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What does the opening Mishna of Kiddushin mean when it says "ha'isha niknes"? The shiur develops the Rambam (רמב"ם) and Rashi (רש"י)'s understanding that kiddushin is not merely acquisition but a commitment to nisuin (marriage). A woman who accepts kiddushin without this commitment to nisuin remains a pilegesh, not an arusa, which explains why the Mishna specifies she requires a get to dissolve the relationship.
The shiur opens with a fundamental analysis of the first Mishna in Masechta Kiddushin (2a): "Ha'isha niknes beshalosh derachim, vekonah atzmo beshtei derachim." Rabbi Zweig immediately identifies several textual difficulties in Rashi (רש"י)'s commentary. Rashi writes "isha niknes labaala" (a woman is acquired to her husband), but the Mishna is discussing erusin (betrothal), not full marriage, so it should say "la'arus" (to her betrothed). Furthermore, Rashi's position elsewhere is that a pilegesh is established through kiddushin without a kesuvah, yet the Mishna doesn't distinguish this case. Additionally, Rashi's explanation of "konah atzmo" seems to introduce the concept of nisuin (full marriage) when the Mishna appears to be discussing erusin. The Rambam (רמב"ם)'s introduction to Hilchos Ishus presents its own set of challenges. The Rambam describes that before Matan Torah (תורה), when a man and woman wanted to be together (rotze hu vehi), he would bring her into his house and she would become his wife. After Matan Torah, the Rambam writes that when a man wants to marry a woman (shemirtza ish lissa isha), he must perform kiddushin before witnesses. Rabbi Zweig notes that the Rambam conspicuously drops the requirement of her consent (rotze vehi) in the post-Sinai formulation, mentioning only the man's desire. This seems to contradict the Rambam's own ruling in Perek Dalet that "ein isha miskadeshes ela lirtzonah" (a woman can only be betrothed with her consent).
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Kiddushin 2a
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