Tractate Kiddushin According to the Meiri
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TRACTATE KIDDUSHIN ACCORDING TO THE MEIRI By Yecheskel D. Folger © Yecheskel D. Folger, 1989, 1999, 2001 521 Fifth Avenue, 24th Floor New York, New York 10175 APPROVAL LETTER FROM RAV PAM O”BM BS'D 21 Iyar, 36 l'sfirat ha'omer, 5749 Increasing numbers of persons nowadays study Torah and thirst for G-d's word. Many books of halacha, agada and musar are being printed in English for the convenience of those who are more familiar with this langauge. Several holy seforim have also been translated into English, and more persons now have ready access to them. But translation is an art rather than labor, and not all persons can prepare a proper translation. The translator must have a clear and careful understanding of the source sefer, and he must also master the language into which he translates. Only then will the resulting work be correct, well written and to the point. The translation of the Meiri which was prepard by my friend and former student of our Yeshiva, Yecheskel Dovid Folger, is a work of this sort. After reviewing small parts of different sections, I saw that he had the wisdom properly to explain the approach of the Meiri in organized fashion, with good understanding, and in brief and clear language. Avraham Yakov HaKohen Pam FOREWORD R. Menahem b. Solomon Meiri (1249-1316) spent the greater part of his life in Perpignan in the Provence section of southeast France. He was a renowned commentator and scholar of the Talmud. His most distinguished colleague was the Rashba with whom he corresponded frequently. The name Meiri was derived from an ancestor whose name was Meir. His Provencal name was Don Vidal Solomon (the son of Solomon). The decades which preceded the Meiri's birth were unsettled times in France, Provence and Spain. The schools of the French Tosefists were in large part discontinued in this period. The Talmud was burned in Paris in 1244, five years before the Meiri's birth. Earlier, in 1215, Pope Innocent III had decreed that Jews over 12 years old were to wear distinctive clothing and to pay an annual tax to local clergy. Conflict between the clergy and temporal forces in Provence was accompanied by persecution of Jews. The Meiri's works may be viewed in part as an attempt to provide order for disordered times, and to organize materials for a generation too distracted to organize and synthesize without assistance. He provides a synthesis of the views of the commentators who flourished before the onset of the turbulence. He emphasizes orderly procedure. Each discussion is begun from elementary fundamentals and then moves gradually, by stages, to the most complex dialectic. There are brief introductions before each tractate, perek, and topic. Complicated matters are separated into individual parts which are dissected separately and are then recombined for easy understanding. The Meiri seeks to establish halacha from the talmudic texts, and at the same time to use the process of establishing halacha as a tool to broaden understanding of the text. It was his strongly held view that a student has not achieved full understanding until he understands how the halacha is derived from the Gemara. The Meiri emphasizes study of the Rambam's halachic conclusions for use in this endeavor. Prior codifiers, primarily Spanish, had selected from each tractate only what was relevant for the halacha under modern conditions, substantially omitting all else. The Rambam was an exception; in abbreviated fashion he treats all halachic matters, whether or not currently applicable. The Rambam's source material is immense and covered the Bavli, the Yerushalmi, the Tosefta and other sources, including the contributions of the Geonim, and his conclusions are organized by topic in clear Mishnaic Hebrew. This approach is emulated by the Meiri. Another important aspect of the Meiri's commentary is his emphasis on the Mishnah. He develops each sugyah from its origin and for this reason he assigns a separate section to the Mishnah and explains it fully before turning to the later development and discussions of the amoraim. In these later discussions he refers the reader back to the Mishnah for matters already explained there. Distinguish this from Rashi who in the Mishnah refers the reader to the Gemara for the clarification of ambiguities. The Meiri's style contributes much to the lucidity of his presentation. His Hebrew is accurate, precise, direct and unencumbered. His chief work is the Beit ha-Behirah on the Talmud, which he wrote from 1287 to 1300. In it he summarizes the subject matter of the Talmud, giving both the meaning and the halacha derived from it. The work covers the orders of Mo'ed, Nashim, and Nezikin, and the tractates Berakot, Hallah, Hullin, Niddah, Tamid, Middot, and Mikva'ot. Beit ha-Behirah has been republished in its entirety in recent years from a single complete manuscript in the Palatinate Library in Parma, Italy. Each tractate and its individual chapters is preceded by a short preface outlining the subject in general terms. The discussion begins with a presentation of the fundamental principles involved and proceeds with an explanation of the opinions of each of the amoraim. The Meiri in conclusion sums up and collates these opinions, giving the relevant halacha as he sees it. Relevant analyses are drawn from the Yerushalmi. An abundance of comments handed down by German, Provencal, and Spanish scholars with their different interpretations are incorporated, but each one is given separately to prevent confusion on the part of the reader. In an unusual approach, these scholars are not mentioned by name but rather by epithet. For example, Rashi is referred to as the "greatest of rabbis," The Rambam is referred to as the "greatest of authors," and the Alfasi is referred to as the greatest of posekim." The Meiri's activity also included other halachic rulings, talmudic exposition, biblical commentary, customs, ethics, and philosophy. The vast majority of Meiri's works remained in manuscript until very recently, probably on account of their exceptional length, which made it practically impossible to copy them in full. It is also possible that his works were neglected because of an increasingly intense emphasis by Torah scholars on pilpul, or dialectic. A small number of his works were published in the second half of the 18th century and the majority of them from the beginning of the 20th century up to the present day. An exception is his commentary to the Book of Proverbs which was first published in Portugal in 1492, and then included in the Kehillot Moshe edition of Mikra'ot Gedolot (Amsterdam, 1724). The preceding material was abstracted from Talpioth IV, 1 (1949) and a comprehensive article in Encyclopedia Judaica. These sources should be consulted for further biographical information. *** The present work is a complete and expanded English adaptation of the Beit ha- Behirah on Tractate Kiddushin of the Babylonian Talmud. It is not a literal translation. It reworks the Meiri into contemporary terminology and modern modes of argumentation. There is no abridgment, and it preserves all that the Meiri actually wrote. My goal has been to enable modern English speaking students of the Talmud to penetrate beyond a basic comprehension of the Talmudic text, which they can arrive at using the Soncino translation. Using the Meiri, these students can now gain access to the underlying Talmudic dialectic. *** I acknowledge with gratitude the patience with which my wife Rachell and my children Chayi, Yomtov Shaul and Eliezer Menahem endured the many hours I devoted to this work. Dr. Stanley Sprecher, Professor A. Kirschenbaum and Rabbi M. C. Fuchs have offered encouragement and scholarly advice. Mr. Samuel Gross of Sefer Hermon Press bestowed abundant kindnesses. I thank them all. I am also grateful to those readers who will write to me to point out errors to be corrected in future editions. I close with a blessing of shehehianu to Hashem for the peace of mind and many blessings which have allowed me to complete this work. 5 Sivan 5749. INTRODUCTION Tractate Kiddushin With the Assistance of the Almighty, Amen Tractate Kiddushin is the first Tractate in Seder Nashim which deals with marital bonds and related matters. Before the Torah was given there were no formal marital bonds. Relationships between "husband" and "wife" were casually instituted and separated. The casualness of the relationship eliminated the wife's sense of obligation to work for her husband, to remain faithful to him, and to refrain from uttering oaths in anger. In contrast, the bonds of yibbum could not be dissolved by halizah or otherwise. The Torah formalized marital bonds by providing for kiddushin and marriage in the presence of witnesses, requiring that the wife be given a kethubah, and permitting divorce only by formal get. yibbum was made dissolvable by way of halizah. The husband was given the authority to punish his wife if despite his warning she secluded herself with another man. Finally, the husband was given the authority to absolve his wife of her oaths. All of these matters are discussed in Seder Nashim. Tractate Kiddushin is the first tractate in the grouping because it deals with betrothal, which begins the marital relationship. The discussion is divided into four perokim on the following outline: how women are betrothed (this discussion includes information on the precise words which must be used and the precise context which is required); who may betroth and through whom (this discussion includes information on the cases in which the father's participation is or is not required, as well as the effect and the validity of conditions precedent to betrothal); errors in betrothals; categories of women for whom: betrothal is permitted; betrothal is effective but forbidden; and betrothal is forbidden and ineffective.