daf bit: Kiddushin 56

[cellio]

When a man betrothes a woman he must pay a bride-price, which need not be in cash but can be in goods. However, the mishna teaches that several possible payments are off limits: he cannot pay with fruit that is forbidden to eat (orlah), nor with an animal destined for sacrifice, nor with the ox condemned to be killed for goring, nor with meat seethed in milk, among others. If he pays with these, he is not betrothed. However, if he sells any of those items and betrothes her with the money gained from the sale, then he is betrothed. (56b)

Some of these (like the ox) are things I would have expected to be in the category of "you may derive no benefit from these". (The g'mara argues about this with respect to the meat/milk mixture on 57, today's daf.) I guess benefit ok but you have to have one level of indirection in the case of marriage contracts?

(I'm not sure where he would get buyers for some of these, but that is not the mishna's concern here.)

Comments

[talvinamarich.livejournal.com]

Where would he find a buyer? Hm.

I assume that it would be permitted to sell an animal destined for sacrifice to someone else so that they might sacrifice?

As for the others, what of things sold to those who are not Jews? Some of those sales would strike me as wrong regardless ("The ox gored somebody. Quick, sell it to a gentile!").

Best suggestion I can offer is that while doing some of these things might be a sin, the intent here is that the sin should remain his and not be passed off to his betrothed. If an ox is to be killed for goring, and you don't kill it, that is disobedience to God's Law. If you make a gift of it to your betrothed (or, I would assume, ANY other Jew?) then you have made that one complicit in your disobedience, knowingly or unknowingly.

I know the mishna isn't concerned with this, but the implications are interesting.