1)

(a)The author of our Mishnah is Rebbi Meir in a Beraisa. Rebbi Yehudah there says 'Shum ha'Yesomim Shishim Yom, ve'Shum ha'Hekdesh Tish'im Yom, and the Chachamim - Echad Zeh ve'Echad Zeh, Shishim Yom.

(b)When Rebbi Chiya bar Avin quoted Rav Chisda Amat Avimi as saying 'Shum ha'Yesomim Shishim Yom, Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak couldn't believe his ears, because he thought that Rebbi Chiya bar Avin must said was - 'Sheloshim Yom'.

(c)When he assured him that he had said ...

1. ... 'Shishim Yom', he asked him whether he had not perhaps said 'de'Hekdesh.'

2. ... 'di'Yesomim' - he asked him further whether he had not said this according to Rebbi Yehudah?

(d)Rav Chisda himself it seems, had asked Avimi the same question, to which Avimi reacted - by beating him with a stick.

2)

(a)Avimi in fact, reconciled both rulings. Rebbi Meir does indeed hold that the announcing lasted thirty days, like our Mishnah, provided they announced them consecutively (with the presumable exception of Shabbos), and when he said sixty - he was talking where Beis-Din decided to restrict their announcements to Monday and Thursday (the Yemei ha'Din).

(b)That would amount to - eighteen actual days of announcing (sixteen days out of fifty-six, plus the extra Monday and Thursday at the beginning).

(c)In spite of the fact that there are twelve days short of thirty (ten, if we deduct the Shabbasos from the thirty consecutive-day period, as we explained) Rebbi Meir is satisfied with that - because the overall length of time involved, makes up for the missing days (as far as the spreading of the news is concerned).

3)

(a)According to Rav Yehudah Amar Rav Asi, we only sell the property of Yesomim if it is being consumed by Ribis - on a loan from a Nochri, which is permitted.

(b)Rebbi Yochanan adds that it is also permitted - if it is to pay for their mother's Kesubah ...

(c)... which is to their advantage, as it saves them having to pay her Mezonos.

4)

(a)And the reason that Rav Asi did not also give the reason of Kesuvas Ishah is - because the Rabbanan instituted Ma'aseh Yadehah (what she earns from the sale of what she produces) against Mezonos.

(b)Rebbi Yochanan disputes that - because he takes into account the possibility that sometimes she does not produce enough to cover it.

(c)We query Rav Asi from our Mishnah 'Shum ha'Yesomim Sheloshim Yom'. We object to establishing this where it is to pay ...

1. ... a Nochri creditor - who would certainly not agree to forego his interest, during the thirty-day announcing period.

2. ... a Jewish creditor who is taking interest - because this is something that we would never allow (as we already explained).

(d)The problem this creates for Rav Asi is - what is then the purpose of the sale.

(e)This is not a problem according to Rebbi Yochanan - who will establish it by Kesuvas Ishah.

5)

(a)Rav Asi will try to counter this - by pointing out that the problem extends to Rebbi Yochanan too, since it is unreasonable to deprive the Almanah of her Mezonos in order to announce the property for thirty days - which might not bring any gain to the Yesomim.

(b)Rebbi Yochanan will answer this by citing Rav Yehudah Amar Shmuel, on account of whose words he establishes the case - where the Almanah claimed her Kesubah in Beis-Din (in which case she forfeits her rights to Mezonos anyway).

(c)Nevertheless, Beis-Din will take up the case of the Yesomim (even though they do not stand to lose anything) - since they have convened to deal with the Almanah's claim anyway.

(d)And to answer the Kashya on Rav Asi, we establish the Mishnah where there is a Nochri creditor - and the Tana is speaking where the Nochri actually condescends to follow Jewish law, and to bear with the Beis-Din for the thirty days of announcement ...

(e)... but not to the extent of foregoing the interest completely.

6)

(a)Quoting a Beraisa which confines any claim from Yesomim to Ziburis (worst-quality fields), we again have difficulty in establishing it. The Tana cannot be speaking by a Nochri creditor - who would hardly be likely to agree to such a ruling.

(b)And once again we dismiss the possibility that he is talking about a Jewish creditor who is charging interest, leaving us with no alternative other than to establish the Beraisa by a woman who is claiming her Kesubah (like Rebbi Yochanan). Rav Asi counters that it is no better according to Rebbi Yochanan - since a woman claims her Kesubah from Ziburis anyway (even from her husband, in which case the Beraisa is not teaching us anything).

(c)We refute this argument however, by establishing the Beraisa like Rebbi Meir - according to whom she would claim Beinonis (middle-quality fields) from her husband.

(d)Whereas Rav Asi will establish the Beraisa - by a Nochri creditor, who agrees to abide by Dinei Yisrael regarding claiming from Ziburis, but not regarding foregoing his interest (like we explained earlier).

7)

(a)We now ask from the Beraisa that we discussed earlier ' ... al-M'nas Liten le'Ishah Kesubasah u'le'Ba'al-Chov Chovo' - a Kashya on Rav Asi who dismisses the suggestion that a woman may claim her Kesubah from the Yesomim.

(b)And we answer by establishing the case where the creditor admitted before he died that the money was still owing - in which case there is no reason not to claim from the Yesomim.

(c)And we add to that ('Hashta de'Asis le'Hachi ... ') - having arrived at this conclusion, we can answer all the previous Kashyos in the same way.

8)

(a)When Mereimar claimed the Kesuvah for a divorced woman from the Yesomim, Ravina argued that this ruling concurred neither with Rav Asi nor with Rebbi Yochanan - who would concede that Beis-Din would not claim from the Yesomim in the case of a Gerushah, since he referred exclusively to an Almanah.

(b)Ameimar replied that - as far as he was concerned, Rebbi Yochanan's ruling was based on 'China' (that the women should look favorably upon the men, and would therefore not refuse their offers of marriage), in which case there was no difference between an Almanah and a Gerushah in this regard.

(c)Initially, Rav Nachman refused to claim from the property of Yesomim, until he heard what Rav Huna ('our colleague') said in the name of Rav, who declared that Yesomim who devour what is not theirs' - deserve to go in the way of their deceased father.

9)

(a)According to Rav Papa, Rav Nachman would initially decline to claim from the property of Yesomim, because paying back a debt is a Mitzvah - and Ketanim are not obligated to perform Mitzvos.

(b)Rav Huna b'rei de'Rav Yehoshua however, ascribed Rav Nachman's initial ruling - to the suspicion that the Yesomim's father discreetly gave the creditor bundles of money as payment of his debt.

(c)One difference between the two reasons is where the father admitted to owing the money before he died (removing the reservations according to Rav Papa, but not according to Rav Huna b'rei de'Rav Yehoshua). The other (explaining the Yesomim's obligation to pay even where their father did not admit) is - where Beis-Din had placed their father in Cherem for not paying, and that is how he died (a clear indication that he had not yet paid, even if he did not say so).

(d)We rule like Rav Huna b'rei de'Rav Yehoshua. And when we cite the Yerushalmim, which said 'Shamtuhu u'Meis be'Shamteih', we are referring to - the series of Kashyos that we asked earlier on Rav Asi, and which the Yerushalmim are now answering by establishing our Mishnah as well as the various Beraisos that we quoted, where the father died in Cherem.

10)

(a)We query Rav Papa from our Mishnah 'Shum ha'Yesomim ... '. Initially dismissing the suggestion that the Tana is speaking about a Ba'al-Chov Nochri, there is no problem with Rav Huna b'rei de'Rav Yehoshua - who will establish our Mishnah by a Ba'al-Chov Yisrael, where the Yesomim's father admitted before his death that he had not paid.

(b)We answer Rav Papa in one of two ways. We suggest either that the Mishnah is speaking about a Ba'al-Chov Nochri who undertook to wait for the thirty-day announcement it by Kesuvas Ishah, who is permitted to claim because of 'China' (like Ameimar explained earlier) - or we establish it by a Nochri who agrees to abide by Dinei Yisrael.

(c)Rava gives the reason for not claiming from Yesomim as Shover - we suspect that the father paid and received a receipt of which the Yesomim are unaware, arguing with both his Talmidim, Rav Papa and Rav Huna b'rei de'Rav Yehoshua (see Tosfos DH 'Rava Amar').

11)

(a)The Mishnah in Kesuvos rules that a woman who claims her Kesubah not in the presence of her husband - is obligated to first swear that she did not yet receive it.

(b)Rebbi Acha Sar ha'Birah citing Rebbi Yitzchak Nafcha in Antuchya, qualified the Mishnah - by confining it to Kesuvas Ishah. It does not apply however - to a Ba'al-Chov, on whose behalf Beis-Din will not deign to claim property in the debtor's absence.

(c)Rava Amar Rav Nachman disagrees - extending the Mishnah's ruling to a Ba'al-Chov as well.

(d)Clearly Rava does not contend with the possibility of there being a receipt of which we are unaware. To reconcile this with his previous ruling - we restrict the current ruling to this case, to dissuade debtors from running off overseas with their creditor's money to avoid paying their debts.

12)

(a)Rava rules that Beis-Din are not permitted to claim from the property of Yesomim - unless their father explicitly said 'T'nu' before he died.

(b)If the father said 'Sadeh Zu' or 'Manah Zu' - the Yesomim do not require an agent. Whereas if he said 'Sadeh S'tam' or 'Manah S'tam' - an agent is required to pick the best property on their behalf and to make sure that the Ba'al-Chov receives Ziburis.

(c)According to the Neherda'i however, Beis-Din always appoint an agent, the only exception being - where a field purportedly belonging to their father, is discovered to have been stolen, in which case Beis-Din confiscate it from the Yesomim immediately (without appointing an agent) ...

(d)... in order not to cast aspersions on the integrity of the witnesses.

13)

(a)Rav Ashi extrapolates from the above combination of rulings that ...

1. ... Lechatchilah - Beis-Din do not go down to the property of Yesomim (like Rava).

2. ... Bedieved, if they did - they will invariably appoint an agent, except for the one case where the field is discovered to have been stolen (like that of the Neherda'i).