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Kidushin, 13

1) BEING "MEKADESH" A WOMAN WITH STOLEN MONEY

QUESTION: The Beraisa says that a man can be Mekadesh a woman with an object that he stole, or with a coin that he grabbed from her hand. How can he be Mekadesh her with an object that he stole if it does not belong to him? (If it is after the owner despaired of every getting the item back (Yi'ush) and the thief was Koneh it by making some change in the item (Shinuy), then it is obvious that it belongs to him and that he could be Mekadesh her with it. It seems from the Sugya that he can be Mekadesh her with it even when the owner is not Meya'esh, like in the incident the Gemara cites involving the man who snatched a "Varshecha" (ribbon (Rashi), or pearl (Rabeinu Chananel, Bava Metzia 51a) from a woman.)

ANSWER: The RASHBA, RITVA, and ROSH explain that if the woman shows that she is interested in having the man be Mekadesh her with this item (such as in the case of "Shadich," which the Beraisa is discussing), then we assume that she was Makneh the item to the man before he gave it back to her. Consequently, the man is being Mekadesh her with an object that is indeed his.

These Rishonim point out that this seems to be the intention of the Rif, who writes that the Beraisa is specifically referring to an object that the man stole from the woman and not from anyone else. Since he stole it from her, she is able to be Mochel and be Makneh it to him. If he stole it from someone else, the Kidushin will not be valid.

QUESTION: The Gemara cites a teaching of Rebbi Asi who taught that just as a woman cannot become Mekudeshes with less than a Perutah, a field cannot be bought for less than a Perutah.

Why would we have thought that a field can be bought with less than a Perutah, when the only source for Kinyan Kesef of a *woman* is the Kinyan Kesef of a field (as the Gemara says on 4b)?

ANSWERS:

(a) TOSFOS answers that perhaps Rebbi Asi derived that Kinyan Kesef works for Kidushin from the verse, "v'Yatz'ah Chinam" (Shemos 21:11), and not from the Kinyan Kesef of a field.

(b) TOSFOS suggests further that sometimes the Gemara relates the inverse of the correct correlation (see RASHASH). That is, Rebbi Asi actually meant to say that just like a field cannot be purchased with less than a Perutah, so, too, the Kidushin of a woman cannot be done with less than a Perutah. This is the logical correlation, since the Kinyan Kesef of a woman is derived from the Kinyan Kesef of a field.

(c) The TOSFOS HA'ROSH answers that according to the Girsa of Rashi (beginning of 3b), Kidushin depends not only on what we learn from the purchase of a field, but also on the self-respect of a woman. A woman cannot become Mekudeshes with less than a Perutah, because she considers it disrespectful and she does not fully consent to the Kidushin (see Insights there). Hence, even though Kidushin cannot be done with less than a Perutah, we might have thought that a field can be bought with less than a Perutah. Therefore, Rebbi Asi must teach that a field cannot be bought for less than a Perutah.

Tosfos does not accept this answer, probably because he is following his opinion expressed earlier (3a) where he rejects Rashi's Girsa and says that the amount of the Kesef Kidushin does not depend on the woman's self-respect.

In a similar vein, HE'OROS B'MASECHES KIDUSHIN suggests that the RAMBAM in a number of places seems to differentiate between the Kesef used to purchase a field and the Kesef used to marry a woman. For example, a man can be Mekadesh a woman by lending her money (as long as he says so at the time he gives her the loan; see Insights to 5b), while a field cannot be purchased in such a way. Also, a woman cannot be acquired through a "Matanah Al Menas l'Hachzir," a gift given on condition that it be returned to the giver, but a field could be acquired in such a way.

He explains that the Kidushin of a woman is done through the *Hana'ah* and not through the Kesef itself, since a woman is not an item of set value like a field. Rather, the Hana'ah that she receives causes her to allow herself to become Mekudeshes to the man (see AVNEI MILU'IM 29:2). Hence, we might have thought that a woman is not Mekudeshes with less than a Perutah because that is not considered Hana'ah, while a field could be purchased with less than a Perutah because that is still money, even though it does not constitute Hana'ah. Rebbi Asi teaches that less than a Perutah is also not considered money and cannot be used to buy a field.

(d) The RASHASH says that Rebbi Asi means merely that even though the *Mishnah* did not discuss how much money is needed for the purchase of a field, like it discussed how much money is needed for the Kidushin of a woman, nevertheless the minimum purchase price of a field is still a Perutah.

Perhaps the Rishonim did not find this answer acceptable is because Rav Asi should then have made clear the connection between these two Halachos. He should have said, "*The reason* a woman must be Mekudeshes with a Perutah (as the Mishnah says) is *because* a field must be purchased with at least a Perutah (and Kidushin performed with Kesef is learned from the way a field is purchased)."

13b