Talmud for Gittin 4:3

אֵין אַלְמָנָה נִפְרַעַת מִנִּכְסֵי יְתוֹמִים אֶלָּא בִשְׁבוּעָה. נִמְנְעוּ מִלְּהַשְׁבִּיעָהּ, הִתְקִין רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הַזָּקֵן שֶׁתְּהֵא נוֹדֶרֶת לַיְתוֹמִים כָּל מַה שֶּׁיִּרְצוּ, וְגוֹבָה כְתֻבָּתָהּ. הָעֵדִים חוֹתְמִין עַל הַגֵּט, מִפְּנֵי תִקּוּן הָעוֹלָם. הִלֵּל הִתְקִין פְּרוֹזְבּוּל מִפְּנֵּי תִקּוּן הָעוֹלָם:

A widow claims payment [of her kethubah] from the property of the orphans only with an oath [that she had received nothing of it]. They (beth-din) forbore from administering the oath to her. [For because she exerted herself for the orphans she would rationalize her swearing that she had received nothing even if she had received a small amount, feeling that she had received it for her exertions and not as payment of the kethubah. Therefore, they would forbear from administering the oath to her, and she would lose her kethubah.] R. Gamliel the elder instituted that she vow to the orphans whatever (formula of vow) they desire [such as: "I bevow enjoyment of this and this food if I have derived any benefit from my kethubah"], and she collects her kethubah. [And if she remarried before the orphans bevowed her for her kethubah, in which instance her husband might nullify her vow, what do they do? They beswear her, outside of beth-din an "oath of the rabbis," transgression of which is not so severe (as that of a Torah oath), and she takes her kethubah after she is married. And if she comes to collect her kethubah before she remarries, the orphans have the option: If they wish, they administer the oath outside of beth-din, or they bevow her in beth-din. Witnesses sign on a get for "the general good." [This ("for the general good") refers to both, viz.: A widow is bevowed by the orphans for "the general good," that widows remarry and not worry about losing their kethubah; and witnesses sign on the get for "the general good." For since the witnesses to the delivery cause the get to take effect, the witnesses to the woman's having received the get being the underpinning of the divorce, there is really no need for witnesses to sign the get. But because of "the general good" — because we fear that one of the witnesses to the delivery might die, and the get be like a mere shard in her hand, (it was instituted that witnesses sign)]. Hillel instituted the prozbol for "the general good." [For because he saw the people forbearing to lend each other (in apprehension of the loan's being dissolved by the shemitah year), and (by their forbearance) transgressing (Deuteronomy 15:9): "Take heed unto yourself lest there be in your heart a thing of wickedness, etc." — he arose and instituted the prozbol. This is the text of the prozbol: "I give over to you, ploni and ploni, the judges, (all of my claims) so that I can claim whatever ploni owes me whenever I wish"].

Jerusalem Talmud Sheviit

Rebbi Ḥuna said, I asked before Rebbi Jacob ben Aḥa: Following him who says tithes [are from their words, it is understandable that Hillel instituted prozbol. But following him who says tithes] are from the Torah, does Hillel institute anything against the words of the Torah⁸⁴The disagreement about tithes is between R. Yose ben R. Ḥanina and R. Eleazar in Halakhah 6:1 (Note 11). “Their words” are the rabbinic institutions.? Rebbi Yose said, from the moment that Israel was exiled to Babylonia, did they not become free from all commandments connected with the Land, but the remission of debts applies both in the Land and outside the Land from the words of the Torah [because it is an obligation of the person⁸⁵While this may be the correct reason, the language is Babylonian rabbinic Hebrew; the insert probably is a gloss that found its way into the text. In Sifry Deut. 111, the reason given is not this logical argument but the verse (Deut. 15:2): “this is the word of the remission: every creditor remit what is in his hand, what he loaned to his fellow; he shall not press his fellow because a remission was declared for the Eternal.” Since God is Lord over the universe, remission is applicable everywhere in the universe.]? Rebbi Yose turned and said, (Deut. 15:2) “this is the word of the abandonment, remit” as long as abandonment⁸⁶Agricultural Sabbatical. is followed as a word of the Torah, remission of debts applies both in the Land and outside the Land from the words of the Torah, but when abandonment is followed as their word, remission of debts applies both in the Land and outside the Land from their word. There⁸⁷Babylonia. The Babli (Giṭṭin36a) quotes only Rebbi’s statement below. The commentators of the Babli assume that the majority of rabbis oppose Rebbi. There seems to be no basis for that assumption. The sketchy treatment of the subject in the Babli is explained by Meïri (Magen Avot, ed. Last, London 1909, Chap. 15.)., they say that even one who holds that tithes are from the Torah will hold that the Sabbatical is from their word. As we have stated (Deut. 15:2): “this is the word of the remission, remit!” Rebbi says, these two remissions are the Sabbatical and the Jubilee. As long as the Jubilee is operative, the Sabbatical is from words of the Torah. If the Jubilees are abolished, the Sabbatical is operative from their words. When were the Jubilees abolished? (Lev. 25:10) “[All its] inhabitants.⁸⁸From here to the end of the Halakhah, the argument is also in Babli Arakhin 32b and Sifra Behar Pereq2(3). The verse reads: “You shall sanctify the fiftieth year and call freedom for all its inhabitants, a Jubilee it shall be for you so that everybody return to his ancestral land, everybody return to his family.” “Ancestral land” is the plot given to the family in the original distribution after the conquest. It follows that there can be no Jubilee if the distribution of land by Joshua is no longer known.” In the time when its inhabitants lived on it, not when they went into exile. If they lived on it but intermingled, the tribe of Judah in Benjamin, and the tribe of Benjamin in Judah, I could think that the Jubilee is operative. The verse mentions its inhabitants, “All its inhabitants;” you find that when the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh went into exile, the Jubilees were disestablished.

Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy

Previous Verse Full Chapter Next Verse