Talking Talmud

The case of a person on his deathbed who admits to owing money -- but maybe he doesn't really! Adding the complications -- the case of a non-Jew who converts to Judaism, and fathers a child who is born after the conversion, but whose conception had taken place prior to the conversion. Which may mean that the parenting link is not present from a halakhic consideration. Can he make a gift to one who...

Another deathbed case - if one signs away all of his property, without reserving anything for himself in case he would recover, what happens if he seems to be rethinking his decision -- if he then dies? If he recovers? Plus, more on the cases where the person on his deathbed recovers, and the ramifications for the gifts he has made, and so on. What about one who consecrates all his possessions to...

When someone makes a gift from his deathbed, no formal act of acquisition is necessary for the gift to be acquired by its recipient. Plus, a discussion of the biblical sources of deathbed gifts - Hezekiah or Achitophel, with Achitophel's 3 points of advice for his children. Also, let's talk about the weather - and its implications for crops, as they follow from the Jewish holidays. Where the smoke...

A new mishnah! With more on the bridal gifts -- she received gifts after kiddushin, and before nisuin, so they were sent to her father's house, because she hadn't yet been fully married and moved to her husband's house. But then the gifts are not collected in the event that they never reach nisuin. But if the groom eats with the bride's family, the groom gives up his claim on the gifts (even if ni...

What happens to gifts that are given in advance for an upcoming wedding, and then either bride or groom dies? (or perhaps less dramatically, if wedding is called off for other reasons - but the Gemara's case is death). Plus, what about returning bridal gifts - the kiddushin money, for example. Also, on the groom/groomsmen gifts - the reciprocity is presumed for each wedding, but that also depends...

If one leaves heirs some of whom are minors and some of whom are of age - with various stipulations - what is the halakhah? Plus, if one married a child off in a "wedding house" - the son acquires the house, at least under the right conditions. Also, if one writes his estate over to his wife, she is then an administrator of the estate - with other halakhot which are each established according to t...

When one doesn't respond to a stipulation of inheritance that would go to a person and a donkey... To understand this case, a somewhat parallel case is introduced of five women, two of whom were sisters, who were to be betrothed with a basket of figs - and those two sisters cannot be betrothed in this way, because, as sisters, they cannot be betrothed to the same person. But are the other three be...

More on the powers of acquisition (or lack thereof) of a fetus. What is the timing of a person trying to bequeath property to a fetus, when that person than dies? And most importantly, what changes once the baby is born and is only one day old? Also, given the conclusion that a fetus cannot inherit, the Gemara's focus shifts to the nature of the dispute and the hierarchy of the sages responding (i...

When a man commits to giving an unborn child a set amount of money - regardless of the gender of the child, which apparently makes a difference in terms of the amount given - what is the halakhah? If a girl is supposed to get double the amount than the son, is she more valued than he would be? But the Gemara indicates that one who fathers only daughters is not in God's good graces. At the end of t...

A new chapter! Chapter 9 -- with a mishnah from the previous daf (as the beginning of the chapter) and a second mishnah on this daf as well. Firstly, the case of a man who dies and leaves both sons and daughters -- depending on the size of the estate, either the sons or the daughters take priority in terms of getting that inheritance. [Who's Who: Admon]. Secondly, the case of a man dies and leaves...

A new mishnah (from the bottom of 138): A father who gives his land to his son, while retaining the rights to the produce for himself, until after his own death. Plus, once the produce is detached from the ground, it is the father's, while I still attached, it's "part of the land," and owned by the son who owns the land. Note that funds that are held for minors cannot be used to provide for the ad...

More on deathbed requests, as presented in a series of beraitot. How much attention must be given to the wording of such requests? What happens when debt factors in to those gifts from the deathbed? Also, when one on his deathbed claims someone owes him money -- the statement alone is not proof of the debt.

If one person gives another person an etrog, and that the recipient should pass it along to another person after his own death, then there's a dispute between Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi and Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel as to the degree of ownership by that first recipient. He has to pass it on, so he can't use it in all ways, like an outright owner. Can he sell it, for example? Also, a story about a woman...

A new mishnah! On how a healthy person can transfer property to others -- to go into effect after that person's death: the phrasing of "from now until after death." But what happens to that property during the lifetime? Neither father nor son can sell those properties during the father's lifetime. And if the son did sell, the buyer does not have the right until father's death. But does the father...

When a man is dying, they ask him in a roundabout way whether his wife will be subject to yibum. When he says she could marry a kohen gadol means she doesn't have any need for yibum. But what about when a man comes to divorce his wife, he is considered reliable with regard to his wife's status - sometimes! Sometimes, he is explicitly "not believed" with regard to his wife's status. Which leads to...

A practical example, of one who found his children to be lacking and gave all of his property to Yonatan ben Uziel instead of to his official heirs. The sage gave a portion of that gift back to the children, which opened a tussle with Shammai, over the standing of the benefactor's wishes. Also, the 80 students of Hillel the Elder, and their greatness, including the least of them being R. Yochanan...

More on Rabbi Yehudah ben Berkoka's position, with the property being established as an inheritance vs. as a gift. But what is the real difference? Why would it be preferable to inherit, as compared to receive a gift? For starters, the heirs need to support the widow of the benefactor, which is not the case for the recipients of gifts. Also, a new mishnah! What happens when a person really does gi...

A case where a husband gives his wife the entirety of his property as a gift, not an inheritance, where her ketubah is fundamentally folded into the sum total of his property, as it were. Then a creditor comes along to collect from her. What is she to do? [Who's Who: Rabbi Yehudah Nachtom (the Baker)] Rabbi Yehudah Nachtom has a story that illustrates exactly the question of whether the wife shoul...

What happens when a healthy person wants to allocate his property as gifts? In contrast to the cases we've seen to this point, which have been deathbed utterances. Also, what happens when there's an administrator (apotropa) appointed over the estate. Note that the case doesn't spell out the relationship between all parties. Plus, how does the appointment of an administrator function in the context...

More on stipulations of inheritance vs. those of gift-giving. What if the stipulation is about someone who is suitable to be inheriting in any case? Also, a deep dive into the ways of determining what the given halakhah is. Plus, a few words of appreciation in memory of Rabbi Raymond Harari z"l.

How to handle inheritance - with oral designation as a gift, and not as "inheritance." Including the question of when one must stipulate that a gift is indeed a gift in the statement of establishing a gift (beginning, middle, or end of the giving). Also, a dispute among 3 Amoraim -- when or whether giving a gift in place of "inheritance" would be effective. Plus, how that kind of gift can be reapp...

This daf presents 7 queries about some quirky cases that were sent by Rabbi Abba to Rav Yosef Bar Chama [Who's Who: Rav Yosef bar Chama and also Rabbi Abba, in which the halakhah is decided in accord with Rabbi Abba, in the end of it all. Cases include both details about inheritance as well as other legal issues pertaining to one's standing.

How the laws pertaining to a "Tumtum" affect his ability to inherit the double portion. This status has all kinds of implications to other areas of halakhah that pertain to males -- including the timing of brit milah, including the impurity that attaches to a mother after giving birth. Also, a question was sent to Shmuel: When a person has knowledge that he is the first-born, and his father says t...

More on the double portion inherited by the first-born. What happens if the first-born renounces the extra part of his double portion, so that he ends up with a comparable inheritance to other brothers? Rav Pappa and Rav Pappi (yes) both weigh in, based on inference. Plus, an actual case that came before Rava adjudication. Also, a new mishnah! Namely, if the father attempts to decree a different k...

Different views from the sages in Nehardea, in the land of Israel, and elsewhere - with the dispute over whether the payment of a debtor returning the loan of a parent who has died is divided into a double portion for the eldest son. The crux of the matter seems to be whether the payment is in land or in cash - but that distinction is probed and found to be difficult. Also, when there's a great-gr...