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Text Excerpt
יתיב רב יוסף קמיה דרב המנונא ויתיב רב המנונא, וקאמר: כשם שאין הבנים יורשין אלא מן הקרקע — כך אין הבנות ניזונות אלא מן הקרקע. אווש עליה כולי עלמא: דשביק ארעא — הוא דירתי ליה בניה, דלא שביק ארעא — לא ירתי ליה בניה?!
The Talmud relates: Rav Yosef sat before Rav Hamnuna in the study hall, and Rav Hamnuna sat and said the following halakha: Just as sons inherit only from land, so too, daughters are sustained only from land. When Rav Hamnuna taught this halakha, everyone clamored [avash] against him, i.e., all his listeners whispered their surprise to one another: Is it only one who leaves behind land whose sons inherit from him, whereas in the case of one who does not leave land, his sons do not inherit from him? Rav Hamnuna’s statement indicates that sons inherit only land and nothing else.
אמר ליה רב יוסף: ודלמא כתובת בנין דכרין קאמר מר?! אמר ליה: מר, דגברא רבא הוא, ידע מאי קאמינא.
Rav Yosef said to Rav Hamnuna: Perhaps the Master was speaking of the marriage document ensuring the inheritance rights of a woman’s male children, i.e., her sons’ right to inherit the sum stipulated in her marriage contract in addition to their share of the father’s estate alongside any other brothers. Rav Hamnuna said to him: The Master, who is a great man, knows what I said, i.e., that was indeed my intention, while the others failed to understand me properly.
אמר רבי חייא בר יוסף: רב זן מחיטי דעלייה. איבעיא להו: פרנסה הויא, ומאי עלייה — מעילוייא דאב, וכדשמואל. דאמר שמואל: לפרנסה, שמין באב.
R' Ḥiyya bar Yosef said: Rav would sustain orphan girls with wheat according to the aliyya if their fathers did not leave land for them. A dilemma was raised before the scholars: Was this sustenance that Rav provided in the form of livelihood, i.e., a dowry so that they could marry, and what is the meaning of the term aliyya? It means: In keeping with the status [illuyya] of the father, and this is in accordance with the opinion of Shmuel. As Shmuel said: With regard to the daughters’ livelihood, i.e., their dowry, the court assesses the amount they receive from their father’s estate after his death in accordance with the temperament and social and financial status of the father.