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Text Excerpt
כל חדא וחדא דנפשה שקלה? הכי קאמר: אם באו כולם להנשא כאחת חולקות בשוה.
The Talmud asks: Why should they divide the portions equally? Since each and every daughter, in turn, takes her own dowry, each one receives that which she rightfully deserves. It is unreasonable to demand of them to redivide the dowries later. The Talmud answers: This is what R' Yehuda HaNasi said, i.e., meant: If they all come to be married at the same time, then they divide the portions equally. If, however, they marry at different times, then each daughter receives the appropriate percentage of the estate at the time of her marriage.
מסייע ליה לרב מתנה. דאמר רב מתנה: אם באו להנשא כולם כאחת — נוטלות עישור אחד. עישור אחד סלקא דעתך? אלא: נוטלות עישור כאחד.
This conclusion supports the opinion of Rav Mattana, as Rav Mattana said: If they all come to be married at one time, they take 1/10th. The Talmud clarifies: Does it enter your mind that all the daughters should share just 1/10th of the property? Rather, Rav Mattana means that they each take 1/10th in one uniform measure, as in normal circumstances each one successively takes 1/10th of whatever property remains. However, because all the weddings take place within a short time span, the dowries are redistributed immediately after the weddings, so that they are all of equal value.
תנו רבנן: הבנות בין בגרו עד שלא נישאו ובין נישאו עד שלא בגרו — איבדו מזונותיהן ולא איבדו פרנסתן, דברי רבי. רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר: אף איבדו פרנסתן. כיצד הן עושות? שוכרות להן בעלים, ומוציאין להן פרנסתן.
§ A baraita states: With regard to the daughters, whether they matured before they were married or were married before they matured, they lost their sustenance. Sustenance is provided from the inheritance only for single daughters who have not yet matured. However, they did not lose their support, i.e., their allotted provisions for a dowry, upon maturing. This is the statement of R' Yehuda HaNasi. R' Shimon ben Elazar says: They lost even their support. If they matured before marrying, they lost their chance to collect their dowries from the estate. What do they do to avoid losing the dowries? They have no alternative other than to marry before maturing. They hire themselves husbands, i.e., they take pains to be sure that they are married, and then they appropriate their support, i.e., dowries, for themselves.