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When does mourning become obligatory if someone dies during the seven days of wedding celebration? The Rambam (רמב"ם)'s position creates difficulties with existing Talmudic approaches. A novel understanding emerges: unlike the Ran who sees conflicting obligations, the Rambam holds that mourning simply isn't applicable during active joy - it's not that obligations conflict, but that one prevents the other from ever taking effect.
This shiur analyzes a fundamental dispute in Jewish law regarding the interaction between mourning (aveilus) and wedding celebrations (sheva brachos). The Gemara (גמרא) in Kesubos discusses cases where someone dies during the seven days of wedding festivities, creating tension between the obligation to mourn and the obligation to celebrate. Rabbi Zweig examines the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s position, which differs significantly from other Rishonim. The Rambam rules that if someone dies during sheva brachos, the couple continues the seven days of celebration and only afterward begins the seven days of mourning. This creates several difficulties when compared to approaches of the Ran, Rosh, and other authorities.
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Kesubos 4a
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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.
