Study Kiddushin folio 24A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אין אשה פודה מעשר שני בלא חומש. רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר משום רבי מאיר: אשה פודה מעשר שני בלא חומש. היכי דמי? אילימא בזוזי דבעל, ומעשר דבעל – שליחותיה דבעל קא עבדה?!
A woman may not redeem her husband’s second tithe without adding 1/5th of its value to the redemption money, as is required from all those who redeem their own second tithe. R' Shimon ben Elazar said in the name of R' Meir: A woman may redeem second tithe without adding 1/5th. The Talmud inquires: What are the circumstances? If we say that she redeems second tithe with her husband’s money, which he gave her for this purpose, and the tithe belongs to her husband, in this case she acts with the agency of her husband. Just as he is required to add 1/5th when he redeems his own second tithe, it is clear that she too must add 1/5th.
ואלא בזוזי דידה ומעשר דידיה – ״איש״ אמר רחמנא, ולא אשה!
But rather, one might say that this is referring to a case where she uses her money and it is his tithe. This is also difficult, as in this case the Rabbis would agree that she is exempt from paying the additional fifth, as God states: “And if a man should redeem any of his tithe” (Leviticus 27:31). The emphasis of the term “man” teaches: This applies to a man, but this does not apply to a woman who redeems her husband’s tithe.
אלא לאו כי האי גוונא, דאקני לה אחר מנה, ואמר לה: ״על מנת שתפדי בו את המעשר״, ואיפכא שמענא להו!
Rather, is it not correct to say that we are dealing with a case like this following one: Where another person transferred 100 dinars to her, and said to her: I am giving this to you on the condition that you redeem your husband’s tithe with it? And if so, we heard them say the opposite with regard to the issue of whether such a condition is effective. According to R' Meir’s reasoning presented in the case of a slave, anything a woman acquires should be acquired by her husband, which would mean that it is as though her husband himself redeemed it. How, then, could R' Meir rule that a woman redeems second tithe without adding 1/5th? Additionally, the Rabbis said that the money received by the slave is not immediately acquired by his master, and yet here they consider the money received by the wife as belonging to her husband.