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Week 63 - Wednesday - 7 February 2001

KETUBOT: CHAPTER 6: MISHNAH 3

If she agreed to bring in to him one thousand dinar -- he stipulates to provide, corresponding to them, fifteen maneh. And corresponding to the appraisement -- he stipulates to provide less one fifth. Appraisement at a maneh and worth a maneh -- he has only a maneh. Appraisement at a maneh -- she gives thirty-one sela and a dinar. And at four hundred -- she gives five hundred. That which the bridegroom agrees to provide, he provides at less one fifth.

Kehati

The previous mishnah taught the law of "a person who stipulated to give money to his son-in-law"; this mishnah teaches that when the woman brings money for her dowry, the husband adds a sum equal to one half, and writes in the ketubah one half more than the amount of the dowry; However, if she brings him movables such as clothes and jewelry, he writes their value minus one fifth, as will be explained below.

If she -- his wife, agreed to bring in to him -- to her husband for her dowry, one thousand dinar -- in cash, he -- the husband, stipulates to provide, corresponding to them fifteen maneh -- I.e., one thousand five-hundred dinar. He writes in the ketubah that he received from her in the dowry fifteen maneh (1,500 dinars), i.e., the husband adds another half to the sum of his wife's dowry because he profits from the money. The commentators explain that he adds one third of the total sum of the dowry, because the addition is one third of the dowry that he writes in the ketubah. This third is therefore called an "external third," (i.e., after the addition) which equals the additional half of the original sum, as we explained, that he adds to her one half.

And corresponding to the appraisement -- if she brings a dowry of movables which require appraisement, e.g., clothes, household utensils, and jewelry, and the relatives appraise their value -- he -- the husband, stipulates to provide -- to write in the ketubah the sum of the assessment less one fifth -- e.g., if she brings a dowry appraised at 1,000 dinars, he writes in the ketubah that he received only 800 dinars, seeing that it was customary to appraise the dowry at one fifth over its actual value, in honour of the bride. Appraisement at a maneh -- if she stipulated a dowry appraised at a maneh, i.e., that he write in her ketubah that she brought a dowry of one maneh (one hundred dinars) corresponding to the objects that she included in the dowry, and -- they actually are -- worth a maneh -- they were appraised at their actual market value, without markup, he has only a maneh -- he cannot claim that since he wrote a maneh in her ketubah, she must increase the dowry by one fifth of a maneh (i.e, 125 dinars), because the law of subtracting one fifth from the amount written in the ketubah applies only to appraisals made at wedding time, when it was customary to add one fifth to the appraisal, in her honour, as explained above.

Appraisement at a maneh -- if the bride asks her husband to write that she brought a maneh, i.e., various objects worth one hundred dinars, she gives thirty-one sela and a dinar -- the equivalent of 125 dinars (1 sela = 4 dinars), i.e., she must provide a dowry appraised at 125 dinars at wedding time; thus he stipulates to give an amount corresponding to the appraisal less one fifth, as taught above.

And -- if she asks him to write that he received objects with an appraised value -- of four hundred -- dinars, she gives -- a dowry appraised at -- five hundred -- dinars. The mishnah teaches that whether the dowry is large or small, its appraisal must be greater by an additional fifth (i.e., one fourth, which is an "external" fifth), corresponding to the sum that she asks her husband to write in her ketubah.

That which the bridegroom agrees to provide when the bridegroom writes in the ketubah the amount of the dowry, whether large or small, of movables after it was appraised at the wedding time, he provides -- he writes the amount of the appraised value of the dowry, at less one fifth -- as taught above.

The above explanation follows Rashi and Bartenura. Tosafot, however, prefer Rabbeinu Hananel's interpretation: "Appraisement at a maneh and worth a maneh" -- if the wife stipulated to provide property appraised at a maneh which is worth only a maneh, i.e, she declared: "Appraisement at a maneh and worth a maneh, He has only a maneh" -- and she need not add one fifth, Appraisement at a maneh -- but if she stipulated to provide "appraisement at a maneh," without adding that it be "worth a maneh," she gives thirty-one sela and a dinar" -- i.e., a dowry appraised at 125 dinars, (as we explained in the mishnah), so that the sum written in the ketubah will be one fifth less than the appraisal of the dowry. "And at four hundred" -- if she stipulated property appraised at four hundred dinars, "she gives five hundred" -- a dowry appraised at five hundred dinars, as explained above. "That which the bridegroom agrees to provide" -- and also the movables which the bridegroom agrees to give, "he provides at less one fifth" -- he writes its value in the ketubah less one fifth, since the objects which the bridegroom gives are also appraised at more than their worth.

Some interpret the mishnah according to the Jerusalem Talmud, as follows: "If she agreed to bring in to him one thousand dinar -- he stipulates to provide, corresponding to them, fifteen maneh" -- this was their custom, since the wife did not benefit from these sums, whereas they serve the husband for profitable transactions. He must likewise add one half to the value of the merchandise, for the same reason. "And corresponding to the appraisement" -- but if she gives him clothes, utensils, and miscellaneous objects, appraised as fixed value property, "nikhse tzou barzel" (see glossary) "he stipulates to provide less one fifth" -- because she uses them and they depreciate in value, and it therefore suffices that he provide surety for them for four fifths. "Appraisement at a maneh and worth a maneh" -- if she promised to give him property or objects appraised at a maneh which are worth a maneh, i.e., property or objects which do not depreciate with use, such as land worth a maneh, "he has only a maneh" -- she must only provide him land worth a maneh, and she need not add one fifth (Shitah Mekubetzet, citing Rav Hai Gaon; see also Hameiri).

KETUBOT: CHAPTER 6: MISHNAH 4

She agreed to provide him cash -- a silver sela becomes six dinars. The bridegroom undertakes ten dinars for the chest, for each maneh. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says, Everything follows the local custom.

Kehati

In continuation of the preceding mishnah, we now learn that there is no difference regarding the writing of a large or a small dowry in the ketubah. The husband subtracts one fifth from property which requires assessment, e.g., clothes, utensils, and jewelry, whatever their aggregate value (see preceding mishnah); he must similarly add half (according to the commentators, an "external third"), corresponding to the cash which the bride gives him for her dowry, whatever the amount.

She -- the woman, agreed to provide him cash -- to the husband, within her dowry, a silver sela -- i.e., four dinars, becomes six dinars -- the husband must assign six dinars (one and a half sela) in her ketubah for each four dinars she brings in her dowry, whatever its amount. He always adds one half to any amount of cash that she brings him in her dowry, i.e., he writes in the ketubah one hundred and fifty percent the amount of the dowry (adding one "external" third, according to the commentators, as explained in the preceding mishnah).

The bridegroom undertakes -- to give the woman -- ten dinars pin-money for the chest -- of her perfumes and cosmetics, for each maneh -- for each one hundred dinars that she gives him in her dowry, whether in cash or movable property.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says, Everything -- all additions and subtractions from her dowry follows the local custom -- Rambam accepts this as the halakhah.

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