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Can one betroth a woman by forgiving a debt (milvah)? The Gemara (גמרא)'s discussion reveals that even though kiddushin requires less value than standard monetary acquisition, a loan still doesn't qualify because nothing physical is transferred at the moment of betrothal. The shiur further explores why interest (ribbis) creates a genuine obligation—the borrower acknowledges the money's time-value—yet still cannot serve as kiddushin currency, raising fundamental questions about the nature of monetary transfer in betrothal.
The shiur opens with Rashi (רש"י)'s position on Kiddushin 6b regarding one who betroths a woman through forgiving a loan (hamekadesh b'milveh). Rashi explains that even for kiddushin, which may have lesser requirements than ordinary monetary acquisition (kinyan kesef), a loan doesn't work because nothing is physically transferred at the moment of betrothal—the money was already given previously. The shiur establishes that kiddushin derives its requirement for monetary transfer from the gezeirah shavah of "kicha kicha mishtaayef" from the field of Ephron, meaning something must physically pass from man to woman at the time of kiddushin itself. Rabbi Zweig develops an important yesod: perhaps the kesef requirement for kiddushin differs from ordinary kinyan kesef. In a standard sale, money must represent genuine value because both parties exchange items of worth. But with kiddushin, the Rishonim acknowledge the woman has no inherent monetary value (she's "worth less than a shaveh pruta"). Therefore, the kesef of kiddushin might be a lesser standard—merely requiring a physical act of giving, a ma'aseh nesinas mamon, rather than true equivalent value. Nevertheless, even this reduced standard still excludes milvah, because forgiving a preexisting debt involves no new transfer at all.
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Kiddushin 6b
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