Ketubot 3b — the Talmud in English

And we raised an objection concerning it:

What is

the source in which the enactment of

“They were diligent” was taught?

And we answered:

For it was taught:

we learned in a beraita several laws concerning the bringing of a virgin under the huppa:

a.

For what reason did they say that a virgin is married on Wednesday? —

Because

if he had a claim concerning her virginity, he would rise early to go to the court

on Thursday.

b.

And let her be married

also

on Sunday, and if he had a claim concerning her virginity, he would rise early to go to the court

which also sits on Monday? —

The Sages were diligent for the benefit of the enactment concerning the daughters of Israel, so that a man would trouble himself with the wedding feast

for

three days

before she was brought under the huppa:

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

And on

day five,

Wednesday —

she is brought under the huppa.

c.

And from the time of danger onward,

as the Gemara will explain below what the danger was —

the people became accustomed to bring [her] under the

day

Tuesday, and the Sages did not protest against them.

d.

And on

day

Monday he should not bring [her] under the huppa

because of the danger, for it is enough for us that, because of the danger, we uproot only one day from the three days before the wedding day that the Sages enacted, so that the groom should trouble himself on them with preparing the feast, and we permit bringing [her] under the huppa on Tuesday; but we do not uproot two days from the three days and permit marrying on Monday.

e. And the beraita adds another law:

And if it is because of compulsion —

it is permitted.

And the explanation of this law will be clarified below in the Gemara.

f.

And they separate the groom from the bride on Friday night at first,

from having the first intercourse,

because he makes a wound.

And we raised an objection concerning it:

What is the danger?

If you say

because

they say,

the ruling gentiles:

A virgin who is married on Wednesday,

in accordance with the enactment of the Sages,

will be killed,

because the intention of the gentiles is to uproot the enactments of the Sages —

how did the beraita say that

“the people became accustomed”

of their own accord to bring [her] under the huppa on Tuesday, and the Sages did not protest against them, which implies from this language of the beraita that there was no enactment of the Sages concerning this?

But

let them uproot it entirely!

The Sages should have enacted that virgins should not be married on Wednesday, but on other days, so that they would not be killed!

Rabba said,

this was not a danger of death. Rather,

they say,

the ruling gentiles:

A virgin who is married on Wednesday —

will have intercourse with the governor

who rules

first.

And therefore the Sages did not annul their enactment that a virgin should be married on Wednesday; rather, the people became accustomed not to marry then.

And the Gemara raises an objection:

This “danger”

is not a “danger,” but rather

it is compulsion,

for the governor comes by virtue of his governmental authority and has intercourse with her under compulsion; and why did the tannay use the language “danger”?

And we answered: the tannay used the language “danger”

because there are

virgins

who are modest, who surrender themselves to being killed,

for they are not willing to have intercourse with the governor, and are willing to surrender their lives over this, to die,

and they come,

and indeed they come

to danger

if they are married on Wednesday; and therefore the people became accustomed to marry on Tuesday instead of Wednesday.

And the Gemara raises an objection: if, in order that the modest women should not be endangered, they became accustomed to marry on Tuesday because of the danger, there is a possibility that they will not come to danger and will be able to marry on Wednesday —

and let the Sages expound to them

the law for the modest women,

that compulsion is permitted!

And therefore a woman who has intercourse under compulsion does not become forbidden to her husband, and the modest women will not come to danger even if the governor seizes them and has intercourse with them under compulsion. If so, they should marry on Wednesday, in accordance with the enactment of the Sages; and why did the Sages not protest against the people for violating the enactment of the Sages and marrying on Tuesday rather than on Wednesday!?

And we answered:

there are

women

“who are sexually uninhibited,”

for if we expound for them that it is permitted to have intercourse with the governor under compulsion, they will come to have intercourse with him willingly, and they will become forbidden to their husbands.

And there are also daughters of priests [that is, wives of priests], who become forbidden to their priest husbands if another man has intercourse with them, even if this was under compulsion. And they will surrender themselves to death.

that is, wives of kohanim, who become forbidden to their husbands, the kohanim, if another man has intercourse with them, even if it was under coercion. They would surrender themselves to death.

And the Gemara raises an objection: since there is danger in the matter for the modest women and for the daughters of priests who surrender their lives —

let them uproot it!

Let the Sages uproot the enactment to marry on Wednesday, so that the modest women and the daughters of priests should not come to danger, and let them enact other days for marriage.

And we answered:

the decree

of the gentiles

is likely to be nullified,

it is likely to become nullified,

but an enactment of the Sages in the face of

the

decree

of gentiles —

we do not uproot.

And the Gemara raises an objection:

If so,

since the people became accustomed to bring [her] under the huppa on Tuesday because the governor has intercourse with virgins who are married on Wednesday, what benefit did they gain by this in preventing the decree? For if they marry women

on

day

Tuesday —

he will also come,

the governor

and have intercourse

then!

And we answered:

because of uncertainty,

for the governor does not know with certainty that they are married on Tuesday, since there is no enactment of the Sages concerning the matter, but they are married in this manner only by custom;

he does not uproot

the governor

himself,

to come on Tuesday from his place to the city.

We learned further in the beraita:

And on

day

Monday he should not bring [her] under the huppa.

And if it is because of compulsion —

it is permitted.

And we raised an objection concerning it:

What

is the

compulsion

about which the beraita spoke?

If you say

that the intention of the beraita is

this,

that same

compulsion that we said,

that the governor comes and has intercourse with virgins who are married on Wednesday, and therefore it is permitted to bring [her] under the huppa also on Monday — this is difficult:

Why

there

in the case of those who marry on Tuesday because of this compulsion,

does he call it

the tannay

“danger”?

And

if

here,

in the case of those who marry on Monday,

does he call it

the tannay that because of the

“compulsion”

it is permitted for them to marry on Monday?!

And furthermore, there is another difficulty:

that

there,

in the case of those who marry on Tuesday, the tannay taught in his wording

“the people became accustomed

to bring [her] under the huppa on Tuesday,” and it implies that most of them became accustomed in this way, but not all of them.

Whereas

here,

in the case of those who marry on Monday, the tannay taught

“it is permitted”!

And it implies from this wording that only to an individual who comes to ask in court concerning himself do they say that it is permitted for him to marry even on Monday; but the people as a whole did not customarily marry women on Monday.

Rather, it is necessarily the case that those who marry on Monday are speaking of compulsion because of another reason —

Rava said,

for example,

they say,

they announced:

“A military commander has come to the city!”

And the soldiers will seize the provisions of the feast.

And the Gemara discusses:

What are the circumstances of

this compulsion?

If he comes and departs,

if the military commander comes only for a short time, and afterward leaves the city, why should the enactment of the Sages be annulled and marrying on Monday be permitted?

Let them delay!

Let the people delay marrying women until Wednesday of the following week, when the military commander will have left the city, and let them marry in accordance with the enactment of the Sages, on Wednesday.

Rather,

it is not necessary;

it is speaking of a situation

in which he comes and settles,

that he comes and establishes his place of residence in this city, and he does not leave the city in the following week.

But the Gemara still raises an objection: why did they permit bringing [her] forward and marrying a virgin on Monday, thereby annulling two days from the three days that the Sages established for preparing the feast:

on

day

Tuesday

on the eve of the arrival of the military commander,

at least, let him bring [her] under the huppa!

And there will be two days available for preparing the feast!?

And we answered:

his escort,

the force of servants of the military commander who prepare his provisions, one day before his arrival,

on

day

Tuesday —

they come,

they come, and if they bring [her] under the huppa then, they will seize the provisions of the feast from them.

And if you wish, say: What

is the intention of the beraita that says that

“because of compulsion”

he brings [her] under the huppa even on Monday? —

As it was taught: If the bread of the groom was

of the groom

baked,

and ready for the feast,

and his slaughtered animal was slaughtered,

the meat prepared for the wedding was already ready,

and his wine

was already

mixed

with water, and if the wedding is delayed, the bread, the meat, and the mixed wine will spoil —

and the father of the groom died [

who troubles himself with the provisions of the feast for his son],

or the mother of the bride [

who prepares her bridal ornaments for her] —

they bring the dead man into a room,

and leave him there, and do not bury him now. For if they bury him, the laws of mourning will take effect upon the groom or the bride, and they will not be able to marry then, since the laws of mourning begin from the burial onward.

And the groom and the bride

they bring

under the huppa.