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Why does a bachur who marries an almanah still need to arrange his wedding timing carefully despite having seven days of brachos? The shiur distinguishes between the community's obligation for sheva brachos and the personal din of simcha. While the community celebrates for seven days, the individual's simcha obligation is only three days.
This shiur examines a fundamental question about the relationship between sheva brachos and simcha through analysis of a seeming contradiction in Jewish wedding law. The Gemara (גמרא) establishes that different categories of marriages have different obligations: a bachur who marries a besulah has seven days of both brachos and simcha, while one who marries an almanah has seven days of brachos but only three days of personal simcha obligation. The Maharsha raises a penetrating question: if a bachur marrying an almanah has seven days of brachos, why does he still need the rabbinic enactment requiring almanah marriages to be timed for Thursday to ensure three days of simcha? Rabbi Zweig develops the answer by carefully analyzing how the Rambam (רמב"ם) formulates these laws differently in Hilchos Ishus versus Hilchos Brachos. In Hilchos Ishus, the Rambam discusses the personal obligations between husband and wife - the requirement for the husband to celebrate with his wife for a specific number of days and refrain from work during that period. This personal simcha obligation is three days for a bachur marrying an almanah be'ulah. However, in Hilchos Brachos, the Rambam discusses an entirely separate halacha (הלכה) - the community's obligation to make brachos and celebrate the new couple.
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Kesubos 7b
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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.
