Study Ketubot folio 99A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
הא מדסיפא בדאוזיל הוי, רישא בדלא אוזיל, דקתני סיפא: היתה כתובתה ארבע מאות זוז, מכרה לזה במנה ולזה במנה, ולאחרון יפה מנה ודינר במנה — של אחרון מכרה בטל, ושל כולן מכרן קיים!
The Talmud asks: Since the last clause of the Mishnah deals with a case where she reduced the price, it stands to reason that the first clause of the Mishnah is a case where she did not reduce the price. Why would the Mishnah repeat itself for no reason? As it teaches in the last clause of the Mishnah: If her marriage contract was worth 400 dinars and she sold property to this one for 100 dinars, and she sold property to that one for 100 dinars, and again to a third one, and she sold property to the last one worth 100 dinars and a dinar for only 100 dinars, the sale of the last property is void. And as for all of the others, their sale is valid because they were sold for the correct price.
The Talmud rejects this: No, both the first and the last clauses discuss cases where she reduced the price of the land and sold it for less than its worth. And the last clause teaches us this: The reason that the sale is void is that in that case, since she had already received full payment of her marriage contract, she reduced the price in a sale that she made with property of the orphans and at their expense. However, when she reduced the price of the land in the sale of her own property, as in the earlier clauses of the Mishnah, her sale is valid.