Se uno aveva due gruppi di figlie di due mogli e diceva: "Ho promesso sposa di mia figlia grande e non so se fosse la più anziana del più anziano o la più anziana del più giovane, o la più giovane dell'anziano, che è più vecchio del più vecchio dei più giovani " —sono tutti vietati, tranne il più giovane dei più giovani. Queste sono le parole di R. Meir. R. Yossi dice: Sono tutti ammessi, tranne il più anziano dei più grandi. (Se dicesse :) "Ho promesso sposa mia figlia piccola e non so se fosse il più giovane dei più giovani o il più giovane degli anziani, o il più vecchio dei più giovani, che è più giovane del più giovane degli anziani"—sono tutti vietati, tranne il più anziano degli anziani. Queste sono le parole di R. Meir. R. Yossi dice: "Sono tutti ammessi, tranne il più giovane dei più giovani. [La tanna deve informarci della differenza tra R. Meir e R. Yossi (entrambi) rispetto a" Ho promesso sposa a mia figlia grande "e" Ho fidanzato la mia piccola figlia. "Perché se ci fosse insegnato solo il primo, potremmo pensare che è solo a questo proposito che R. Meir dice quello che fa. Perché poiché c'è una figlia più giovane, la chiama" grande ". perché è prestigioso per un uomo chiamare sua figlia "grande", anche se è giovane, purché ce ne sia un'altra più giovane di lei. Ma con "la mia piccola figlia", forse concorderebbe con R. Yossi che se lui potrebbe chiamarla "grande", non la chiamerebbe "piccola". E se ci insegnassimo solo a quest'ultima ("Ho fidanzato la mia piccola figlia"), potremmo pensare che è solo a questo proposito che R. Yossi dice cosa lo fa, ma nell'altro caso ("Ho promesso sposa di mia figlia grande"), forse concorderebbe con R. Meir. Pertanto, dobbiamo essere informati di entrambi. L'halachah è in accordo nce con R. Yossi in entrambi i casi.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Kiddushin
קדשתי את בתי גדולה – it was necessary for the Tanna [of our Mishnah] to teach us of the dispute of Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yosi in the case of: “I betrothed the eldest” and “I betrothed the youngest.” For had [the Mishnah] only taught us regarding “I betrothed the eldest,” I would think that on this which Rabbi Meir is commenting upon, and since there is a younger [daughter] than her, it is to this one, “the elder” that he calls her, for it is praiseworthy for a person to call his daughter with the language of “older” even though she is “younger,” when there is younger sister younger than her. But, regarding a minor, I would say that he (i.e., Rabbi Meir) would agree with Rabbi Yosi, that all the while that he can call her “elder,” he would not call her “younger.” But if [the Mishnah only taught] that alone (i.e., the statement of Rabbi Meir), it is on that alone which Rabbi Meir is commenting upon but on this one (“I betrothed the younger”), I would say that Rabbi Yosi agrees with Rabbi Meir. Therefore, it was necessary to teach both of them. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yosi in both cases.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kiddushin
Introduction
This mishnah continues to discuss a father who betroths one of his daughters but does not remember which one he betrothed. Specifically, the mishnah refers to a situation where a man has two sets of daughters with two different wives and one set of daughters is older than the other set (i.e. all of the daughters of one wife are older than the eldest daughter of the other wives.)
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kiddushin
If one has two groups of daughters by two wives, and he declares, “I have given in betrothal my eldest daughter, but I do not know whether the eldest of the seniors or the eldest of the juniors, or the youngest of the seniors who is older than the eldest of the juniors,” all are forbidden [to marry other men], except the youngest of the juniors, the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yose says: they are all permitted, except the eldest of the seniors. The father says he has given in betrothal his “eldest daughter” to a man, and he has forgotten who that man is, and the question is who his “eldest daughter” is? Once we figure out whom the eldest daughter is that daughter will be forbidden to marry any other man, and his other daughters will be permitted. Again, the man has two sets of daughters; one set is a group of “seniors” in that they are all older than the other set which are “juniors.” According to Rabbi Meir, any daughter who has a younger sister may be called the “eldest daughter” since she is older than another daughter. The only daughter who cannot possibly be called the “eldest daughter” is the youngest daughter of the youngest set. Rabbi Yose rules that only the eldest daughter of the seniors is called the “eldest daughter” and therefore only she is prohibited.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kiddushin
“I have betrothed my youngest daughter, but I do not know whether the youngest of the juniors or the youngest of the seniors, or the eldest of the juniors who is younger than the youngest of the seniors,” they are all forbidden, except the eldest of the seniors, the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yose says: they are all permitted, except the youngest of the juniors. This section is basically the same as the previous section, except that in this section the father claims that he gave his “youngest daughter” in betrothal. The opinions of Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yose are consistent with those above.
