Study Kiddushin folio 2A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
האשה נקנית בשלש דרכים, וקונה את עצמה בשתי דרכים. נקנית בכסף, בשטר, ובביאה. בכסף: בית שמאי אומרים בדינר ובשוה דינר, ובית הלל אומרים: בפרוטה ובשוה פרוטה. וכמה היא פרוטה – אחד משמנה באיסר האיטלקי.
Mishnah: A woman is acquired by, i.e., becomes betrothed to, a man to be his wife in 3 ways, and she acquires herself, i.e., she terminates her marriage, in two ways. The Mishnah elaborates: She is acquired through money, through a document, and through sex. With regard to a betrothal through money, there is a dispute between tanna’im: Beit Shammai say that she can be acquired with one dinar or with anything that is worth one dinar. And Beit Hillel say: She can be acquired with one peruta, a small copper coin, or with anything that is worth one peruta. The Mishnah further clarifies: And how much is the value of one peruta, by the fixed value of silver? The Mishnah explains that it is 1/8th of the Italian issar, which is a small silver coin.
וקונה את עצמה בגט ובמיתת הבעל. היבמה נקנית בביאה, וקונה את עצמה בחליצה ובמיתת היבם.
And a woman acquires herself through a bill of divorce or through the death of the husband. A woman whose husband, who had a brother, died childless [yevama], can be acquired by the deceased husband’s brother, the yavam, only through sex. And she acquires herself, i.e., she is released from her levirate bond, through ḥalitza or through the death of the yavam.
גמ׳ האשה נקנית. מאי שנא הכא דתני ״האשה נקנית״, ומאי שנא התם דתני ״האיש מקדש״? משום דקא בעי למיתני כסף,
Talmud: The Mishnah teaches that a woman can be acquired in 3 ways. The Talmud asks: What is different here that this Mishnah teaches: A woman is acquired, using the language of acquisition, and what is different there, in the beginning of the next chapter (42a), which teaches: A man betroths, using the language of betrothal? The Talmud explains: In this Mishnah the tanna utilized the language of acquisition because he wanted to teach about betrothal through money, which is the standard means of exchange in an act of acquisition.