Sotah 042

4:
The right of a father to sell his daughter is to be found in the Torah [Exodus 21:7-11}:

Obviously this passage requires elucidation. If a man reaches a financial state in which he can no longer support his family he has several options. One option is to sell himself as an indentured servant to a Jew who will provide for all his needs and the needs of his family for a period of six years in exchange for the man's labour (in his chosen profession if he has one) at no wage. However, a father in such a situation may feel that he can do better for a daughter who is still a minor (i.e. not yet 12 years of age). He can sell her to a willing buyer on the strict understanding that when she reaches years of maturity she will be married to the buyer or his son in exchange for the labours that she will perform in the household during her minority.

We discussed the status of the "Jewish maidservant" when we studied Tractate Kiddushin 1:1-2 (way back in 1995!). All our present mishnah wishes to state is that this right of a penurious parent to sell off his daughter (in order to better her chances in life) is restricted to her father.

5:
The first mishnah in the second chapter of Tractate Kiddushin gives a father the right to accept kiddushin [an offer of betrothal] on behalf of his adolescent daughter. Here are some of the comments I made when we studied that mishnah:

Everybody knows that there are two stages in the halakhic development of a male child: he is either a minor or not, and the dividing line has been set at his thirteenth birthday. Most people also know that the corresponding age for a female child is twelve. What is not so well known among lay people is that halakhah actually recognizes three stages in the halakhic development of a female. In Hebrew the three stages are called "ketanah", "na'arah" and "bogeret". "Ketanah" may easily be rendered 'minor' and "bogeret" can, with greater misgiving, be rendered "adult". The in-between stage, "na'arah", I have rendered in the translation of the mishnah as 'adolescent' – though this latter term too is very misleading. The end of a girl's minority has been set at the age of twelve. For the next six months (the first half of her thirteenth year) she has the halakhic status of "na'arah" (which I awkwardly translated as 'adolescent') and only then, at the age of twelve and a half does she reach her halakhic majority.

The Gemara makes a surprising reading of the text of the mishnah, completely different to what we would have expected. It limits the application of the meaning of the mishnah [Kiddushin 41a]:

The conclusion of the Gemara has been included in all the major halakhic codes ever since (Rambam, Tur, Shulĥan Arukh): While, in theory, a father is permitted to accept Kiddushin from whom he wishes on behalf of his minor or adolescent daughter, it is most unseemly for him so to do. Our sages require that he wait until she is of age and can say 'I want to marry so-and-so'.

This right of the father to accept kiddushin for his daughter is not granted to the girl's mother.

To be continued.

Chanukah Same'ach to everybody!