Study Ketubot folio 41A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
מתני׳ האומר: ״פתיתי את בתו של פלוני״ — משלם בושת ופגם על פי עצמו, ואין משלם קנס. האומר: ״גנבתי״ — משלם את הקרן על פי עצמו, ואין משלם תשלומי כפל ותשלומי ארבעה וחמשה. ״המית שורי את פלוני״, או ״שורו של פלוני״ — הרי זה משלם על פי עצמו. ״המית שורי עבדו של פלוני״ — אין משלם על פי עצמו. זה הכלל: כל המשלם יתר על מה שהזיק — אינו משלם על פי עצמו.
Mishnah: One who says: I seduced the daughter of so-and-so, pays compensation for humiliation and degradation based on his own admission, but does not pay the fine. Similarly, one who says: I stole, pays the principal, the value of the stolen goods, based on his own admission, but does not pay the double payment and the payment 9 times the principal for the slaughter or sale of the sheep or ox that he stole. Likewise if he confessed: My ox killed so-and-so, or: My ox killed an ox belonging to so-and-so, this owner pays based on his own admission. However, if he said: My ox killed a slave belonging to so-and-so, he does not pay based on his own admission as that payment is a fine. This is the principle: Anyone who pays more than what he damaged, the payments are fines and therefore he does not pay based on his own admission. He pays only based on the testimony of others.
גמ׳ וליתני ״אנסתי״! לא מבעיא קאמר: לא מבעיא ״אנסתי״, דלא קא פגים לה, דמשלם בושת ופגם על פי עצמו, אבל ״פתיתי״, דקא פגים לה, אימא: לא משלם על פי עצמו — קא משמע לן.
Talmud: The Talmud asks: And let the tanna teach this halakha with regard to one who said: I raped the daughter of so-and-so. Why did the Mishnah cite the case of seduction? The Talmud answers: The tanna is speaking employing the style: It is not necessary. It is not necessary for the Mishnah to cite the case of one who says: I raped her, where he does not tarnish her reputation and merely incriminates himself, as it is obvious that he pays compensation for humiliation and degradation based on his own admission. However, in the case of one who says: I seduced her, where he tarnishes her reputation as he testifies that she willingly had sex with him, and he is not deemed credible to do so, say that he does not pay based on his own admission. Therefore, the Mishnah teaches us that even in the case of seduction he pays compensation for humiliation and degradation based on his own admission.