משנה: קִידַּשְׁתִּי אֶת בִּתִּי קִידַּשְׁתִּיהָ וְגֵרַשְׁתִּיהָ כְּשֶׁהִיא קְטַנָּה וַהֲרֵי הִיא קְטַנָּה נֶאֱמָן. קִידַּשְׁתִּיהָ וְגֵרַשְׁתִּיהָ כְּשֶׁהִיא קְטַנָּה וַהֲרֵי הִיא גְדוֹלָה אֵינוֹ נֶאֱמָן. נִשְׁבֵּית וּפְדִיתִיהָ בֵּין שֶׁהִיא קְטַנָּה בֵּין שֶׁהִיא גְדוֹלָה אֵינוֹ נֶאֱמָן. מִי שֶׁאָמַר בִּשְׁעַת מִיתָתוֹ יֵשׁ לִי בָנִים נֶאֱמָן. יֵשׁ לִי אַחִים אֵינוֹ נֶאֱמָן. הַמְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת בִּתּוֹ סְתָם אֵין הַבּוֹגְרוֹת בִּכְלָל. MISHNAH: “I preliminarily married off my daughter, married her preliminarily and received her bill of divorce while she was underage,” and [now] she still is underage, he is believed187Since he has the right to marry his daughter to a man whose intercourse will make her unfit for the priesthood, he can also declare her unfit for the priesthood as divorcee without producing proof.. “I preliminarily married off my daughter, married her preliminarily and received her bill of divorce while she was underage,” and [now] she is an adult, he is not believed188Since he does not have the right to marry off his adult daughter, he cannot declare her ineligible for the priesthood without producing proof.. “She had been kidnapped189And presumed raped, which forbids her to a Cohen. and I ransomed her,” he is not believed whether she is underage or adult. If somebody said when dying, I have children, he is believed193His childless widow is free to marry outside the family; she does not have to investigate whether his claim is true. The Torah empowers a father to recognize a son (Deut. 21:17); the court is not empowered to require additional proof (cf. Babli Baba Batra 134b).; I have brothers, he is not believed194If he dies childless and had married his wife without telling her that he had brothers, he cannot now subject her to levirate with a brother-in-law she might be unable to locate since her husband's uncorroborated statement cannot undo the prima facie presumption created at the time of his marriage (cf. Ketubot 1:4, Note 177; 5:5 Note 100; Gittin 3:4, Notes 92 ff.). If somebody preliminarily marries off his daughter without mentioning her name, the adult ones are not included195Since the father has no right to marry off his adult daughter. The Babli, 64b, points out that even if the adult daughter appoints her father as an agent to find her a husband, the father cannot contract the preliminary marriage without mentioning that he is an agent. Then the name of the principal automatically has to be stated..
הלכה: קִידַּשְׁתִּי אֶת בִּתִּי הַקְּטַנָּה כול׳. קִידַּשְׁתִי אֶת בִּתִּי. הַקְּטַנּוֹת בִּכְלָל הַגְּדוֹלוֹת אֵינָן בִּכְלָל. נִתְקַדְּשָׁה בִתִּי. אֲפִילוּ קְטַנּוֹת אֵינָן בִּכְלָל. גֵּירַשְׁתִּי אֶת בִּתִּי. הַקְּטַנּוֹת בִּכְלָל וְהַגְּדוֹלוֹת אֵינָן בִּכְלָל. נִתְגָּֽרְשָׁה בִתִּי. אֲפִילוּ קְטַנּוֹת אֵינָן בִּכְלָל. קִידַּשְׁתִּיהָ לְאֶחָד מִן הַפְּסוּלִין לָהּ. נֶאֱמָן. הִבְעַלְתִּיהָ לְאֶחָד מִכָּל הַפְּסוּלִין לָהּ. אֵינוֹ נֶאֱמָן. נִשְׁבֵּית וּפְדִיתִיהָ. בֵּין שֶׁהִיא קְטַנָּה וּבֵין שֶׁהִיא גְדוֹלָה אוֹ שֶׁנִּבְעֲלָה לְאֶחָד מִן הַפְּסוּלִין לָהּ. לֹא כָל־הֵימֵינוֹ לְפוֹסְלָהּ. HALAKHAH: “I preliminarily married off my younger daughter,” etc. “I preliminarily married off my daughter.” The underaged are included201Since Scripture bases the rules of a criminal procedure on the uncorroborated statement of a father who says “I gave my daughter to this man” (Deut. 22:16), it is concluded that his statement concerning a daughter over which he has the power to give her away into marriage has to be accepted by the court without further documentation or corroboration., the adults are excluded202Since the father has no right to give her away into marriage.. “My daughter was preliminarily married,” even the underaged are not included203The language seems to imply that the father was not involved in the marriage. But an underage girl cannot be legally wedded without her father arranging the marriage. For illegal acts, the father’s standing is no different from any other person in the world; one needs two independent witnesses. The father, being his daughter’s relative, is automatically disqualified as a witness.. “I accepted my daughter’s bill of divorce,” the underaged are included, the adults are excluded. “My daughter was divorced,” even the underaged are not included. “I preliminarily married off my daughter to one of those disqualified for her,” he is believed. “I made her sleep with one of those disqualified for her,” he is not believed. “She had been kidnapped and I ransomed her,” whether she is underage or adult or had intercourse with one of those disqualified for her, he is not believed.
כֵּינִי מַתְנִיתָה. שֶׁאָמַר בִּשְׁעַת מִיתָתוֹ. יֵשׁ לִי בָנִים. נֶאֱמָן. יֵשׁ לִי אַחִים. אֵינוֹ נֶאֱמָן. רַב אָמַר. מֵאַחַר שֶׁבְּיָדוֹ לְגָרֵשׁ נֶאֱמָן. מִילְּתֵיהּ דִּשְׁמוּאֵל אָֽמְרָה כֵן. חַד פַּרְסָאָה מִידְמָךְ אָמַר לוֹן. הָבוּ לְאִיתְתֵיהּ דְּהַהוּא גַבְרָא גִּיטָא. אָֽמְרוֹן לֵיהּ. וְלָמָּה. בְּגִין הַהוּא אָחוּךְ עֲלִיבָא. כַּד דְּמָךְ אָתָא עוֹבְדָא קוֹמֵי שְׁמוּאֵל. אָמַר. מֵאַחַר שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיָדוֹ לְגָרֵשׁ נֶאֱמָן. רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר. אֵינוֹ נֶאֱמָן. נְחַת עוּלָּא לְתַמָּן וְאָמַר בְּשֵם רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן וְחָֽבְרוֹן עֲלוֹי. הַגַּע עַצְמָךְ שֶׁהָיָה כֹהֶן. So is the Mishnah: “If somebody said when dying, I have children, he is believed; I have brothers, he is not believed;” Rav said, since it is in his hand to divorce, he is to be believed204One is not forced to say that the man married under false pretenses when he did not inform his bride of the existence of a brother; that now he cannot change her situation while maintaining the validity of his marriage, since he could conditionally divorce his wife, the divorce becoming active a moment before his death, and thereby protect her from the complications of levirate (in particular, in this case where the widow would be bound to an unknown brother-in-law whom she might be unable to locate).. The word of Samuel agrees with this. A Persian when dying said to them: Give this man’s205His own. wife a bill of divorce. They asked him, why? Because of your wretched brother? After he died, the case came before Samuel who said, since it was in his hand to divorce, he is to be believed206There is no reason to believe that the bill of divorce was not written and duly delivered. Samuel’s decision was that the estate, after payment of the widow’s claims, has to be held by a court-appointed trustee for the brother as next of kin.. Rebbi Joḥanan said, he is not to be believed. Ulla descended there207In Babylonia he proclaimed the Babylonian authorities Rav and Samuel to be in error. and said this in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan; they208The Babylonian scholars. ganged up on him. Think of it, if he was a Cohen209This is R. Joḥanan’s and Ulla’s argument against Rav and Samuel: Since a Cohen may not give his wife a conditional bill of divorce without forbidding her permanently to himself, and civil law does not make any difference in the personal standing of the parties, the Babylonian argument is invalid; the Mishnah is justified.
In the Babli, Baba batra 134b/135a, R. Joḥanan holds that a man who says that he divorced his wife cannot be believed without corroborating evidence. Then he cannot be believed if unexpectedly he declares to have a brother.?
הָתִיב רַב שֵׁשֶׁת. וְהָא מַתְנִיתָא פְלִיגָא. קִידַּשְׁתַּנִי. וְהוּא אוֹמֵר לֹא קִידַּשְׁתִּיךְ. הוּא מוּתָּר בִּקְרוֹבוֹתֶיהָ וְהִיא אֲסוּרָה בִּקְרוֹבָיו. אָֽמְרִין. אָכֵין הֲוָה עוֹבְדָא. שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר בָּא אַייתֵי גִיטָא וּנְתָנוֹ לָהּ בְּעֵד אֶחָד. אָתָא עוֹבְדָא קוֹמֵי רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן. אָמַר. אֵין עֵד אֶחָד בְּאֵשֶׁת אִישׁ כְּלוּם. לא רִבִּי חִייָה בַּר אַסִּי אָמַר בְּשֵׁם אַסִּי. אֵין עֵד אֶחָד בְּאֵשֶׁת אִישׁ כְּלוּם. רַב אָמַר. הַמְקַדֵּשׁ בְּעֵד אֶחָד לֹא עָשָׂה כְּלוּם. שְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר. הַמְקַדֵּשׁ בְּלֹא שִׁידּוּכִים לוֹקֶה. וְתוֹפְסִין קִדּוּשִׁין. מַר עוּקְבָּא בְשֵׁם שְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר תְּלָת. הַמְקַדֵּשׁ בְּלֹא שִׁידּוּכִין לוֹקֶה. וְהַבָּא עַל אֲרוּסָתוֹ בְבֵית חָמִיו לוֹקֶה. וְהַמְבַזֶּה שְׁלִיחַ בֵּית דִּין לוֹקֶה. Rav Sheshet objected210The language is unusual; how can one object if no statement was yet enunciated? But it is impossible to move the question after the statements of Rav and Samuel because of the concurrent testimony of G (which admittedly is fragmentary at this point.): Does not the Mishnah disagree? “You married me preliminarily but he says, I did not marry you preliminarily; he is permitted her relatives but she is forbidden his relatives.”211Mishnah 12; the order of arguments is that of the Mishnah in the Babli.
Rav Sheshet’s point is that the case treated in the Mishnah simply cannot happen. Either there are witnesses to the marriage, then there can be no dispute; or there are no witnesses, then there is no marriage. They said, so did it happen: Simeon bar Abba brought a bill of divorce and delivered it in front of one witness. The case came before Rebbi Joḥanan, who said, a single witness in marital matters is nothing212There was no delivery, the woman is not yet divorced. The agent has to take the document back and deliver it anew in front of two witnesses.. Did not Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Assi in the name of Assi213Unfortunately, these names are missing in G; there is an outside chance that the reference is to Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi, student of Rav. say: a single witness in marital matters is nothing? Rav said, one who performs a preliminary marriage in front of a single witness did not do anything214In the Babli, 65a, this is a statement of Rav Naḥman in the name of Samuel; it is stated explicitly that this holds even if the parties agree.. Samuel said, he who performs a preliminary marriage without prior negotiation is whipped, but the preliminary marriage holds. Mar Uqba in the name of Samuel said three things: He who performs a preliminary marriage without prior negotiation is whipped215In the Babli, 12b, this is attributed to Rav and rejected as practice in Nahardea, Samuel’s place. Probably this means that a betrothal is possible at the second, but not the first, date.; one who sleeps with his betrothed in his father-in-law’s house216As was the custom in Mishnaic times in Judea (Ketubot 1:5; Mishnah and Note 208). is whipped; one who insults the court bailiff217Who acts in an official capacity. is whipped.