU D'ASA'I!- see that I have come!
45)[line 38]לאו שמיה מתיאLAV SHEMEI MASYA- it is not considered a Halachic return
46)[line 38]אונסא דשכיחONSA D'SHECHI'ACH- a common circumstance beyond his control
47)[line 39]איבעי ליה לאתנוייIYBA'EI LEI L'ASNUYEI- he ought to have stipulated [that such a situation does not lead to the Get taking effect]
48)[line 40]איהו דאפסיד אנפשיהIHU D'AFSID A'NAFSHEI- he has caused himself to lose out
49a)[line 41]צנועותTZENU'OS- especially modest [and pious] women
b)[line 41]פרוצותPERUTZOS- especially immodest [and irreverent] women