כִּי־יִקַּח אִישׁ אִשָּׁה וּבְעָלָהּ וְהָיָה אִם־לֹא תִמְצָא־חֵן בְּעֵינָיו כִּי־מָצָא בָהּ עֶרְוַת דָּבָר וְכָתַב לָהּ סֵפֶר כְּרִיתֻת וְנָתַן בְּיָדָהּ וְשִׁלְּחָהּ מִבֵּיתוֹ׃ וְיָצְאָה מִבֵּיתוֹ וְהָלְכָה וְהָיְתָה לְאִישׁ־אַחֵר׃ (דברים כד, א-ב) When a man takes a woman and engages in sexual intercourse with her; and it comes to pass, if she finds no favor in his eyes, because he has found some unseemly matter in her, and he writes for her a scroll of severance, and gives it in her hand, and sends her out of his house. And she departs out of his house, and goes and becomes another man's wife. (Deuteronomy 24:1–2)
כִּי תִקְנֶה עֶבֶד עִבְרִי שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים יַעֲבֹד וּבַשְּׁבִעִת יֵצֵא לַחׇפְשִׁי חִנָּם׃ (שמות כא, ב) If you buy a Hebrew slave, six years he shall labor; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. (Exodus 21:2)
וְאִם־אָמֹר יֹאמַר הָעֶבֶד אָהַבְתִּי אֶת־אֲדֹנִי אֶת־אִשְׁתִּי וְאֶת־בָּנָי לֹא אֵצֵא חׇפְשִׁי׃ וְהִגִּישׁוֹ אֲדֹנָיו אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִים וְהִגִּישׁוֹ אֶל־הַדֶּלֶת אוֹ אֶל־הַמְּזוּזָה וְרָצַע אֲדֹנָיו אֶת־אׇזְנוֹ בַּמַּרְצֵעַ וַעֲבָדוֹ לְעֹלָם׃ (שמות כא, ה-ו) But if the slave shall say: I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go out free. Then his master shall bring him to the judges, and shall bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever. (Exodus 21:5–6)
כְּשָׂכִיר כְּתוֹשָׁב יִהְיֶה עִמָּךְ עַד־שְׁנַת הַיֹּבֵל יַעֲבֹד עִמָּךְ׃ (ויקרא כה, מ) As a hired worker and as a settler he shall be with you; he shall labor with you until the Jubilee Year. (Leviticus 25:40)
וְכִי־יִמְכֹּר אִישׁ אֶת־בִּתּוֹ לְאָמָה לֹא תֵצֵא כְּצֵאת הָעֲבָדִים׃ אִם־רָעָה בְּעֵינֵי אֲדֹנֶיהָ אֲשֶׁר־[לוֹ] (לא) יְעָדָהּ וְהֶפְדָּהּ לְעַם נׇכְרִי לֹא־יִמְשֹׁל לְמׇכְרָהּ בְּבִגְדוֹ־בָהּ׃ וְאִם־שְׁלׇשׁ־אֵלֶּה לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה לָהּ וְיָצְאָה חִנָּם אֵין כָּסֶף׃ (שמות כא, ז-ח,יא) And if a man sells his daughter as a maidservant she shall not go out as the men slaves do. If she does not please her master who did not designate her then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no power to sell her to a foreign people, seeing that he has dealt deceitfully with her...And if he does not do these three to her, then shall she go out for nothing, without money. (Exodus 21:7–11)
וְעַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתְךָ אֲשֶׁר יִהְיוּ־לָךְ מֵאֵת הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹתֵיכֶם מֵהֶם תִּקְנוּ עֶבֶד וְאָמָה׃ (ויקרא כה, מד) And as for your slaves and your maidservants, whom you may have, of the nations that are round about you, of them you shall buy slaves and maidservants. (Leviticus 25:44)
וְכִי־תִמְכְּרוּ מִמְכָּר לַעֲמִיתֶךָ אוֹ קָנֹה מִיַּד עֲמִיתֶךָ אַל־תּוֹנוּ אִישׁ אֶת־אָחִיו׃ (ויקרא כה, יד) And if you sell any item to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor's hand, you shall not defraud one another. (Leviticus 25:14)
וָאֶקְנֶה אֶת־הַשָּׂדֶה מֵאֵת חֲנַמְאֵל בֶּן־דֹּדִי אֲשֶׁר בַּעֲנָתוֹת וָאֶשְׁקְלָה־לּוֹ אֶת־הַכֶּסֶף שִׁבְעָה שְׁקָלִים וַעֲשָׂרָה הַכָּסֶף׃ וָאֶכְתֹּב בַּסֵּפֶר וָאֶחְתֹּם וָאָעֵד עֵדִים וָאֶשְׁקֹל הַכֶּסֶף בְּמֹאזְנָיִם׃ וָאֶקַּח אֶת־סֵפֶר הַמִּקְנָה אֶת־הֶחָתוּם הַמִּצְוָה וְהַחֻקִּים וְאֶת־הַגָּלוּי׃ (ירמיהו לב, ט-יא) And I bought the field from Ḥanam᾽el my uncle’s son, that was in ῾Anatot, and weighed him the money, seventeen shekels of silver. And I subscribed the deed, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances. So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and which was open (Jeremiah 32:9-11).
כַּבֵּד אֶת־אָבִיךָ וְאֶת־אִמֶּךָ לְמַעַן יַאֲרִכוּן יָמֶיךָ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ׃ (שמות כ, יב) Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee (Exodus 20, 12).
אִישׁ אִמּוֹ וְאָבִיו תִּירָאוּ וְאֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם׃ (ויקרא יט, ג) You shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 19:3).
פרק זה מתחיל בדיני קנין אשה, אבל ממשיך לדון גם בשאר דיני הקניינים למיניהם. This chapter begins by discussing the halakhot of the acquisition of a woman.
עיקרו של הדיון בפרק אינו במהות הקנין אלא ב״דרכי הקנין״. כלומר, מה הם האופנים הפורמליים שבהם נעשה קנין, כלומר כיצד נעשית אותה פעולה שמכוחה עוברת הבעלות מאיש אחד לחבירו. The mishna establishes that a woman can be betrothed by three methods: By accepting money or a document, or via sexual intercourse. The similarities and differences between these types of acquisition, as well as between the acts of betrothal and divorce, will be discussed in this chapter. Due to the unique nature of this particular acquisition with money, in which a woman transfers herself to the authority of a man as his wife, the focus is on several key issues: The precise formula that must be said; whether this statement must be issued by the man or if it can be said by the woman; and whether it must be the man who gives the money to the woman or if she can give it to him. Furthermore, the Gemara discusses the required response from the woman. If she does not overtly reject the betrothal but acts in a manner that can be interpreted as a refusal, e.g., by discarding the money or by insisting on receiving an item she had asked for while ignoring his request to turn the transaction into a betrothal, what is the status of this betrothal? How clear must her acceptance or refusal of the betrothal be?
ההבדלים בין דרכי קנין השונות תלויים בכמה גורמים: בטיבו של הקנין, אם הוא קנין הגוף או קנין של שימוש, במהותו של הנקנה — אשה, עבד או חפץ, ובטיבו של הדבר הנקנה — האם הוא קבוע או מיטלטל, ומה היא הדרך הרגילה לטלטלו. ומשום שיש הבדלים בין סוגים שונים של מקנה, קונה והדבר הנקנה, יש צורך לדון בכל סוג של קניינים בפני עצמו ולברר מה הן הדרכים המועילות לעשות בו קנין. The Gemara will also compare the method of acquisition of betrothal to the establishment of other legal relationships, e.g., the obligations of a guarantor and the purchase of a Canaanite slave. Also discussed are the differences between betrothal and the marriage canopy. Likewise, the Gemara discusses the difference between a standard betrothal and the other primary forms of acquisition of a woman, namely levirate marriage and the purchase of a young girl as a maidservant, a transaction that can later result in marriage between the maidservant and her master or his son. Another central topic that will be addressed is the item with which a woman is betrothed. How much must the man give her? Must it be actual money, or can he give her an item worth money? Must she accept a physical item into her possession, or does it suffice that she gains some sort of intangible benefit? Is the avoidance of a loss also considered a benefit in this context? After debating at length the characteristics of the acquisition of betrothal, the chapter proceeds to analyze various other forms of acquisition. In particular, the acquisition and release of Hebrew slaves and maidservants, and Canaanite slaves and maidservants, is discussed at length. The main focus of this section of the chapter is not the nature of an acquisition but the modes of acquisition. In other words, the formal actions by which ownership is transferred from one party to another. The differences between the modes of acquisition are a result of several factors: The basic nature of the acquisition in question, i.e., whether it is the purchase of an item itself or the right of use of an item; the item that is acquired, which might be a person or a vessel; and the physical nature of the item, i.e., whether it is fixed in one spot, like real estate, or mobile. If the item is movable, the key issue is the manner in which it is generally moved: Is it pulled, lifted, or transported by some other method? Typically, the mode of acquisition will match the manner in which the item is usually handled. Each mode of acquisition must be discussed both on its own terms and in relation to the others in order to determine the most appropriate form of transfer in each particular case.
נושא־דיון רחב אחר בפרק זה הוא בקניינים מסוג אחר — הקנין הנצחי שעל ידי קיום תורה ומצוות. אמנם נאמר כי יש לו לאדם לעסוק במכלול התורה — מקרא ומשנה ותלמוד, ולנהוג בדרך שיוכל הן ללמוד מקרא ומשנה והן לעסוק בדרך ארץ. אולם מכלול מקיף זה של תרי״ג המצוות אינו מוטל על כל ישראל בשווה; שיש הבדלים בחובת קיום המצוות בין איש ואשה, וכשם שיש מצוות המיוחדות בכהנים כך יש מצוות המיוחדות לגברים ולא לנשים. וכיוצא בזה יש חלוקה בין מצוות שקיומן תלוי דווקא בארץ ישראל, לבין מצוות שאינן תלויות בארץ וחובתן בכל מקום ובכל זמן. אלה הם נושאי הדיון העיקריים בפרק זה, אם כי כדרך הגמרא מסתעפים הדברים גם לנושאים רבים אחרים. Another broad topic that will be discussed in this chapter is an entirely different type of acquisition: The eternal acquisition of life through Torah and mitzvot. One must study all areas of the Torah: Bible, Mishna, and Talmud, while ensuring that he can earn an honest living at the same time. Not all six hundred and thirteen mitzvot apply equally to all Jews. There are differences between the obligations of men and women: Just as certain mitzvot apply only to priests, so too, there are mitzvot that are incumbent solely on men. Likewise, there is a distinction between mitzvot that can be fulfilled only in Eretz Yisrael and those that are not dependent on the land but are obligatory in all places.