Kesubos - Daf 98
- An almanah selling her late husband’s property requires a שבועה but not a הכרזה
Rabbah brei d’Rava sent the following question to Rav Yosef: מוכרת שלא בבית דין צריכה שבועה או אין צריכה שבועה – If an almanah sells her late husband’s estate (to collect her kesubah) without consulting Beis Din, does she require a shevuah or not? Rashi explains that the question is whether she must take a shevuah that she did not collect more than the value of her kesubah. Rav Yosef answered: ותבעי לך הכרזה – But you should have asked instead whether a public announcement is required before she sells the property instead. Rav Yosef is referring to the Beis Din’s public auction of a debtor’s property. If the almanah must also sell the property through a public auction, then people will know how much it was sold for and there is no need to for her to take a shevuah. If she does not, then perhaps she does need to take a shevuah. Rav Yosef says that Rava should have inquired about this first, since the answer to this question will determine whether his inquiry is relevant. After Rabbah’s explanation for why he did not inquire about the הכרזה is rejected, the Gemara concludes that the halachah is: צריכה שבועה ואינה צריכה הכרזה – an almanah requires a shevuah and does not require a הכרזה.
- When an almanah undersells or oversells the property to collect her kesubah
The next Mishnah states: אלמנה שהיתה כתובתה מאתים – An almanah whose kesubah was worth two hundred zuz, ומכרה שוה מנה במאתים או שוה מאתים במנה נתקבלה כתובתה – and she sold property worth one hundred zuz for two hundred zuz, or she sold property worth two hundred zuz for one hundred zuz, she has received her kesubah. Rashi explains that in the latter case we can tell her that she caused the loss of half her kesubah by underselling the property. If her kesubah was worth one hundred zuz, ומכרה שוה מנה ודינר במנה – and she sold property worth one hundred zuz and a dinar for one hundred zuz, מכרה בטל אפילו היא אומרת אחזיר דינר ליורשין מכרה בטל – her sale is void, and even if she says, “I will return the extra dinar the heirs,” the sale is void. But Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: לעולם מכרה קיים – He sale always stands unless there will be enough to leave over in a field an area of nine kabin, and in a vegetable garden, an area of half a kav, and according to the opinion of Rebbe Akiva, an area in the garden the size of a בית רובע – a quarter kav. According to Rebbe Shimon, the only time the sale is void is when the land that was sold in excess of the kesubah, together with any bordering land that has remained in the possession of the heirs, equals an area that could have been used as a field.
- הכל לבעל המעות
The Gemara asks if in the second case of the Mishnah where the almanah sold the land worth two hundred zuz for a hundred, we tell her, “You lost half your kesubah by underselling the land, then in the Mishnah’s first case where she sold property worth a hundred zuz for two hundred zuz, let her say, "אנא ארווחנא" – “I profited by overcharging, and the heirs still owe me half the kesubah!” Rav Nachman answered in the name of Rabbah bar Avuha: Here in our Mishnah, Rebbe has taught: הכל לבעל המעות – that all windfall monies received by a shaliach belong to the owner of the purchase money, meaning the sender or buyer himself. Rashi explains that the shaliach cannot claim that he earned the extra profit. This issue is a machlokes Tannaim where Rebbe Yehudah holds extra profits go to the shaliach, and Rebbe Yose holds that when an item that does not have a fixed price, such as in our case of land, הכל לבעל המעות – the extra earnings go to the principal, referring to the heirs. Rebbe wrote the Mishnah according to Rebbe Yose’s opinion.
