Talmud - Kiddushin 3b קידושין ג׳ ב׳

does not render herself acquired by a man.

The Gemara asks: The number in the latter clause of the mishna, that a woman acquires herself in two ways, serves to exclude what? The Gemara answers that it serves to exclude ḥalitza, i.e., a woman is not released from marriage through ḥalitza. Without this exclusion it might enter your mind to say that this can be derived through an a fortiori inference from the halakha of a yevama, as follows: Just as a yevama, who is not released from the yavam through a bill of divorce, is nevertheless released from him through ḥalitza, with regard to this married woman, who can be released from her husband through a bill of divorce, is it not logical that she can be released from him through ḥalitza? Therefore, the tanna teaches us that a married woman cannot be released from her husband by means of ḥalitza.

The Gemara asks: And perhaps one should say that so too, this is the case, i.e., a married woman can be released from marriage through ḥalitza. The Gemara answers: The verse states with regard to divorce: “A scroll of severance” (Deuteronomy 24:3), which teaches: A scroll, i.e., a written document, severs her from her husband, and nothing else severs her from him.

§ The mishna teaches that a woman can be acquired with money. The Gemara asks: From where do we derive that a woman can be acquired through money? And furthermore, with regard to that which we learned in a mishna (Ketubot 46b): A father has authority over his daughter with regard to her betrothal, whether it is through money, through a document, or through sexual intercourse, from where do we derive that she is acquired by her husband with money, and that this money is her father’s?

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: The reason is that the verse states with regard to a Hebrew maidservant acquiring freedom from her master: “Then shall she go out for nothing, without money” (Exodus 21:11). The extraneous phrase: Without money, indicates that there is no money for this master, i.e., in this case the master she leaves loses the money he paid for her, but there is money for a different master, i.e., another master receives money for her when she leaves his authority. And who is the other master who can transfer her to someone else and receives money for her? This is her father.

The Gemara asks: But why not say that this money is given to her? The Gemara rejects this: How can one suggest this? Her father receives her betrothal, i.e., the money or document of betrothal, when he marries her off to her husband, as it is written: “I gave my daughter to this man” (Deuteronomy 22:16), and shall she take the money? Since he is the one who marries her off, he is certainly entitled to the money of her betrothal.

The Gemara asks: But why not say that this halakha applies only when she is a minor girl, as she does not have the power to receive her betrothal. Since she lacks the intellectual capacity, she likewise does not have the legal right to conduct this transaction. But with regard to a young woman, who does have the power to receive her betrothal, as a female older than twelve years is considered an adult, let her betroth herself and take the money. The Gemara answers that the verse states: “Being in her youth, in her father’s house” (Numbers 30:17), which teaches: Any profit she gains in her youth belongs to her father.

The Gemara questions this explanation: But with regard to that which Rav Huna says that Rav says: From where is it derived that the earnings of a daughter, i.e., the profit from her labor, belongs to her father? As it is stated: “And if a man sells his daughter as a maidservant” (Exodus 21:7). This comparison between a daughter and a Hebrew maidservant teaches the following: Just as with regard to a Hebrew maidservant, her earnings belong to her master, so too, with regard to a daughter, her earnings belong to her father. The Gemara now asks: Why does Rav Huna need this derivation? Let him derive this halakha from the verse “being in her youth, in her father’s house,” which indicates that any profit from her earnings as a young woman belongs to her father.

Rather, Rav Huna maintains that that verse is written with regard to the nullification of vows, and it is not referring to the halakhot of acquisition. The Gemara asks: If that is so, then so too, with regard to her betrothal money, one can say that this verse is written only with regard to the nullification of vows and does not apply to betrothal money. And if you would say: Let us derive the halakha of her betrothal money from the halakha of the nullification of vows, i.e., just as a father has the right to nullify his daughter’s vows when she is a young woman, so too, he has rights to her money, this is not possible, as there is a principle: We do not derive monetary matters from ritual matters.

And if you would say: Let us derive this halakha of the betrothal of a young woman from the halakha of fines, as it is stated explicitly in the Torah that a man who rapes a young woman must pay a fine to her father, there is another principle that is applicable here: We do not derive monetary matters from fines, as the imposition of a fine is considered a unique case from which ordinary monetary rights cannot be derived.

And if you would say: Let us derive this halakha from the reimbursements for the humiliation and degradation of a young woman who was raped, which are also given to the father, one can answer that the following distinction applies: Reimbursement for humiliation and degradation are different, as her father has an interest in them. The father has the ability to derive benefit from her humiliation and degradation in other ways, e.g., by marrying her to a man afflicted with boils, which would humiliate her and cause a reduction in her value. Therefore, one cannot derive from the fact that the father receives the reimbursements for the humiliation and degradation of a young woman who was raped that he receives other monies due to her.

Rather, the halakha that a young woman’s betrothal money belongs to her father is derived from the verse: “Then shall she go out for nothing, without money” (Exodus 21:11), as previously stated. As for the question why the money does not belong to her, the Gemara answers that it is reasonable that when the verse excludes another situation and indicates that there is no money for this master but there is money for a different master,

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Kidushin 3b explores why chalitza cannot release a married woman and derives from Scripture that money can effect betrothal.