Er gibt ihr eine Ma'ah (ein Sechstel Dinar) Silber für ihre Bedürfnisse [jede Woche für kleine Einkäufe]. Und sie isst mit ihm von Sabbatnacht zu Sabbatnacht. [Auch wenn er sie an allen anderen Tagen durch einen Dritten füttern kann, wenn er möchte, muss er in der Sabbatnacht, der Nacht der ehelichen Zeit, zusammen mit ihr essen.] Und wenn er ihr keine Mutter gibt Ah Silber für ihre Bedürfnisse, ihre Handarbeit gehört ihr [der Überschuss ihrer Handarbeit, dh was sie über die Kosten ihres Essens hinaus verdient] Und was macht sie für ihn? Das Gewicht von fünf Selaim Warp in Juda, das sind zehn Selaim in Galil [Die Kette ist doppelt so schwer zu weben wie der Schuss, und das Gewicht von Juda ist doppelt so hoch wie das von Galil.] Und das Gewicht von zehn Selaim von Woof in Juda, die zwanzig Selaim in Galil sind. Und wenn sie stillte, ziehen wir von ihrer Handarbeit ab und addieren sie (diesen Betrag) für ihr Essen. Für wen gilt dies (Abrechnung)? Zu einem armen Mann in Israel; aber mit einem bedeutenden Mann ist alles in Übereinstimmung mit seiner Ehre [und auch in Übereinstimmung mit dem Brauch des Landes.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Ketubot
נותן לה מעה כסף – in each week for the needs of small things.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Ketubot
Introduction
This mishnah is a continuation of yesterday’s. It continues to list what the husband must provide for his wife if he is maintaining her through an agent.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Ketubot
ואוכלת עמו ליל שבת – even though that on all the rest of the days [of the week], he can give her support through a third party if he wants, on Friday night, which is the night of conjugal relations, he is obliged to eat with her.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Ketubot
He must also give her [every week] a silver ma'ah for her [other] needs and she is to eat with him every Friday eve. Besides the requirements listed in yesterday’s mishnah, the husband must also give his wife a silver ma’ah per week for her other needs. This was not a large amount of money (=1/6 of a denar/zuz). Furthermore, even though she is not living with him, he must eat with her once a week, on Friday nights. In the Talmud this is interpreted in two ways: 1) he must literally eat with her, the assumption being he must provide her with company; 2) he must have sexual relations with her once a week.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Ketubot
מעשה ידיה – athe excess of her handiwork, meaning to say, what she does greater than her support/food.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Ketubot
If he does not give her a silver ma'ah for her other needs, her handiwork belongs to her. The mishnah now delineates the consequences of him not providing her with what is required. If he does not give her even the smallest amount of that which is required, the ma’ah for spending money, she does not need to give him her handiwork. In other words, he is penalized for not fully providing for her.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Ketubot
שתי – it is hard to wave double of woof and the weight of Judea is double that of the Galilee.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Ketubot
And what [is the quantity of work that] she must do for him? The weight of five sela’s of warp in Judea, which amounts to ten sela's in Galilee, or the weight of ten sela's of woof in Judea, which amounts to twenty sela's in Galilee. If she was nursing, her handiwork is reduced and her maintenance is increased. The mishnah now lists what she is expected to produce, in return for receiving her maintenance. Note that the mishnah does not state that if she doesn’t produce enough, he need not pay her. Rather the point of the mishnah is that if she produces any more, she may keep it for herself. This is not a list of what she must minimally make for him; it is a list of the maximum of what he is allowed to take from her. Differing amounts are given for Galilee and for Judea, for different systems of measurement were used in each region.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Ketubot
הכל לפי כבודו – and also according to the custom of the country/province.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Ketubot
All this applies to a poor person in Israel, but in the case of a more respectable [husband] all is fixed according to his dignity. Finally, the mishnah qualifies everything that it stated in the previous two mishnayoth. All of these amounts refer only to a poor person who cannot afford to provide his wife with any more than the bare minimum. A rich person is obligated to maintain his wife at the same level at which he provides for himself. Even if he is stingy with regard to his own food and clothing, if he has the means he must provide well for wife. There obviously cannot be a situation where he is living the good life, and he sends his wife to live somewhere else and provides her with only the minimum. Rather, all of the lists are only what a very poor husband must provide.
