Talking Talmud

More on how a woman collects her ketubah. And more on when she's collecting from a property with a lien on it, in comparison to orphans who collect their inheritance from property with a lien on it - by taking an oath. Plus, how loans are parallel cases in terms of taking an oath - how should such an oath be formulated? Also, analyzing R. Shimon's position from the mishnah, with parallels to the disagreement of "Hanan and the sons of the kohanim gedolim."

What if a woman needs to take an oath to receive her ketubah? What if the husband stipulates that she'll never need to take an oath? And what do you do if you need to collect the debt from a case where no oath is possible? Especially if orphans are involved. Plus, when a woman gets a partial payment, for example, who is then responsible for proving either she is still owed more or that she is not? Also, what happens if the woman accepted a partial payment of her ketubah, and she did so before witnesses? Cam we assume that all of it was paid, whether before witnesses or not? Are they trying to swindle each other or is the disagreement sincere? Plus, a comparison to oath-taking in the context of debtors and creditors, in civil matters. Plus another comparison to transactional cases that don't need witnesses.

NOTE: If you count the pages of daf yomi, today is daf 1,000 in this cycle (if you count the days, the count didn't work as smoothly, go figure - assuming it's our (Anne's) human error. || Ameimar issues a ruling on a man paying his debts - who gets land, who gets money, when he owes both a creditor and the payment of a ketubah? What if funds are not available? Plus, 2 mishnayot: when a husband can make his wife swear to her honesty. And when a husband stipulates that he cannot make her take an oath.

How do we establish ownership of property? Consider a good number of cases demonstrating practical financial law -- and precedent. Including what happens when one party is considered unreliable with regard to oaths. Note the role of the daughter of R. Hisda (wife of Rava). Plus, the weight of a judge's assessment. Also, cases of no designated heir, where it's surprising that the person who died had specific property in his possession (pearls, silver, silk). Or alternatively, when the person who dies has indeed designated an heir, but there might be confusion about that person's name.

A new mishnah: what happens when a person dies and several people have claims on his money - whose claim is met first? Also, how the sages who debate the above the question accept or prioritize each other's views - with R. Tarfon and R. Akiva as the case in point.

[Shanah tovah! This episode is for Tuesday, September 27, the second day of Rosh Hashanah] A new chapter! Can you relinquish something that is your right to own? Specifically, can a husband recuse himself, as it were, from his wife's property? Or does it remain his for the produce of it, as those are the Torah's terms? Plus, whoever owns the given document is at a disadvantage - to what extent does the husband retain his rights? Also, a brief reflection on mortality, given how people handle their land (and how easily, or not so easily would they sell, depending on the commonality of consequences?). So, beyond the question of whether the adjustment to the Torah contract could even work, there's also the question of whether one would actually try!

[Shanah tovah! This episode is for Monday, September 25, the first day of Rosh Hashanah] More connections between yibum and the granting of a woman's ketubah, and other property considerations, as the yavam technically gets his hands on the property of the dead brother. Plus, a question how the yavam can come into control of her property - isn't it hers? Resh Lakish responds definitively that, yes, it's hers (which emends the mishnah!). Also, how the ketubah puts a lien on the husband's property - and how it was a surety for the wife even when the ketubah was a specific item, rather than the sum it came to be later. And how the sages made sure that divorce wouldn't be too easy, lest it be the result of a (normal) fight between the couple. Plus, the decree by Shimon ben Shetach establishing a ketubah that protects the woman better. [Who's Who: Shimon ben Shetach] PS: What are the implications for decorative ketubot?

[Shanah tovah! This episode is for Sunday, September 25, Erev Rosh Hashanah] Who said halakhot were to be derived from the language of the ketubah? The mishnah connects the ketubah issues to that of sotah - the case of a woman suspected of adultery. The comparison leads to a dispute between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai, regarding the terms of one's ketubah. Also, the question of whether a yevamah can collect her ketubah from the first husband while the yavam is alive? What would it mean for that money to be available? Moreover, how would everyone feel if that were put into practice? The mishnah is treated as important good advice.

How much food counts as "eating"? In terms of getting benefit from the property. What if one's animals eat? Also, back to husbands and wives and shared property - when it's worked by sharecroppers. Plus, a mishnah about a woman awaiting yibum, and in the interim, she inherits property. Who has the right to it?

A woman on the verge of the second marriage who wants to keep her property from the clutches, as it were, of the new husband, and makes a gift of it to her unmarried daughter. Then the daughter gets married, the stuff goes to the husband, the daughter gets divorced, and the mother wants her property back. Can she get it back? R. Nachman tears up the document establishing the gift to the daughter. So is it really ever a gift? Also, a new mishnah: if a married woman inherits movable property and land, so the husband gets the benefits. And another 2 mishnayot: what if the wife has elderly slaves? How does that work with the husband's rights? Plus, who pays for the costs of property? A good deal of complications regarding the property that comes into a marriage, and then becomes estate planning, essentially.