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Why does safek sfeika overcome chazakah in some cases but not others? The shiur analyzes Tosfos's position that when a chazakah resolves only one of two doubts, safek sfeika prevails, but when both doubts can be individually resolved, no safek sfeika exists.
This shiur provides an in-depth analysis of a complex Tosafot on Kesubos 9a dealing with the relationship between safek sfeika (double doubt) and chazakah (legal presumption). The discussion begins with the Penei Yehoshua's question on Tosafot: if cheskat haguf (presumption regarding the body) is stronger than cheskat heter (presumption of permission), why does the Gemara (גמרא) allow safek sfeika to override cheskat haguf in the case of an eishes Yisrael (Jewish woman)? Rabbi Zweig develops a fundamental principle to resolve this difficulty. When a chazakah addresses both doubts in a safek sfeika, the chazakah prevails. However, when the chazakah only resolves one of the two doubts, the safek sfeika is stronger. In the case of eishes Yisrael, there are two doubts: whether relations occurred (tachat vs. lo tachat) and whether it was consensual (onas vs. ratzon). The cheskat haguf only addresses the first doubt but says nothing about the second, allowing the safek sfeika to function.
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Why does halacha forbid entering dangerous places if everything happens by Divine decree? The shiur examines the debate between Rashi and Tosfos on traveling at night, developing a fundamental distinction: Rashi holds one must avoid even deserved punishments that Hashem delays through mercy, while Tosfos holds the prohibition addresses self-inflicted harm through free will. This framework reveals how people rationalize self-destructive behavior as "hashgacha."
Why does the Gemara praise hospitality to scholars as a unique mitzvah rather than ordinary hachnasas orchim? The shiur distinguishes two mitzvahs: hachnasas orchim (providing for those in need) and connecting to talmidei chachamim (cleaving to God through scholars). Yisro's meal for the Jewish leaders wasn't charity—it was his way of bonding with those transformed by Torah, teaching that learning must fundamentally change who we are.
Kesubos 9a
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