[55a - 25 lines; 55b - 13 lines]

1)[line 1]לשבחL'SHEVACH (SHEVACH L'ACHAR MISAH - the appreciation of the estate after its owner's death)

(a)A woman normally collects her Kesuvah from the properties (i.e. lands) that belong to her late husband's estate. However, if her husband's estate appreciated in value after his death, she cannot collect that appreciated value towards the payment of her Kesuvah. Rather, she may only collect the amount that the estate was worth at the time of his passing, towards the payment of her Kesuvah.

(b)The following are a few examples of how a person's estate can appreciate after his passing:

1.If one of the husband's relatives dies after he does, and the inheritance goes to his estate, the wife does not receive the value of her Kesuvah (Maneh or Masayim and the Tosefes) from that inheritance.

2.If the husband is owed money, even if the debt was written in a document that was in the possession of the husband, wife does not receive the value of her Kesuvah from that debt if it is paid after the husband's death.

3.If the property appreciates due to the efforts of the inheritors, e.g. stalks of wheat that grow and produce grain and trees that produce fruit, his wife does not receive the value of her Kesuvah from that appreciation. (However, the wife may collect her Kesuvah from a small tree that grows on its own, without any expenditure, into a large tree; this is considered to be part of the estate that her husband left at the time of passing [Matzuy l'Ba'alah] since the tree has not changed form after the husband's death - SEFER HA'CHINUCH #400.)

(c)This Halachah only applies to the collection of the debt of the Kesuvah - or to the Tosefes Kesuvah, as our Gemara explains. If the deceased owed money to someone, the debtor may collect from any part of the estate, even from what appreciated after the person's passing.

2)[line 1]ולשביעיתL'SHEVI'IS (HASHMATAS KESAFIM)

(a)The Torah requires that all loans shall be canceled every seventh year, as it states in Devarim 15:2, "Shamot Kol Ba'al Masheh Yado" - "Every creditor who lends anything to his neighbor shall release it." To demand payment of a loan after the Shemitah year is a violation of the prohibition of "Lo Yigos Es Re'ehu v'Es Achiv" - "he shall not exact it of his neighbor or of his brother" (ibid.)

(b)Hashmatas Kesafim applies mid'Oraisa only when the Yovel year is in practice. Mid'Rabanan it applies today, whether inside or outside of Eretz Yisrael.

(c)Most Rishonim rule that the Shemitah year cancels loans at the end of the year, on the last day of the month of Elul. (RAMBAM Hilchos Shemitah v'Yovel 9:1-4)

3a)[line 5]ירתון תנןYERSUN TENAN- the Mishnah (Daf 54b) uses the word "Yersun." With regard to the Tenai Kesuvah of Benin Dichrin (see Background to Kesuvos 50:28), the Mishnah teaches that a woman's sons will inherit the money of her Kesuvah over and above their portion of the estate that will be divided among them and their brothers.

b)[line 7]יסבוןYISVUN- they will take (as creditors)

4)[line 8]בלא שבועהB'LO SHEVU'AH- [the widow can collect the chattels] without taking an oath (whereas usually an oath is required to appropriate chattels from the possession of orphans towards the payment of the Kesuvah)

5)[line 12]בארבעה מצרנהאB'ARBA'AH MATZRANAHA- specifying its four boundaries

6)[line 16]קנו מיניהKANU MINEI- the witnesses performed a Kinyan Chalipin with him regarding his instructions

7)[line 22]תסתייםTISTAYEIM- conclude

8)[last line]במסוכןB'MESUKAN- with a sick person who is about to die [who says, "Write a Get to my wife," but does not express that it should be given to her]. (According to Rebbi Shimon Shezuri, they should nevertheless give the Get to his wife.)

55b----------------------------------------55b

9a)[line 1]ובתרומת מעשרTERUMAS MA'ASER

(a)After a crop is harvested and brought to the owner's house or yard, he must separate Terumah Gedolah from the crop and give it to a Kohen. Although the Torah does not specify the amount to be given, the Rabanan set the requirement at one fiftieth of the total crop. After Terumah is removed from the produce, one tenth of the produce that remains must be designated "Ma'aser Rishon," and given to a Levi. The Levi, in turn, must separate one tenth of his Ma'aser Rishon as Terumas Ma'aser, to be given to a Kohen, as it states in Bamidbar 18:26.

(b)The produce may not be eaten until both Terumos have been removed. The punishment for eating Tevel is Misah b'Yedei Shamayim.

b)[line 1]דמאיD EMAI

(a)Produce bought from an Am ha'Aretz (an unlearned Jew who is lax in his Torah-observance; see Berachos 47b) is referred to as Demai ("Da Mai?" - "what is this?").

(b)Terumas Ma'aser and Ma'aser Sheni must be separated from this produce since a minority of Amei ha'Aretz cannot be trusted to have separated them before selling the produce. Terumah Gedolah, however, because of its stringency, is presumed to have been separated. Ma'aser Rishon and Ma'aser Ani are separated from the produce, but they are eaten by the owner and not given to the Levi or the Ani (in keeping with the principle "ha'Motzi me'Chaveiro Alav ha'Re'ayah").

c)[line 1]ובתרומת מעשר של דמאיUV'TERUMAS MA'ASER SHEL DEMAI (MEDUMA)

(a)Terumah becomes Batel (canceled) only if one part of Terumah falls into at least 100 parts of Chulin. Even if the Terumah is Batel, it is forbidden for non-Kohanim to eat the entire mixture; the equivalent of the amount of Terumah that fell in must first be removed.

(b)If the percentage of Terumah that fell into the Chulin was greater than one in one hundred, the mixture is known as Meduma (lit. mixed) and is forbidden to be eaten by non-Kohanim.

(c)According to Tosfos in Chulin 99a DH Ein, this law applies only if the Terumah was the same type of food as the Chulin; otherwise Terumah is Batel just like any other Isur.

10)[line 4]ארכביה אתרי רכשיARKEVEI A'TREI RACHASHEI- he caused him to ride on two steeds; i.e. he gave his gift the power of two types of gifts (that of a dying person and that of a healthy person, as the Gemara goes on to explain)

11)[line 12]שמא לא גמר להקנותו אלא בשטרSHEMA LO GAMAR L'HAKNOSO ELA BI'SHTAR- perhaps he only wanted the transfer of property to take effect through an act of Kinyan (such as Hagbahah, or Chazakah), which will later be written in a Shtar. [If that is so, then since no Kinyan was performed before the giver died, the property will not be transferred out of his estate. Had he meant to transfer the property as a "Shechiv Mera" transfers his property, by simply requesting verbally that the transfer take place, the property would have left his possession immediately and would be given to the recipient. It would not be considered part of his estate.]