Study Bava Batra folio 132A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
בעי רבא: בבריא היאך? בשכיב מרע הוא דניחא ליה – דלישתמעון מלה, אבל בבריא – הא קאי איהו; או דלמא בריא נמי ניחא ליה, דלישתמעון מלה מהשתא?
With regard to the halakha that a person on his deathbed who wrote a document granting all his property to his wife has appointed her as a steward, Rava raises a dilemma: In the case of a healthy person, what is the halakha? Should it be reasoned that specifically in the case of a person on his deathbed it is assumed that he intended to appoint his wife as a steward, as it is preferable for him that her word be heard and she is honored after his death, but in the case of a healthy person, he is still standing and can ensure that his wife is honored, so he apparently intended to actually give her all of his property? Or perhaps should it be reasoned that in the case of a healthy person as well, it is preferable that his wife’s word be heard and she be given honor from now?
תא שמע: הכותב פירות נכסיו לאשתו – גובה כתובתה מן הקרקע. למחצה, לשליש ולרביע – גובה כתובתה מן השאר.
The Talmud suggests: Come and hear a resolution of the dilemma from a baraita: If one writes a document that the profits of his property should go to his wife in the event that he dies or divorces her, she collects payment of her marriage contract, which he wrote her at the time of their marriage, from the land itself. The profits are hers as a result of his gift. Similarly, if he wrote a document granting her one-half, 1/3rd, or 1/4th of his property, she collects payment of her marriage contract from the rest of his property, which he did not give her as a separate gift.