1)

(a)According to the Chachamim in our Mishnah, if a man fixes a dowry for his daughter who is already betrothed and goes bankrupt, there is nothing the woman can do about it but to wait until her Chasan makes the next move. Admon says - that she can force him either to marry her or to give her a divorce.

(b)'Pashat Lo es ha'Regel' can simply be a degrading way of informing his creditor that he cannot supply the goods; so he stretches out his foot as if to say 'Take the dirt from my foot (in payment)'. It can also be a way of telling his creditor that even if he hangs him by his foot on a tree, there is nothing he can do about it.

(c)According to Rebbi Yosi b'Rebbi Yehudah in a Beraisa, even the Chachamim agree in the previous case that she can force her Chasan's hand to act one way or the other (seeing as it is her father and not her, who made the condition and who went bankrupt). The case where they maintain that she remains in limbo - is where she is the one to have stipulated how much her Chasan would receive (see Tos. Ha'Rosh), and her father subsequently refused to comply.

(d)Admon argues - that she maintains to have thought that her father would provide the stipulated sum, and it was not her fault that her father refused.

2)

(a)The Tana of another Beraisa that comes to qualify the previous one, states 'Bameh Devarim Amurim, bi'Gedolah, Aval bi'Ketanah, Kofin'. This cannot mean that, if she is a Ketanah, we force her father to pay - because seeing as the condition of a Gedolah is more binding than that of a Ketanah, he should have said the opposite.

(b)What the Tana means is - that if she is a Ketanah, we force the Chasan to take the initiative and either marry her or give her a Get.

3)

(a)Rebbi Yitzchak ben Elazar quoting Chizkiyah states that whenever Raban Gamliel sides with Admon, the Halachah is like him - irrespective whether it is a Mishnah or a Beraisa (seeing as he did not differentiate).

(b)'Amar Rebbi Zeira Amar Rabah bar Yirmeyahu, Shnei Devarim she'Amar Chanan Halachah k'Yotzei Bo'. 'k'Yotzei Bo' - refers to Raban Yochanan ben Zakai.

(c)Rebbi Zeira is saying - that the Halachah is like Admon in both cases that he appears in the Mishnah, because he has the backing of Raban Yochanan ben Zakai (See Ritva).

4)

(a)Rebbi Zeira added 'v'Shiv'ah Devarim she'Amar Admon Ein Halachah Kemoso v'Lo k'Yotzei Bo'. 'k'Yotzei Bo' - refers to Raban Yochanan ben Zakai, who backs Admon in the first three cases.

(b)He cannot mean that the Halachah is neither like Admon nor like Raban Gamliel in all seven cases - because of Chizkiyah, who, as we just saw, rules like Admon, whenever Raban Gamliel sides with him.

(c)For the same reason, we reject the suggestion that what Rebbi Zeira means is that the Halachah is not like Raban Gamliel, but like Admon - meaning that the Halachah is not like Raban Gamliel, who rules like Admon in only three cases, because we rule like Admon in all seven cases.

(d)What Rebbi Zeira really means to say when he says 've'Shiv'ah Devarim she'Amar Admon Ein Halachah Kemoso v'Lo k'Yotzei Bo' is - that in some of the statements of Admon we rule like him, and in some we do not: whenever Raban Gamliel sides with him, we rule like him, and whenever he does not, we don't.

5)

(a)According to Admon, we believe Reuven, when he claims that the field that Shimon bought from Levi, Levi had stolen from him, in spite of our subsequent discovery that he (Reuven) was one of the witnesses who signed on the document of sale - because he can argue that he decided to sign because Shimon was not as tough a customer to deal with as Levi.

(b)The Chachamim say - that by signing without protest, he loses his rights to claim (because had the field been his, he would have protested).

(c)Admon concedes - that should he sign on a document that merely refers to the field in question as bordering another field that Shimon sold to someone else, he loses his right to the field.

(d)Abaye, commenting on the Chachamim, explains that he only loses his rights if he signed as a witness, but not if he signed as a Dayan, and he bases this on a Beraisa learned by Rebbi Chiya - who draws a distinction between witnesses, who are obligated to read a Shtar before signing (because they sign on its contents), and Dayanim, who only corroborate that the witnesses verified their signatures, and who are therefore not obligated to read the Shtar prior to their signing.

6)

(a)We just learned that should Reuven sign on a document that merely refers to the field in question as bordering another field that Shimon sold to someone else, he loses his right to the field. This will not be the case however, if Shimon was selling the field to him - because he can then argue that, if he hadn't signed, Shimon would not have sold him the field.

(b)Shimon cannot counter that Reuven should then have a made a Moda'ah in front of witnesses (i.e. informed them that really he protests on the sale, because the field is his, and he only remained silent so would Shimon would sell him the field) - because Reuven will reply that he was afraid to do that, since people tend to talk. Consequently, those witnesses would have told their friends, who would have told their friends ... until word of the (secret) Moda'ah would have reached the ears of Shimon, who would have closed the deal.

7)

(a)A certain man merely referred to the field in question as bordering another field that Shimon sold to someone else. He then protested that the field was his and died, but not before he had appointed an administrator for the Yesomim. The administrator argued that Abaye should permit the Yesomim to retain the field - because it is a Mitzvah to present any argument on behalf of the Yesomim that their father might have argued, and their father had an argument that he could have presented, as we shall now see.

(b)Abaye conceded that he was right, based on a statement by Rebbi Yochanan - that even though if the claimant made the field a sign for another field that he was selling, he loses his rights to the field, he nevertheless retains the right to claim that it is only the one furrow in between his field and the field that was being sold that he used as a sign, and not the entire field.

(c)Abaye then instructed the administrator to then give the Machzik - at least the one furrow that the father had made a sign.

(d)The administrator managed to convince Abaye that the father would even have presented an argument that would have given him the entire field, including the furrow. Again Abaye conceded that he was right, based on a statement by Rebbi Yochanan - who said that, seeing as the field was proven to belong to the Yesomim and the Machzik's only proof was the testimony of the father who made it a sign for the field that was being sold, the father would have been believed to say that he then went and bought the furrow with the trees on it (because of a 'Peh she'Asar Hu ha'Peh she'Hitir').

8)

(a)Abaye declared - that if someone needed to appoint an administrator, he should appoint one who knew how to present the case on behalf of the Yesomim like the one whom we have just been discussing.

9)

(a)According to Admon, if someone goes overseas and returns, to find that his neighbors have taken over the path to his field, and he does not know exactly where it is, he may force them to give him the shortest route to his field. The Chachamim say - that he has no choice but to buy a path for whatever exorbitant price they ask of him, or he will have to 'get there by helicopter'.

(b)If it is only one of his neighbors who now surrounds him on all sides, the Chachamim would not conceivably argue with Admon. We reject the contention that they are therefore arguing where he is surrounded by four neighbors - because then, it is obvious that each neighbor would have the right to push him away to the other ones, and how can Admon say otherwise?

(c)Rava concludes that if four neighbors surround him, each one can push him away to the others - and it makes no difference whether the four originally surrounded him, or whether they bought the paths from one neighbor.

10)

(a)Admon and the Chachamim argue - when he is surrounded by one neighbor who bought the four paths from four neighbors, who had previously owned them.

(b)Admon's reason is because 'mi'Mah Nafshach' one of the paths belongs to him, and he can demand one of the paths to the field - the Chachamim however, counter - that the owner of the fields can threaten him that he accepts the good deal he promises him, or he return the four documents of sale to the four original owners, and then he will get nothing.

11)

(a)When a man left in his will that they should give a date-palm to his daughter, and the brothers subsequently distributed their father's estate, without giving their sister a date-palm - Rav Yosef wanted to rule that according to the Chachamim of Admon, each brother may push her off on to the other brothers, and she loses her claim.

(b)Abaye disagreed, on the grounds that this case is different that our Mishnah, where nobody was initially obligated to give the man who went overseas - whereas in our Mishnah, when the father died, all his property fell into the kitty, and each brother was obligated to ensure that their sister received a date-palm before dividing it among themselves.

(c)So Abaye ruled - that after giving one date-palm to their sister, they were obligated to return all the property to the kitty, and to redistribute it.

12)

(a)In another case, a man left in his will that they should give a date-palm to his daughter. The brothers wanted to give her two half date-palms.

(b)Rav Ashi wasn't sure whether a person calls two half palms a date-palm, or not. Rav Mordechai quoted Avimi from Hagrunya - who said in the name of Rava that one does.

(c)The daughter cannot argue that she would prefer a whole date-palm - because the property is in the Chazakah of the Yesomim, and she has the underhand.