{"id":11100,"date":"2007-09-19T20:52:00","date_gmt":"2007-09-19T20:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.ou.org\/life\/other\/masechet_ketubot_2026\/"},"modified":"2015-10-27T10:17:35","modified_gmt":"2015-10-27T15:17:35","slug":"masechet_ketubot_2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/masechet_ketubot_2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Masechet Ketubot 20a-26b"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>The Coming Week&#8217;s Daf Yomi by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This essay is based upon the insights and chidushim (original ideas) of Talmudic scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, as published in the Hebrew version of the Steinsaltz Edition of the Talmud.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>This month\u2019s Steinsaltz Daf Yomi is sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Alan Harris, The Lewy Family Foundation, and Marilyn and Edward Kaplan<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Ketubot 20a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>According to Jewish law, in order for business transactions to be valid, we must be certain that both parties understand the ramifications of their actions. Thus, someone who is in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/di.htm#halachah\">halakhic<\/a> category of a <em>shoteh<\/em> \u2013 a fool \u2013 cannot engage in buying and selling, and any transactions in which he participates will be nullified by the <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/bc.htm#beitdin\">bet din<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/di.htm#gemara\">Gemara<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=27&amp;letter=N\">Rav Nachman<\/a> introduces us to the case of a <em>bar shatya<\/em>. \u00a0Here, <em>bar<\/em> does not mean &#8220;the son of,&#8221; but rather it is like <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/bc.htm#barmitzvah\">bar mitzvah<\/a>, <\/em>which means someone who is defined by a certain attribute \u2013 &#8220;a person obligated in <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/m.htm#mitzvah\">mitzvot<\/a><\/em>.&#8221; \u00a0Similarly, a <em>bar shatya<\/em> is a person who is known to be mad. \u00a0This <em>bar shatya<\/em> entered into a business agreement to sell his land. \u00a0What happens in a case where two witnesses testify that he sold the land while he was in full control of his faculties, while two other witnesses say that at the time of the sale he was crazy? The conclusion is that when such a person has a long-standing claim on the land that was sold, we see the conflicting testimonies as canceling each other out, and we determine that the land must be left <em>status quo<\/em> \u2013 in the possession of the <em>bar shatya<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Various psychological maladies \u2013 particularly manic-depression \u2013 are oftentimes cyclical in nature, where the patient is fully rational for a length of time, yet at other times his ability to function in a cogent manner or make intelligent judgments and decisions is totally lacking. In such cases, the change from one state to another is sometimes gradual, which can lead to situations where it is difficult to determine whether he acted during one of his lucid moments or during his confused periods.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/rabbis\/ritva.htm\">Ritva<\/a> explains that this discussion works with the assumption that as far as the <em>halakhah<\/em> is concerned, such a person is considered to be fully sane when he is healthy and totally incompetent when he is stricken. \u00a0The obligation of the court is to determine \u2013 to the best of its ability \u2013 what the situation was at the time of the transaction.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><u>Ketubot 21a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the central discussions in our <em>perek <\/em>is how the witnesses whose names are signed in a <em>shtar<\/em> \u2013 a contract or other legal document \u2013 can be authenticated. Our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/di.htm#gemara\">Gemara<\/a> quotes <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=127&amp;letter=A\">Rav<\/a> as distinguishing between different types of testimony, arguing that <em>kiyyum shtarot<\/em> \u2013 authenticating the signatures on a <em>shtar<\/em> \u2013 is rabbinic in nature, while <em>Kiddush ha-hodesh<\/em> \u2013 establishing the Jewish calendar based on testimony regarding the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=240&amp;letter=N\">New Moon<\/a> \u2013 is essential on a biblical level.<\/p>\n<p>With regard to the <em>shtar<\/em>, the approach of most commentaries is that on a biblical level the signatures that appear in the document are sufficient for us to accept it as legitimate testimony, and there is no need to confirm its authenticity. If at some point we discover a forgery or error, it will be presented to the court, which will then review the case and rule based on the new information. Based on this, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=83&amp;letter=H\">Rav Hai Gaon<\/a> and others rule that if one of the judges on the court that was convened to authenticate the signatures turns out to be disqualified, we do not need to begin the process anew, since on a biblical level the <em>shtar<\/em> did not really need to be examined in this way.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=366&amp;letter=I\">Rama<\/a> in the <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/s.htm#shulchanaruch\">Shulchan Arukh<\/a> <\/em>(<em>Choshen Mishpat<\/em> 41:4) rules that since the need for authentication is only Rabbinic, we do not really need a <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/bc.htm#beitdin\">bet din<\/a><\/em>; even a <em>yachid mumcheh<\/em> \u2013 a single expert \u2013 would suffice in such a case.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/rabbis\/rambam.htm\">Rambam<\/a>&#8216;s approach is exactly the opposite. He believes that on a biblical level, the signatures in the <em>shtar<\/em> are worthless, since the only testimony that is really acceptable to prove the existence of the loan, sale, etc. would be a personal statement by reliable witnesses. Nevertheless, the Sages established a process whereby the court can rely on written testimony, i.e. the signatures of the witnesses on the <em>shtar<\/em>, on the condition that those signatures are properly examined and authenticated.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><u>Ketubot 22a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/m.htm#mishna\">Mishnah<\/a> on our <em>daf<\/em> introduces us to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/di.htm#halachah\">halakhic<\/a> argument<em> ha-peh she-asar hu ha-peh she-hitir<\/em> \u2013 literally, the voice that forbade is the voice that permitted. In other words, when we are only aware of a potentially problematic situation because of someone&#8217;s admission, we trust that person to explain why the situation is, in fact, not a problem at all. Thus, if a woman walks into court and says &#8220;I was married, but have received a divorce,&#8221; we will accept her story and allow her to marry with no need for her to prove that she is now single. If, however, we knew that she was married based on other evidence, we cannot accept her word that she is divorced without some proof to that effect.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/di.htm#gemara\">Gemara<\/a> quotes a <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=247&amp;letter=B\">baraita<\/a><\/em> that goes one step further. The <em>baraita<\/em> teaches that a woman who says &#8220;I am married&#8221; can come to court afterwards and say &#8220;I am single&#8221; and will be believed if she gives an <em>amatla<\/em> \u2013 a convincing explanation of why she originally said what she did. In response to a query from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=204&amp;letter=S\">Shmuel<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=127&amp;letter=A\">Rav<\/a> ruled that a married woman will also be believed if she says that she is permitted to her husband, even though the previous night she said that she was forbidden (i.e. that she was a <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/np.htm#niddah\">niddah<\/a><\/em>), as long as she gives a convincing explanation of her statement the previous night. The Gemara records that Shmuel accepted the ruling, although he did not apply it when it came up in a personal case.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/bc.htm#baaleitosafot\">Tosafot<\/a> bring the <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/tw.htm#yerushalmi\">Talmud Yerushalmi<\/a><\/em>, which explains that Shmuel had turned to Rav with this question because one night his wife had told him that she was forbidden and the next night that she was permitted, explaining that she was simply too tired the night before to engage in relations and had excused herself by claiming that relations were forbidden. The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.myjewishlearning.com\/texts\/halakha\/Geonim\/sheiltot.htm\">She&#8217;iltot<\/a> presents the story in a different way. According to that version, one of the hints that a wife would give to her husband to indicate that she was a <em>niddah<\/em> was that she would decline to drink from the cup of wine that her husband offered her. When this happened in Shmuel&#8217;s home, his wife later explained that she had declined the wine for another reason \u2013 she did not want to embarrass Shmuel&#8217;s sister, who was a guest at the table and had not received a cup of wine. It was in that case where Rav ruled that her explanation could be accepted.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><u>Ketubot 23a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Following the principle of <em>ha-peh she-asar hu ha-peh she-hitir<\/em> that we learned about on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.steinsaltz.org\/dynamic\/DafYomi_details.asp?Id=764\">yesterday&#8217;s <em>daf<\/em><\/a>, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/m.htm#mishna\">Mishnah<\/a> (22a) teaches that a Jewish woman who was held captive is believed when she says <em>nishbeti u&#8217;tehotah ani<\/em> \u2013 &#8220;I was held as a prisoner, but was never sexually molested&#8221; (which would make her forbidden from marrying a <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/jl.htm#kohen\">kohen<\/a><\/em>). However, if we know from another source that she was held captive, we can no longer believe her. The Mishnah further teaches that had she gotten married already, even if witnesses come who say that they knew she was a prisoner, we allow her to remain married.<\/p>\n<p>Our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/di.htm#gemara\">Gemara<\/a> quotes <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=124&amp;letter=A\">Shmuel&#8217;s father<\/a> as ruling that this is true not only in a case where she had already married, but even if the <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/bc.htm#beitdin\">bet din<\/a><\/em> ruled that she was permitted, they would not rescind their ruling and would allow her to marry a <em>kohen<\/em> \u2013 even if witnesses who knew that she had been held prisoner arrived before the marriage took place.<\/p>\n<p>The Gemara relates that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=204&amp;letter=S\">Shmuel<\/a>&#8216;s own daughters were taken as prisoners and that their captor took them to Israel, where they hoped to sell them or receive ransom from the community to have them freed. The girls turned to their captors and asked them for permission to enter the <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=957&amp;letter=B\">bet midrash<\/a><\/em> of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=241&amp;letter=H\">Rav Hanina<\/a>, while the captors waited outside. Thus the girls were able to walk into the court, state <em>nishbeti u&#8217;tehotah ani<\/em> and receive permission to marry whomever they wanted based on <em>ha-peh she-asar hu ha-peh she-hitir<\/em>, and only afterwards did the captors enter to begin negotiations on their sale. Rav Chanina realized that these girls must have grown up in a home of scholars and ascertained that they were, in fact, Shmuel&#8217;s daughter&#8217;s, at which point he encouraged Rav Shemen bar Aba \u2013 who was a <em>kohen<\/em>, and was related to Rav&#8217;s family \u2013 to marry one of them.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=168&amp;letter=N\">Neharda&#8217;a<\/a>, the city where Shmuel lived, was near the border between the Persian and Roman empires. \u00a0This made it a clear target, and it was attacked and sacked many times. Some say that this story with Shmuel&#8217;s daughters took place during the attack by <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Odaenathus\">Septimius Odenatus<\/a> in the year 259 CE. From a compilation of the stories that appear in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/tw.htm#bavli\">Babylonian<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/tw.htm#yerushalmi\">Jerusalem Talmuds<\/a> it appears that Shmuel had at least three daughters, two of whom married Rav Shemen bar Aba (after the first one died, he married her sister). \u00a0The third married Issur Giyura.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><u>Ketubot 24a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the subjects our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/di.htm#gemara\">Gemara<\/a> addresses is how we can establish a person&#8217;s lineage. How can we be certain that someone is a <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/jl.htm#kohen\">kohen<\/a><\/em>, for example? If he regularly eats <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=471&amp;letter=H\">terumah<\/a><\/em>, does that prove that he is a <em>kohen<\/em>? If he does <em>nesi&#8217;ut kapayim<\/em> \u2013 blesses the people with <em><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Priestly_Blessing\">birkat kohanim<\/a><\/em> \u2013 will that prove that he is a <em>kohen<\/em>? And what if we have a <em>shtar<\/em> \u2013 a document signed by witnesses \u2013 in which an individual is referred to as a <em>kohen<\/em>? Will that document be accepted as proof that he is a <em>kohen<\/em>?<\/p>\n<p>According to the Gemara, if we have a document, signed by witnesses, which says &#8220;So-and-so the <em>kohen<\/em> borrowed a sum of money from a certain person&#8221; we find a disagreement between <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=963&amp;letter=H\">Rav Huna<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=801&amp;letter=H\">Rav Hisda<\/a> on the question of whether witnesses focus on the main point of the <em>shtar<\/em> \u2013 i.e. the sum of the loan \u2013 or they are attesting to the veracity of the entire document, which includes the statement that the borrower is a <em>kohen<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>At least part of the question here is dependent on a more basic issue. Does a Jewish court accept written testimony?<\/p>\n<p>In general, the Gemara follows a rule which states <em>mi-pihem ve-lo mi-pi ketavam<\/em> \u2013 the <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/di.htm#halachah\">halacha<\/a><\/em> accepts verbal testimony, but not written testimony. On the other hand, the Gemara has a principle that, with regard to documentation of loans, purchases, and the like, we say <em>edim ha-hatumim al ha-shtar na&#8217;aseh ke-mi she-nehkerah edutam be-<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/bc.htm#beitdin\">bet din<\/a><\/em> \u2013 that witnesses who have signed a legal document are considered to have had their testimony authenticated in the courtroom. Nevertheless, there is room to distinguish between the central issue for which the <em>shtar<\/em> was written, where we would say <em>edim ha-hatumim al ha-shtar na&#8217;aseh ke-mi she-nehkerah edutam be-bet din<\/em><strong>,<\/strong> and incidental points mentioned in the <em>shtar<\/em>, where we would apply the rule <em>mi-pihem ve-lo mi-pi ketavam<\/em> and would rule that they cannot be viewed as reliable testimony.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, the Gemara distinguishes between such priestly benefits as eating <em>terumah<\/em> in modern times on a Rabbinic level, where such testimony would be sufficient, and establishing him as a member of the family of <em>kohanim<\/em> on a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/torah.htm\">Torah<\/a> level where it would not be (see the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/rabbis\/rambam.htm\">Rambam<\/a>&#8216;s <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=905&amp;letter=M&amp;search=maimonides#3074\">Mishnah Torah<\/a><\/em>,<em> Hilkhot Issurei Bi&#8217;ah<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mechon-mamre.org\/i\/5120.htm#10\">20:9<\/a>).<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><u>Ketubot 25a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/di.htm#gemara\">Gemara<\/a> continues with the discussion of what evidence is needed in order to establish that someone is a <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/jl.htm#kohen\">kohen<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The Gemara tells of someone who approached <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=757&amp;letter=S\">Reish Lakish<\/a>, telling him that he was certain that a specific person was a <em>kohen<\/em>. He knew this because he saw that he had been called up first to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=110&amp;letter=L\">Torah reading<\/a>. Reish Lakish responded by asking him whether he had also seen this man receiving <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=471&amp;letter=H\">terumah<\/a> <\/em>when it was being divided up at the granary. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=134&amp;letter=E\">Rabbi Elazar<\/a> overheard this and responded, &#8220;and if there is no granary in the town, can we not establish who is a <em>kohen<\/em>?&#8221; That is to say, the testimony based on the Torah reading should be sufficient. On another occasion, Reish Lakish was sitting with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=357&amp;letter=J\">Rabbi Yochanan<\/a> and a similar conversation ensued. When Rabbi Yochanan said &#8220;and if there is no granary in the town, can we not establish who is a <em>kohen<\/em>?&#8221; it became clear to Reish Lakish that Rabbi Elazar had learned this from Rabbi Yochanan. The next time he saw Rabbi Elazar he said to him &#8220;you learned that from <em>bar napaha<\/em> (Rabbi Yochanan)! Why didn&#8217;t you quote it is his name!?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Most of the commentaries accept <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/rashi.htm\">Rashi<\/a>&#8216;s approach to Reish Lakish&#8217;s complaint \u2013 had he known that the argument Rabbi Elazar had raised was the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan, he would have accepted it the first time he heard it. \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=210&amp;letter=H\">Rabbeinu Chananel<\/a> suggests that even if he would not have accepted it, in Rabbi Yochanan&#8217;s presence he would not have stated a position to which he knew Rabbi Yochanan objected. The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/rabbis\/ritva.htm\">Ritva<\/a> explains that the reason Rabbi Elazar did not quote Rabbi Yochanan is because the relationship between the two was so close that he believed that it should have been clear to everyone that the statements he made were those he learned from his teacher, Rabbi Yochanan.<\/p>\n<p>On several occasions in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.steinsaltz.org\/dynamic\/content.asp?id=50\">Talmud<\/a> \u2013 most often in the <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/tw.htm#yerushalmi\">Talmud Yerushalmi<\/a> <\/em>\u2013 Rabbi Yochanan is referred to as <em>bar napaha<\/em> \u2013 &#8220;son of a blacksmith.&#8221; Some suggest that this is simply because that was his father&#8217;s occupation. Others suggest that it was an ironic nickname given to Rabbi Yochanan specifically because of his good looks, while another approach suggests that it refers to his strength and proficiency in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/torah.htm\">Torah<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><u>Ketubot 26a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Still in the midst of discussing how we can establish the lineage of different families, our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/di.htm#gemara\">Gemara<\/a> quotes a <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=247&amp;letter=B\">baraita<\/a> <\/em>where <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=739&amp;letter=S\">Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar<\/a> teaches that receiving either <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=471&amp;letter=H\">terumah gedolah<\/a><\/em> or <em><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maaser_Rishon\">ma&#8217;aser rishon<\/a><\/em> can be considered a reliable indicator that the recipient is a <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/jl.htm#kohen\">kohen<\/a><\/em>. In response to the objection that <em>ma&#8217;aser rishon<\/em> is the <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/jl.htm#levi\">levi<\/a><\/em>&#8216;s portion, the Gemara responds that Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar is following the opinion of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=139&amp;letter=E\">Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As we have learned, a portion of the annual produce is set aside for the <em>kohanim<\/em> and is called <em>terumah<\/em>. Aside from the <em>terumah<\/em>, ten percent of the harvest is set aside for the <em>levi&#8217;im<\/em>, as <em>ma&#8217;aser<\/em>. Our Gemara quotes a <em>baraita<\/em> in which we learn that this is only the opinion of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=1033&amp;letter=A\">Rabbi Akiva<\/a>. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah rules that <em>ma&#8217;aser<\/em> need not be given only to a <em>Levi<\/em>, as it can also be given to a <em>kohen<\/em>, since the priestly families are all from the tribe of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=235&amp;letter=L\">Levi<\/a> (as we learned in <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/m.htm#masechet\">Masechet<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.steinsaltz.org\/dynamic\/DafYomi_details.asp?Id=621\">Yevamot<\/a><\/em> \u2013 see <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.steinsaltz.org\/dynamic\/DafYomi_details.asp?Id=706\">daf 86<\/a><\/em>). Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah was a <em>kohen<\/em> who had a personal interest in this ruling. As our Gemara explains, following the penalty imposed on the <em>Levi&#8217;im<\/em> by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/di.htm#ezra\">Ezra ha-Sofer<\/a>, the rights of\u00a0<em>Levi&#8217;im\u00a0<\/em>to <em>ma&#8217;aser<\/em> were severely curtailed, and it was ordinarily given only to <em>kohanim<\/em> and not to <em>Levi&#8217;im<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/bc.htm#baaleitosafot\">Tosafot<\/a> on our <em>daf<\/em> search for a textual source for this penalty of Ezra. Although it is clear that Ezra was very disturbed by the fact that the <em>levi&#8217;im<\/em> did not choose to join him on his return to the Land of Israel (see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=579&amp;letter=E\">Ezra<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mechon-mamre.org\/p\/pt\/pt35a08.htm#15\">8:15-17<\/a>), there is nevertheless no clear indication that he made a formal decision to penalize them by depriving them of <em>ma&#8217;aser<\/em>. One passage that they bring (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=170&amp;letter=N\">Nehemiah<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mechon-mamre.org\/p\/pt\/pt35b10.htm#38\">10:38<\/a>) at best seems to indicate that the <em>kohanim<\/em> were given equal rights in the <em>ma&#8217;aser<\/em>, but not that it was taken from the <em>levi&#8217;im<\/em>. Still, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/rabbis\/meiri.htm\">Meiri<\/a> interprets that <em>pasuk<\/em>\u00a0to mean that the <em>kohanim<\/em> were encouraged to receive the <em>ma&#8217;aser<\/em> directly from the farmer, although they were generous in sharing it with the <em>levi&#8217;im<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=188&amp;letter=C\">Bet Yosef<\/a> interprets the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/about\/judaism\/rabbis\/rambam.htm\">Rambam<\/a> (see <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/view.jsp?artid=905&amp;letter=M&amp;search=maimonides#3074\">Mishnah Torah<\/a><\/em>,<em> Hilkhot Ma&#8217;aser<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mechon-mamre.org\/i\/7401.htm#5\">1:4<\/a>) as limiting Ezra\u2019s ruling to his own time only \u2013 after all, there is little reason to punish the <em>levi&#8217;im<\/em> who did choose to move to Israel \u2013 but that after the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Second_Temple\">second Temple<\/a> the rules of <em>terumah<\/em> and <em>ma&#8217;aser<\/em> reverted back to their original state.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>In addition to his monumental translation and commentary on the Talmud, Rabbi Steinsaltz has authored dozens of books and hundreds of articles on a variety of topics, both Jewish and secular. For more information about Rabbi Steinsaltz&#8217;s groundbreaking work in Jewish education, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-admin\/www.steinsaltz.org\">www.steinsaltz.org<\/a> or contact the Aleph Society at 212-840-1166.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Coming Week&#8217;s Daf Yomi by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz This essay is based upon the insights and chidushim (original ideas) of Talmudic scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, as published in the Hebrew version of the Steinsaltz Edition of the Talmud. This month\u2019s Steinsaltz Daf Yomi is sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Alan Harris, The Lewy Family<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":42185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-torah","series-steinsaltz-daf-yomi"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Masechet Ketubot 20a-26b - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Coming Week&#039;s Daf Yomi (Ketubot 20a-26b) by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, based upon the insights &amp; chidushim published in the Steinsaltz Edition of the Talmud\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/masechet_ketubot_2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Masechet Ketubot 20a-26b - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Coming Week&#039;s Daf Yomi (Ketubot 20a-26b) by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, based upon the insights &amp; chidushim published in the Steinsaltz Edition of the Talmud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/masechet_ketubot_2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-09-19T20:52:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-10-27T15:17:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Ketubah.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"881\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1167\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"14 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/masechet_ketubot_2026\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/masechet_ketubot_2026\/\",\"name\":\"Masechet Ketubot 20a-26b - 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