Study Ketubot folio 65B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
האי תנא שליח ערטלאי ורמי מסאני! אמר ליה: תנא במקום הרים קאי, דלא סגיא בלא תלתא זוגי מסאני. ואגב אורחיה קא משמע לן דניתבינהו ניהלה במועד, כי היכי דניהוי לה שמחה בגוייהו.
This tanna creates a bizarre situation in which the woman is left naked but wearing shoes, as the husband must give his wife shoes 3 times a year but new clothing only once a year. Abaye said to him: The tanna is standing, i.e., speaking of, a mountainous region, in which she cannot do without 3 pairs of shoes, as shoes wear out quickly in hilly areas. And in passing, the tanna teaches us that he should give them to her on a Festival, so that she will rejoice in them during the Festival.
וכלים של חמשים זוז. אמר אביי: חמשים זוזי פשיטי. ממאי? מדקתני: במה דברים אמורים — בעני שבישראל, אבל במכובד — הכל לפי כבודו. ואי סלקא דעתך חמשים זוז ממש, עני, חמשים זוז מנא ליה? אלא שמע מינה חמשים זוזי פשיטי.
§ The Mishnah teaches: And he must give her clothes with a value of 50 dinars. Abaye said: This is referring to 50 simple [peshitei] dinars, used as the money of the state, which are worth only 1/8th of Tyrian dinars. From where did Abaye derive this? From the fact that it teaches: In what case is this statement said? It is with regard to the poorest of Jews. However, in the case of a prominent man, all the amounts are increased in accordance with his prominence. And if it enters your mind that the Mishnah means literally 50 dinars, from where would such a poor man get 50 dinars? How could a pauper afford to give such a large sum to his wife for her clothing? Rather, learn from this that the Mishnah is referring to 50 simple dinars.
ואין נותנין לה לא חדשים וכו׳. תנו רבנן: מותר מזונות לבעל, מותר בלאות לאשה. מותר בלאות לאשה, למה לה? אמר רחבה: שמתכסה בהן בימי נדתה, כדי שלא תתגנה על בעלה.
§ The Mishnah further states: And he may not give her new clothes in the summer, nor worn garments in the winter, and the leftover, worn clothes belong to her. A baraita states: Leftover sustenance belongs to the husband, whereas leftover, worn clothes belong to the wife. The Talmud asks: With regard to the statement that worn clothes belong to the wife, why does she need these old clothes? Raḥava said: She requires them, as she covers herself with them during her days of menstruation, so that she does not become repulsive to her husband. If she wears her normal clothes when she is menstruating, he will later be disgusted by her.