Q&A: On the Sugya of “From Now and After Thirty Days”
On the Sugya of “From Now and After Thirty Days”
Question
Hello Rabbi!
In the Talmud, Kiddushin 59b–60a, the discussion revolves around a situation in which several men betroth one woman. Rashba offers the following understanding of Rabbi Yohanan’s view:
“Rather, it seems that according to Rabbi Yohanan, even if he said to her, ‘Behold, you are betrothed to me from now and after death,’ she is betrothed, except that other betrothals can take effect upon her forever, for he left room for anyone who betroths her until after death … and therefore throughout all thirty days he acquires, even though there is a reservation in it; and if another comes and betroths her in the meantime, she is betrothed also to the second forever. Even so, they are valid betrothals, for any minimal acquisition is considered an acquisition.”
My simple understanding was that the moment there is betrothal, then as a direct result of that betrothal the woman is no longer eligible for betrothal to another man. Is that the correct way to understand it? And if so, how can Rashba’s words be reconciled? (More generally, from the medieval authorities in the sugya it seems that the first man’s betrothal does take effect, but that ‘room remains’ for additional betrothals during those thirty days.)
Answer
Rashba too speaks about “leaving room,” so it is not clear that his words reflect a different approach. Perhaps he is speaking about a division in the quality of the betrothal rather than along the time axis. It seems to me that for all the approaches one has to say something like this, since at the final moment she is betrothed to all of them together.
It can be compared to someone who betroths one of two women (not sisters, because that is a betrothal not fit for intercourse), where in each case there is a weak form of betrothal.