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What happens when a woman receives kiddushin with an object worth less than a perutah locally but possibly worth a perutah elsewhere? The Gemara (גמרא) analyzes Shmuel's position that we must suspect it has value in Modi, creating a safek kiddushin. The shiur wrestles with what "checking" the value means, when that check matters, and why testimony about past value is or isn't believed—raising fundamental questions about chazakah, time-bound evaluations, and creating an eishet ish status.
The shiur opens with Shmuel's statement that if someone gives a date as kiddushin, even if dates are extremely cheap locally—a kor of dates for a dinar—we still treat her as mekudeshes because "chayashinan shema shava perutah b'modai" (we suspect it may be worth a perutah in Modi). The Gemara (גמרא)'s language suggests this creates a safek kiddushin: she needs a get because perhaps it is worth a perutah elsewhere. The Gemara challenges this from a Mishna stating that the minimum for kiddushin is a perutah or "shever perutah." If we always suspect it might be worth a perutah somewhere else, why would anything less than a shever perutah ever fail to create kiddushin? Rabbi Zweig presents the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s position: the object must actually be capable of reaching that other marketplace—it must be preservable (like dried fruit) and transportable. If spoilage or impracticality prevents the object from reaching Modi, then it cannot create even a safek kiddushin. The shiur asks a pointed question on this view: if certain objects cannot reach Modi and therefore have a shiur of shever perutah, why does the Mishna's language seem so universal? The Lechem Mishneh is cited as raising this difficulty; the shiur critiques the proposed answer as somewhat forced.
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Kiddushin 12a-b
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Why does the Gemara present a kal v'chomer for chuppah making kiddushin based on kesef not being maichel b'terumah, only to reject it? The shiur reveals that even the rejected kal v'chomer establishes a fundamental yesod: kiddushin is a kinyan for ishus (marital relationship), not merely a kinyan in hilchos kinyanim. The second kal v'chomer—from chuppah being gomeres—raises Tosafos's famous question.
Is the kesef used in kiddushin a true kinyan (acquisition), or merely a symbolic means of establishing marriage? The shiur analyzes multiple interpretations of the Gemara's derivation from ki yikach ki'ach mi'Sayeffron, exploring whether marriage constitutes ownership, and develops three fundamental approaches: (1) The Gemara proves ishus is a kinyan, (2) ishus is not a kinyan but uses kinyan-like means, or (3) ishus is a kinyan but the kesef may not be a ma'aseh kinyan. The Rambam's position—calling kesef "midivrei sofrim"—is explained as distinguishing between cross-referencing concepts versus borrowing terminology.
Why does the Mishna alternate between the language of "kinyan" (acquisition) and "kiddushin" (sanctification) when describing marriage? The shiur develops a fundamental distinction: marriage has two separate aspects—a kinyan dimension (ownership) and a kedusha dimension (sanctified relationship). Either aspect can initiate the bond, and understanding this dual nature resolves multiple textual and halachic questions throughout the sugya.
Does kiddushei shetar require a shevah pruta? The Ran presents two approaches to the Rif's position. The shiur develops the Ran's second pshat that shetar kiddushin functions as a hachnah (exchange) rather than a mere kinyan nesina. This reading has profound implications for isuri hana'ah, mechubar, and the relationship between kesef and shetar.
