1)

(a)A Besulah gets married on Wednesday, an Almanah - on Thursday.

(b)The reason for the former is because - in all major cities, Beis-Din convene on Thursday, thereby enabling the Chasan to take his wife there the morning after they have been intimate, in the event that he has a Ta'anas Besulim (which will be discussed shortly).

(c)They do not marry on Wednesday night - since that will leave the Chasan so busy dealing with the wedding-feast (See also Tiferes Yisrael) that he will not have time to be intimate with his new wife.

(d)Beis-Din also convene - on Monday (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

2)

(a)'Ta'anas Besulim' incorporates that - 1. she did not have Dam Besulim, and 2. her womb had already been opened (Pesach Pasu'ach).

(b)The three stages regarding the physical status of a young girl - before she turns twelve and grows two pubic hairs (a Ketanah), after she has turned twolve and has grown two pubic hairs (a Na'arah) and from twelve and a half and onwards (a Bogeres).

(c)'Pesach Pasu'ach' - does not apply to a Bogeres, whose womb opens automatically, but - Dam Besulim does.

(d)A Besulah must marry on Wednesday based on the above reason, and not on Tuesday, say (so that if either of the above claims applies, the husband can still go to Beis-Din on Thursday) - because we are afraid that in the meantime, his anger will abate, and he will forgive her ...

(e)... which is not acceptable, since in the event that she committed adultery after their betrothal, she is forbidden to him (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

3)

(a)In spite of the fact that the Batei-Din also convene on Monday, a Besulah may not marry on Sunday - due to the Takanah of 'Shakdu' (obligating the Chasan to spend three consecutive days preparing the wedding feast.

(b)In times when Beis-Din do not convene specifically on Monday and Thursday - then one may marry a Besulah on any day of the week (See Tos. Yom-Tov) ...

(c)... provided the Chasan conforms to the Takanah of 'Shakdu'..

4)

(a)The Chachamim instituted marrying an Almanah on Thursday - to ensure that the couple spends the first three days (Thursday, Friday and Shabbos) after their marriage together. Otherwise we are afraid that the Chasan will go to work the next morning.

(b)Even if, for some reason, the first three days following the wedding of an Almanah do not include a Shabbos - the Chasan is not allowed to go to work for the three days following the wedding.

(c)The equivalent time period regarding a man who marries a Besulah is - seven days.

(d)Birchas Chasanim (Sheva B'rachos) applies ...

1. ... for seven days - provided at least one of the newlywed couple is marrying for the first time.

2. ... for one day only - in the event that both of them have been married before.

5)

(a)The Kesubah of a Besulah is - two hundred Zuz (See Tos. Yom-Tov), and of an Almanah - one hundred.

(b)The Kesubah of a Besulah, a Gerushah or a Chalutzah (See Tos. Yom-Tov), min ha'Erusin is - two hundred Zuz.

(c)Ta'anas Besulim applies to an Almanah min ha'Erusin.

6)

(a)In order to still be considered a Besulah, a girl must convert (See Tiferes Yisrael) and a female captive be released - before they have turned three (See Tos. Yom-Tov) ...

(b)... and the same applies to - a Shifchah who has been set free (See Tiferes Yisrael).

7)

(a)The Mishnah speaks about a Ketanah who had relations with a Gadol or a Gedolah who had relations with a Katan and a Mukas Eitz. A ...

1. ... 'Ketanah' in the former case is - a girl under three.

2. ... 'Katan' in the latter case is a boy under nine (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

3. ... a Mukas Eitz is - a girl whose womb has been pierced by a stick (thereby breaking her Besulim).

(b)Rebbi Meir rules that the Kesubah of each of the above girls in the event that they eventually get married remains - two hundred Zuz.

(c)The Chachamim disagree - in the case of Mukas Eitz.

(d)If in the latter case, the Chasan claims that it is a Mekach Ta'us (a invalid sale) and that he is therefore Patur from paying her Kesubah - his claim is rejected.

8)

(a)The Mishnah rules that a 'Besulah' who is an Almanah, a Gerushah or a Chalutzah min ha'Ni'su'in - receive a Kesubah of one Manah ...

(b)... and that if the Chasan has a Ta'anas Besulin - it is rejected ...

(c)... because she has a Chezkas Be'ulah (See Tos. Yom-Tov), in which case he ought to have known when he married her that she is probably not a Besulah.

(d)A Giyores who converts and a Shevuyah or a Shifchah who is set free (both above the age of three) - will receive a Kesubah of a Manah ...

(e)... and the Chasan does not have a Ta'anas Besulim.

9)

(a)When the Tana speaks about someone who eats by his father-in-law in Yehudah without witnesses, he is referring to - the Se'udas Erusin.

(b)The reason that later, he does not have a Ta'anas Besulim is because - it was customary in Yehudah for the Chasan and Kalah to seclude themselves after the betrothal (See Tos. Yom-Tov) ...

(c)... in order to become more familiar with each other

10)

(a)The Mishnah now discusses the Kesubah of an ...

1. ... 'Almanas Yisrael' - (an Almanah who is a bas Yisrael) and ...

2. ... 'Almanas Kohen' (an Almanah who is a bas Kohen).

(b)The Tana rules that - both of them receive a Kesubah of a hundred Zuz.

(c)The Beis-Din of Kohanim however, used to write on the Kesubah of a Besulah Kohenes - that she is to receive four hundred Zuz.

(d)The Chachamim - raised no objection to that (See Tos. Yom-Tov & Tiferes Yisrael).

11)

(a)In a case of a Chasan who discovers that his newly-wed wife is not a Besulah and she claims that she was raped after the Erusin and that he remains obligated to give her her Kesubah, he argues that - she was raped before the Erusin and that his acquisition is therefore a Mekach Ta'us.

(b)According to Rabban Gamliel and Rebbi Eliezer, we believe her and she may claim her Kesubah - after swearing a Shevu'as Hesses (mi'de'Rabbanan).

(c)Rebbi Yehoshua maintains that - we believe the Chasan, and she has a Chezkas Be'ulah from before the Erusin, unless she is able to substantiate her claim.

(d)The Halachah is - like Rabban Gamliel and Rebbi Eliezer.

12)

(a)If she insists that she is still a Besulah however - she is not believed (he is) ...

(b)... due to a Chazakah that a person does not go to all the trouble and expense of arranging a wedding-feast, to lose it all the next morning,

13)

(a)The same Tana'im argue over where the girl claims that she became a Mukas Eitz (after the Erusin) - and she is entitled to a Kesubah, and the Chasan counters that she was raped, in which case their marriage is invalid.

(b)Here too, Rabban Gamliel and Rebbi Eliezer rule that - she is believed (See Tiferes Yisrael), whereas according to Rebbi Yehoshua - she is not (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(c)If the Chasan is a Kohen however - he is obligated to divorce her ...

(d)... since he claimed that she was raped after the Erusin, thereby turning her into a piece of Isur as far as he is concerned ('Shavyah a'Nafsheih Chatichah de'Isura') and even if she is an Anusah, she is forbidden to him, seeing as he is a Kohen.

(e)The girl however - receives her Kesubah.

14)

(a)When the Tana talks about a girl who is seen talking with a strange man in the market-place, he means that - she is secluded with him (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

(b)In this case too, Rabban Gamliel and Rebbi Eliezer rule that she is believed (See Tos. Yom-Tov) if she names the man she was 'talking to' and claims that he is a Kohen. Rebbi Yehoshua once again maintains that - she is not believed, and that she has a Chazakah of having committed adultery with a Nasin or a Mamzer.

(c)The Ramifications of this Machlokes are - whether she is permitted to marry a Kohen (Rabban Gamliel and Rebbi Eliezer) or not (Rebbi Yehoshua).

15)

(a)In a case where a girl who is found to be pregnant, claims that she is pregnant from so-and-so Kohen - Rabban Gamliel and Rebbi Eliezer rule that she is believed, whereas according to Rebbi Yehoshua - she has a Chazakah of being pregnant from a Nasin or a Mamzer.

(b)According to the former - both she and her daughter (should the baby turn out to be a girl) are permitted to marry a Kohen (See Tos. Yom-Tov & Tiferes Yisrael); according to Rebbi Yehoshus, they are forbidden.

(c)Rabban Gamliel and Rebbi Eliezer concede however, that - she is not believed to authorize the baby to inherit the man she claims is the father.

16)

(a)In all the current cases where Rabban Gamliel and Rebbi Eliezer argue with Rebbi Yehoshua, the Halachah is - like Rabban Gamliel and Rebbi Eliezer.

(b)In spite of this ruling, they are not permitted to marry a Kohen unless two conditions are met. One of them is that the majority of the residents of the town are Meyuchasim (eligible to marry a Kohen), the other that - their intimacy took place outside the town ...

(c)... due to the principle 'Kol de'Parish, me'Ruba Parish' (a majority [of this nature] is only effective if the subject moved to a different location before performing the act in question or before being discovered).

17)

(a)In the story related by Rebbi Yossi, the young girl who went to draw water from the well - was raped.

(b)Rebbi Yochanan ben Nuri permitted her to marry a Kohen - provided the majority of the town's residents were Meyuchasim ...

(c)... and that the majority of groups that stopped by the well were also Meyuchasim (See Tos. Yom-Tov & Meleshes Shlomoh).

(d)One 'Rov' did not suffice - because 'Ma'aleh Asu e'Yuchsin' (the Chachamim were stringent by 'Yuchsin' and required two.